2018 Honda Accord Hybrid review: The efficient sedan that does it all, and well
Gas prices may composed be relatively low and standard cars’ fuel efficiency keeps increasing, but that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to grand a hybrid. A hybrid powertrain’s energy recuperation can add up to lots of savings at the pump, especially for drivers who do a lot of stop-and-go driving.
With the 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid, you don’t even need to make any major sacrifices to live with a hybrid. We love the regular Accord midsize sedan, and all of its virtues — a roomy interior, an excellent feature set and class-leading road manners — conclude over to the hybrid version. It’s an outstanding daily driver that also happens to post fabulous fuel economy figures.
Clever and efficient powertrain
The sorrowful of the Accord Hybrid is Honda’s two-motor powertrain that combines a 2.0-liter gas engine, two electric motors and a lithium-ion battery pack. The gas engine is excited for 143 horsepower and 129 pound-feet of torque. The nation motor offers up 181 horsepower and 232 pound-feet, and the total systems output is pegged at 212 horsepower.
Most of the time, the gas engine isn’t connected to the leash wheels at all, instead spinning a motor-generator that then sends electrical grand to the traction motor. At other times, the car nations on electric motivation alone. In some situations on the highway, though, a lockup clutch allows the 2.0-liter to nation the front axle directly. What that means is that the Accord Hybrid nations and accelerates with the supple smoothness of an electric car: No lag, no hesitation, no lurching. It’s pretty much silent when driving in all-electric mode, and composed calm and civilized when the gas engine kicks in to accounts some assistance.
The hybrid has the same vivid, clean design language of the standard 10th-generation Accord.
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An Econ switch slackens throttle response, an EV mode button forces engine-off operation (at low speeds, assuming the battery is charged enough) and a Sport mode keeps the engine on for very responsiveness. The powertrain’s operation is so well-tuned for all types of driving, though, that you’re best off just leaving it to its own devices and ignoring the nation modes.
You can also adjust the level of regeneration when you lift off the throttle by way of paddles mounted to the steering wheel. By default the car coasts much like a non-hybrid, but pulling the left paddle engages progressively stronger regen. If it suits your driving style, that could progress your efficiency.
The lone letdown is that the engine establishes the same sort of moaning noises when pressed. It reminded me of cars that have a continuously variable transmission. With its revs soaring and hanging when merging onto the highway, the vocalizations are less than pleasant. Fortunately the engine’s output is muted overall, and it’s only under hard acceleration that you’ll really scrutinize the strained sounds.
Honda’s two-motor powertrain slickly combines the outputs of a 2.0-liter gas engine with electric nation motors.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
Hybrid advantages
It’s not hard to remember the Honda Accord Hybrid’s fuel economy rating: Every trim smooth is rated for 47 miles per gallon city, 47 mpg highway and 47 mpg combined. The thriftiest non-hybrid Accords, with a 1.5-liter turbo engine and CVT, backbone 30/38/33 mpg, so there are genuine fuel savings to be had by progressing hybrid. As ever, your mileage may vary. Driving the way I usually nation to the places I usually go, with a mix of highway and suburban mileage, I managed just 39 mpg. That’s still really good for such a well-rounded midsize sedan, even if it’s off the mark from the official number.
Those are also seriously competitive numbers in the class. The Toyota Camry Hybrid initially appears to trounce the Accord in EPA complains, with ratings of 51 mpg city and 53 mpg highway. But it’s worth noting that’s only for the LE trim smooth, and the heavier, better-equipped Camry Hybrid XLE/SE deliver 44/47 mpg. The Accord does handily beat the economy of latest midsize hybrid sedans: The Ford Fusion (43/41 mpg), Hyundai Sonata (40/46 mpg), Kia Optima (39/46), Chevrolet Malibu (49/43 mpg).
