2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Review

The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid and Accord Plug-In Hybrid add a pair of new hybrid options to the latest generation of Accord mid-size sedans. Restyled and updated for the 2013 model year in gas-only form, the Accord line expands for the 2014 model year to include both a standard hybrid and the company's first-ever plug-in hybrid.

The standard Accord Hybrid competes with hybrid models of the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Toyota Camry, while the plug-in version competes with the Ford Fusion Energi--also a plug-in hybrid--and the Chevrolet Volt.

The standard Accord Hybrid goes on sale in October 2013, while the plug-in model has been available in a small handful of selected markets--largely  in California--since January.

Honda says it expects EPA ratings of 47 mpg combined (49 mpg city, 45 mpg highway) for the Accord Hybrid. That matches the best of the segment, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, and is higher than the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima hybrids at 38 mpg combined, and the Toyota Camry Hybrid at 41 mpg. Whether the hybrid Accord can deliver 47 mpg in real-world use remains to be seen; the Fusion Hybrid largely seems to come in at 36 to 42 mpg.

The heavier Plug-In Hybrid is rated at 46 mpg combined (47 mpg city, 46 mpg highway) when operating in gasoline/hybrid mode once its larger battery pack has been depleted. The EPA rates that model's electric range at 13 miles, greater than the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid at 11 miles (and only 6 miles continuous) but lower than the 21 miles of the Fusion Energi or the 38 miles of the Chevrolet Volt.

The EPA rates the Accord Plug-In Hybrid's efficiency in electric mode at 115 MPGe, higher than the Fusion Energi's 100 MPGe. (Miles-Per-Gallon-Equivalent measures the distance a car can travel electrically on the same energy as contained in 1 gallon of gasoline.)

While Honda has sold mild hybrids--which don't offer all-electric running--since 2000, its previous Accord Hybrid in 2004-2007 was tuned for performance rather than fuel economy. Confused consumers didn't get it, and the model was withdrawn.

Now Honda has a new two-motor hybrid system for larger vehicles, which has all the usual hybrid virtues. It offers electric running at low speeds and under light loads, electric torque to assist a smaller gasoline engine, and regenerative braking to recapture and reuse energy that would otherwise have been wasted as brake heat.

The styling of the hybrid 2014 Accords is largely that of the redesigned 2013 Accord gasoline models, but with a different grille and front bumper, special aerodynamic wheels, and a few detail differences like LED taillights. It's a clean, handsome sedan very much in the mold of Accords past, and we give Honda's designers special praise for keeping the beltline low--improving the driver's rearward visibility and making it possible for shorter rear-seat passengers to see out the windows.

The Accord Hybrid's 137-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine runs on the ultra-efficient Atkinson cycle, and has one electric motor--which serves as a generator to charge the battery pack on engine overrun--fixed to the back of it. A second electric motor that powers the vehicle is fixed to the differential that transfers power to the front wheels, and can also recharge the pack under regenerative braking.

Unusually, Honda's new large hybrid system offers three different types of operation--all of them automatically chosen by its control software. It can accelerate electrically up to 30 mph, and it will also drop into electric-only mode under light load at higher speeds up to 60 mph.

It also functions as a conventional parallel hybrid with engine and motor together contributing torque (with the clutch engaged). And at higher speeds, the engine alone powers the front wheels, with no electric involvement. But the driver won't necessarily know what's happening under the hood, as the engine is well muffled and comes on smoothly when it's needed.

With a larger 6.7-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack mounted in the trunk behind the rear seat, the plug-in hybrid adds an additional mode. It can operate as a Volt-like series hybrid with the engine turning the first generator to produce electricity that powers the second motor (with the clutch between the motor opened). It too reverts to all-electric running under light loads, just as the hybrid does, at speeds as high as 60 mph.

The plug-in hybrid gives drivers an "HV" button that allows them to direct the plug-in hybrid Accord to operate only as a hybrid, to conserve the battery charge for when it may be needed later. There's also an "HV Charge" mode that keeps the engine on longer to recharge the battery pack up to its capacity for maximum electric range later on. The standard Accord Hybrid, however, doesn't offer those.
We haven't yet driven the standard Accord Hybrid, though wespent a day driving a prototype Accord Plug-In Hybrid. It clearly has a longer electric range and stronger all-electric acceleration than the plug-in Prius. It stays in electric mode under all but the most aggressive driving circumstances--and under conditions in which the plug-in Prius would long since have switched on its engine. The plug-in Accord stayed in electric mode up to 45 mph, and frequently switched back to electric running with the accelerator steady at speeds as high as 60 mph. When the engine did switch on, it only became noisy under foot-to-the-floor acceleration, and even then it was more of a muted turbine noise than the anguished howl of the plug-in Prius engine.

The one drawback we found is that our plug-in hybrid felt considerably heavier than the gasoline Accord models. Honda couldn't give us a precise weight difference, but it's likely several hundred pounds. While the handling and roadholding was fine, it felt like a more ponderous larger vehicle rather than the light, easier-to-toss-around four-cylinder 2013 Accord gasoline model. It wasn't objectionable, but it was a surprising difference in a car that looked more or less the same.

Inside, the new hybrid 2014 Accords are pretty much standard-issue Accord, with different displays on the gauge cluster and the central touchscreen that provide more detail about the car's operation and energy usage. We particularly liked Honda's power-meter graphic to the left of the speedometer, which was easily intuitive, with a job in the bars to show where the engine would have to switch on under acceleration. Our prototype had an attractive pale grey, silver, and black interior, with only the gold sparkly metalflake-like finish of some piano-black glossy plastic trim as a headscratcher.

The Accord Plug-In Hybrid in particular is at the highest end of the range, with essentially every feature that's offered on the top-of-the-line Accord EX-L gasoline model, including LED daytime running lights, adaptive cruise control, and other features.

The 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid went on sale in California in January; the national rollout of the 2014 Accord Hybrid model without a plug will start in October 2013. No prices have been released for the Accord Hybrid as yet.