One of Honda’s long-standing bread-and-butter models, the Honda Accord family sedan, rolls out a new flavour for the 2014 model year: the Hybrid. And like its solely gasoline-powered brethren, Honda expects these to fly off the shelves since it is in many ways the same car with an additional motor, battery and a tweaked instrument cluster. And a little less trunk space.
OK, there’s also the headlights and grill with the blue accents á la Insight, but apart from that it honestly does look very unassuming. It shares the same redesigned, ninth-generation body as the regular sedan that looks fantastic — if I had to critique something, I would say the 17-inch blade-style wheels look too small for the body shape that measures 1,849 millimetres wide and 4,882 mm long. There are, however, changes you can’t see. The front subframe, rear bumper beam and brake pedal are made from aluminum rather than steel on the non-hybrid, to compensate for the added weight from things like the rear-mounted lithium-ion battery pack.
Our top-of-the-line Touring trim also came with LED headlights to match the LED daytime running lights and brake lights. The interior is virtually untouched with the exception of a screen in the centre of the gigantic speedometer that shows hybrid energy flow and other varied eco information. The eight-inch “intelligent Multi-Information Display (i-MID) is shared by the other models and features a useful and unexpected LaneWatch function that shows a wide-angle view of the road whenever you flip the turn signal stalk to perform a lane change. i-MID is also where you control the navigation system that I found difficult to use. I resorted to booting up the GPS on my phone after several minutes of trying, and failing, to input a route. Aesthetically-speaking, everything was fine and good on the inside except for maybe the slightly cheap-looking plastic dash surface.
The Accord Hybrid is powered by a new electric two-motor system from Honda called Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive, which continuously cycles between full electric, hybrid and full gasoline modes. The gas engine isn’t responsible for moving the car, but rather powers a generator motor that charges a 1.3 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery and/or the 124 kilowatt propulsion motor that drives the front wheels. Acceleration comes on immediately, much faster and more responsive compared to some other hybrids I’ve driven like the Toyota Prius c or Honda’s own Acura ILX Hybrid. That is in part due to the adoption of an Electric Continuously Variable Transmission (E-CVT) over a conventional physical transmission. The E-CVT controls both the engine and electric motors, and during higher speeds a built-in lock-up clutch links the two motors together to transmit engine torque directly to the wheels. During slower in-town driving, you can press an EV button below the shifter that will tell the vehicle to operate solely off of the battery charge until it is depleted. Natural Resources Canada fuel economy numbers for the Hybrid under ideal driving conditions are 3.7 L/100 km (city), 4.0 (highway) and 3.8 (combined). Our real-world calculations, according to the car’s computer, over 147 kilometres of mostly city driving was a combined 7.5.
Pricing for the base Hybrid is MSRP $29,590, add $6,100 for the Touring (LED projector head lights, power heated seats, spoiler, nav, etc). That’s on par with competitors like the Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium ($34,499) and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid ($38,460), but you get the Accord’s reliability and reputation as a leading family sedan thrown in for free.
Highlights (as tested):
MSRP: $35,690 (base)
Motor: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder Atkinson cycle engine/124 kW electric motor
Horsepower: 196 (net)
Torque (lb-ft): 122 @ 3,500 to 6,000 rpm (gas)/226 (electric)
Gearbox: E-CVT
Layout: front engine, front-wheel drive
Fuel economy: 3.7 L/100 km city/4.0 highway (manufacturer estimate)