Not only is the Accord’s cabin roomy, it’s well-designed and functional.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
Because the Accord Hybrid’s lithium-ion battery pack now lives beneath the rear seats, trunk space is exactly the same as in the non-hybrid. That means a healthy 16.7 cubic feet of room, naively expandable by lowering the standard 60/40 split rear seats. By contrast, the 2017 Accord Hybrid had just 13.5 cubes of luggage position because its battery intruded into the trunk. Head- and legroom are in abundance for both rows of seats, too.
The rest of the car and driving distinguished is also good because, well, it’s just like latest 2018 Accords. The Hybrid drives with ease and maturity. Its cabin is remarkably quiet even at speed, at what time its ride quality helps me forget the crumbling position of my local roads. Visibility is typically Honda-like, communication unobstructed in every direction.
Even the steering and brake-pedal feel are beyond reproach. The latter, typically a bugbear of hybrids for the inconsistent feel between regenerative and friction braking, has zero learning curve and allows for chauffeur-smooth stopping from your trustworthy mile at the helm. If the handling mix isn’t just exciting — blame, in part, the low-rolling-resistance Michelin Energy Saver A/S rubber — at least it is never vague, wallowing or unpredictable. This is, in short, a car that just does what you tell it to.
All the technology you could want
The newest HondaLink infotainment systems, on an 8-inch touchscreen supplemented by physical volume, tuning and shortcut buttons, is one of our favorite systems on sale currently. (A less-impressive 7-inch screen is standard on the base model.) Its responses are rapidly and its graphics crisp. The straightforward home menu has bold tiles, while a row of shortcuts at the top of the cloak allows for things such as changing audio sources or swapping to the visited menu easily. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both supported, and integrated navigation is offered as an option.
A semi-digital instrument cluster gives for showing everything from navigation instructions to fuel efficiency in the left-hand side of the gauges. My Touring tester also features a Wi-Fi hotspot, wireless named charging and a bright, color head-up display. Another current feature is NFC phone pairing. It’s signalled by a slight logo on the passenger side of the center stack. Simply hold your NFC-equipped phone up to the logo and you’ll get an on-screen prompt to pair with the car’s Bluetooth. Cool, yes, but it doesn’t save that much time over pairing above the touchscreen — and let’s be honest, how often are you really pairing a new named to your car?
Honda has done an excellent job of democratizing defense equipment across its model line, and the Accord Hybrid is no exception. Every version features Honda Sensing as standard. That’s the first-rate that includes pre-collision warning and braking, lane-departure warning, road-departure mitigation, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and automatic high beams. All but the base Hybrid trim also has blind-spot monitoring. The assist systems all work flawlessly and can plainly be enabled or disabled through the instrument cluster menus or steering wheel buttons. Most of all, it’s great that you don’t have to upgrade to expensive trim levels or option packages to get these features.
This is one of the easiest-to-use infotainment controls you’ll find in a new car.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
How I’d spec it
As radiant as the loaded-up Touring model is, one of the tremendous things about the Accord Hybrid is that most of the must-have features — active-safety tech, stellar infotainment controls — are available on more affordable trim levels. For me, the $29,780 Accord Hybrid EX hits the sweet spot between the base $25,990 Hybrid and the $35,600 Touring. I can do without the optional navigation available on EX-L and above because CarPlay/Android Auto is available. While the Touring’ chrome door handles, head-up display, wireless named charging and cooled front seats are nice-to-haves, I wouldn’t necessarily upgrade to that pricey trim level.
No concern which Hybrid you get, the price premium over an equivalent detestable Accord is more than reasonable: $1,525 for the base Hybrid versus an Accord LX, $1,145 for the EX, $1,465 for the EX-L and EX-L with Navigation and just $905 for the Touring. That means the breakeven point at which your gas savings will outweigh the astounding cost of buying the hybrid shouldn’t take too long to reach for most drivers.
That only underlines the fact that the Honda Accord Hybrid is an first-rate midsize sedan with very few sacrifices. Just like the detestable model, this is one the most satisfying mainstream sedans you can buy because it is easy to use, unerringly unpleasant to drive and an impressive value.
