Car and Driver reviews the Accord hybrid

Actually, the engine switches from a V-6 to an I-3, as it deactivates one bank of cylinders in the Vee. The mid 30's mpg is probably related to the fact that even though the car is more efficient than the standard V-6, it weighs over 3K pounds and Honda didn't make the effort to pare weight or use low rolling resistance tires and some of the other tricks they have on the Insight and the Civic Hybrid. The Accord Hybrid is being touted not only for its improved mileage compared to the normal V-6 but also for the better 0 to 60 times possible with the electric boost. In highway driving, the gain from only using 3 cylinders probably isn't as drastic as using the normal 6 cylinders at a low amount of load, i.e. the 3 cylinders are probably revving higher than the engine would need to were it operating all 6 cylinders at a lower rpm, thus offsetting some of the mpg gain. And, it may kick over to full 6 cylinder operation enough in the EPA highway cycle that the full effect of 3 cylinder operation is under-utilized. Hopefully real-world highway numbers will turn out better than the EPA estimates. Honda itself has marketed the Accord basically on the premise that it has the performance of a V-6 with the efficiency of the 4-cylinder Accord, so they weren't going all out to max mileage on the Accord Hybrid.

Honda can only advertise the EPA estimates, even though the particular test cycles the EPA uses often don't reflect real-world performance. There are so many variables that can affect mileage, an area of the test cycle that may not make a difference for a normal car may not play into the hands of a car like the Accord hybrid, but the EPA doesn't have the time or funds to modify the test to account for individual vehicle nuances. So don't be too upset by the stated highway mileage number, if the lot of Insight owners is any indication, I'm sure a bunch of Accord hybrid owners will do much better. Then there's the people like me (I'm on the low side of Insight lmpg due to my lead foot), who won't achieve the EPA estimates and don't care.

Re: Not to deviate...

jsanford said:

...but when I looked at Ford's corporate site last weekend, I noticed the Escape Hybrid was the second-most expensive vehicle in their lineup. Only the six-figure GT cost more.

Yes, the Excursion, the Expedition, the Behemoth...all cheaper. Gah.

Click to expand...

...which first of all has NOTHING to do with the Accord Hybrid, which is what this thread is about, and which is a TOTAL misrepresentation, since the Escape Hybrid lists for $26,700 in 2WD and $28,405 in 4WD. The absolute cheapest stripped Explorer has a base price of $26,850 and goes up to $37,600 for a loaded 4WD model. F150's can run well over $30k with lots of options and the Expedition lists for $32,900 to $44,000.

Back on the subject of the Accord Hybrid, it basically offers all the power of Honda's fantastic V6 engine with better economy ratings than their dinky little 4-cylinder engine. In fact the Hybrid's city rating is 5mpg BETTER than the 4-cylinder model! It's a whopping 50% better than the standard V6 model, which is astonishing (20mpg versus 30mpg). The Accord Hybrid was a move of brilliance on Honda's part. It proves that you can get excellent gas mileage without giving up an ounce of performance from even a top of the line model.

Hi All:

___I am not a big fan of the AH for many reasons but mainly it comes down to price … You can pick up a brand new I4 based - 05 Accord EX-L Sedan w/ Auto and NAVI (in PZEV format) for ~ $23,200 - $23,800. You can pick up the AH w/ NAVI (ULEV-II only) for ~ $32,505 +. You can purchase a lot of McChicken’s off the Dollar menu for that $9,000 differential in my locale

___What you lose with the AH is a powered sunroof, fold down rear seat, 3 cu. ft. of trunk space, and a spare tire. What you gain with the AH over and above the I4 is the hybridization including the VCM/ANC/AM’s to quiet her down, TCS, gas strut(s) hood opening vs. a prop rod on the I4, small rear spoiler, different looking wheels, and the inside rear trunk lid of all V6 Accords have a felt/cardboard type covering vs. the exposed steel on all I4’s. ~ $50 to remedy the I4’s of this oversight.

