Meet the Fast and Frugal Accord Hybrid
by Kelly Foss – www.car-data.com
The current Accord is a very successful and desirable model. It is smooth and quiet and performsas a class leader. The interior is roomy, the level of refinement is high and the car is a joy todrive. With the current high competition automotive environment, where new models and significanttechnology are being introduced constantly, you can’t leave models unimproved for very long. Thecurrent onslaught of hybrids even put more pressure on manufacturers. Fortunately for Honda, theyare one of the pioneers in hybrid vehicles.
Now Honda ups the ante and offers a hybrid version of the successful Accord. Observation showsthat there are some different philosophies with respect to how and where to apply hybrid technology. Toyota, the other hybrid heavyweight, looks down on anything other than their ‘full hybrid’technology meaning that the vehicle can run either on gas or electric. Honda’s approach is called a’partial hybrid,’ meaning that the gas engine is always running and the electric motors augment thenormally smaller gas engine when more power is needed.
With the new Accord hybrid, Honda has added their hybrid technology to the most powerful Accordmodel, the V6! That means when you start with their excellent 3.0 V6 which already hasclass-leading power and then add the huge torque of the electric motors, the hybrid is the fastestAccord model by a significant margin! Bottom line, with the Accord hybrid you have lower emissions,the fuel economy of a 4-cylinder Accord and the power of a supercharged V6.
Officially, EPA rates this hybrid at 29 city and 37 highway miles per gallon.
The Accord hybrid drives like the other Accords, only faster. The interiors are familiar; theexterior styling is the same except for a small hybrid name plate and some unique aluminum wheels.For hybrid lovers, this may be too much fun for them. Aren’t hybrids supposed to be slower andquirkier? Not always. If you don’t mind paying $30,000 for a car, the Accord hybrid may be just thething.
Personal Observations – I liked…
- The Accord is a great car to spend time in’the hybrid enhances that experience
- Better power, better fuel economy, better/less emissions
However…
- You can get a 4-cylinder EX for about $22K’is the difference in power and economy worth$8K?
- Hopefully, the more complex hybrid technology won’t degrade Honda’s excellent reliability
