Upgrading the Accord

The automotive world is working hard to avoid the same problems that faced us when the oil embargo of the 1970s occurred and the emissions regulations were put in place. What happened during this decade causes us to be required to drive boring and underpowered cars on the road for nearly two decades and not until the middle of the 1990s did we finally see a reprieve. With the stricter fuel economy standards on the horizon many automakers are working to improve their lineup to offer better overall mileage for every gallon of fuel burned no matter what type of fuel it is.

Honda has targeted the Accord as one of the first models they will work on improving, which makes sense. Of course, we have already heard about the Clarity gaining a couple additional models which we will see soon enough, but the new Accord Hybrid is due for the 2017 model year and will be available for sale soon. This allows us to take a good look at what Honda has in store for us in the immediate future and gives us a car from Honda that might just give the Toyota Prius a run for the title of most efficient hybrid.

For the Accord Hybrid this means an improvement upon their 2.0-liter Atkinson four-cylinder engine that is aided by two electric motors. One motor is meant to be a generator to replenish the battery pack while the other aids in the actual driving of the car. This allows the car to shut down the engine when cruising on the freeway once the battery is charged to allow both the electric motors to power the vehicle and no gas to be used at all. This makes for a system that can be more efficient than most. The way these two motors are set up, one is geared to the differential and the other is controlled with a computer controlled clutch.

Even though this system sounds similar to what Honda offered us in a Hybrid before, the claim is that the total output is going to be higher. There is to be twelve more horsepower and the most important improvement comes in the form of the fuel mileage which shows up at 49 city/47 hwy mpg for a combined 48 mpg of fuel mileage on this new hybrid. There won’t be a plug-in version of the Accord Hybrid any longer but if you want a plug-in Honda you will be able to buy one in the form of the Clarity for the 2017 model year.

Are there any drawbacks to this improved performance on the Honda Accord Hybrid? Yes, the trunk will be smaller to bring it to only 13.5 cubic feet and the pass through into the rear seats is completely eliminated. This change is due to the new battery pack being larger than before but this is a tradeoff most of us will be willing to live with if the new hybrid version of the Accord is able to be as efficient as the numbers tell us it should be.

The styling updates that were found for the 2016 model year will continue into 2017 with the LED headlights that have a blue tint to them, specific aluminum-alloy wheels, an aluminum hood and hybrid badges for us to enjoy. The interior shares the same controls through the seven-inch touch screen display as the gasoline only version of the Accord to give you the features you want in the car that you will be proud to drive. There is no reason to feel left out when driving a hybrid car, in fact you should feel as if you have an improvement over the other models in the lineup.

The Accord Hybrid will be offered in three trim levels, which is different from most models that only have one trim for the hybrid version of their car. These three will be Standard, EX-L and Touring. With these trim levels and an expected price that should start at or near $30,000 the Accord Hybrid is expected to sell over 28,000 version in the US annually which is about double what the previous model was able to achieve; thankfully we get to watch and see if Honda does get to enjoy this success; it certainly seems the Accord is positioned perfectly to deliver to customers and to Honda.