___Performance wise, the AH will walk all over the I4 as it is an 6.5 - 7.0 second to 60 automobile vs. the I4 w/ Auto’s 8.5 - 9.0 seconds. Smoothness from idle on up has to go to the AH and std. Accord V6’s.

___FE w/ a hypermiler behind the wheel is unknown for the AH and as of this writing the AH is not doing all that well unfortunately. The AH in the real world (25 mpg with 5 brand new AH’s reporting just 16 tanks to date) may not be capable of the kind of FE that the I4 is capable of. That smallish 2.4 L i-VTEC in the std. Accord is good for > 50 mpg w/ just 40 #’s in the Michelins when brand new according to the FCD in the NAVI screen while out on the highway. With a minimal 28 miles behind the wheel of one last September (15 city/13 hwy gave me 44.3 mpg from the FCD), I will crawl out on a limb and say that the Accord I4 w/ Auto is at least as good in the FE department as the Corolla LE w/ Auto or a std. Civic LX/EX w/ Auto or Stick when driven to the edge of their respective FE envelopes. The price differential between the AH and the much cleaner PZEV based I4 (or even the std. V6 EX) is simply too high although if you need under 7 second type performance, the AH has it in spades …

___Another little tidbit … The 05 Accord I4 based PZEV is the cleanest car in America that I have seen (SMOG related not GHG’s) w/ not only the ubiquitous SULEV-II/PZEV CARB rating but it also meets the new Federal emission Tier II/Bin2 rating. The SULEV-II/PZEV-AT rated Prius II meets Tier II/Bin3, the SULEV-II/PZEV-AT based HCH meets Tier II/Bin3, the SULEV-II/PZEV-AT rated Escape HEV meets Tier II/Bin4, and the AH is trailing the pack with its Tier II/Bin5 emissions rating

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[emailqfjfq7p][email protected][/emailqfjfq7p]

Hi AZcivic:

AZCivic said:

The Escalade I had in Colorado was showing 55mpg in certain stretches of highway last week. Those "instant" displays are not a good indicator of what the long term fuel economy is for a car. My mom has well over 100,000 miles on her 4-cyl Accord and it gets at least 10% lower gas mileage (around 30-31mpg) than her Civic would get.

My 97 Civic HX that I've owned for 8 years now rarely gets much over 38mpg highway, so I think the FDC reported 44mpg you got in an Accord is not really a reliable indicator of what you can expect in the long term over long round-trip averaged driving. I think if you were to drive an Accord Hybrid, you'd very likely find a way to get over 50mpg in that too. You seem to get better fuel economy than pretty much anyone in North America.

Click to expand...

___Yes, all Honda FCD’s must be way off. My Insight’s lmpg matches exactly with my hand calculation to the decimal point and I am usually +/- 2 - 3% from the FCD to calculated at each fill other then a VR fill. Little Red Beauty.

___As for pegging the game gauge(s), even the MDX’s game gauge can be pegged to 50 mpg simply by letting off the gas at any speed but I haven’t yet figured out how to do a round trip without pushing the go pedal? Given your expertise, maybe you can tell me how it’s done? In terms of the Accord I4 w/ the NAVI FCD, traffic was very heavy that day so 44.x was probably low for a low 70 degree day. Hopefully you can learn to improve your own FE in the Civic HX as currently, you are barely breaking what I receive in my Ford Ranger P/U truck in winter temperatures?

___And to the AH. I have not driven it myself so I do not know if its good for 50 + mpg out on the highway but given 6 cylinders have pistons being driven up and down while 3 are being fed and the reported FE of the AH owners to date hasn’t shown nearly the I4’s capability, I will stick with my prediction that the AH might not be as fuel efficient as the std. I4 when pushed to its limits let alone the $9K more you have to pay for it

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:mtgen63b][email protected][/email:mtgen63b]