[ WATCH ] THE BEST SELLING IN THE US PART 4 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID REVIEW
Channel: Auto Today
Date: 2016-12-28

[ WATCH ] THE BEST SELLING IN THE US PART 4 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID REVIE. Numbers aren’t why we recommend the Honda Accord. This sedan instead has made our 10Best Cars list for years because it wows with its affordability, practicality, and comfort and then manages to include something visceral for those who like to drive. The Accord hybrid, however, which returns to production for 2017 after a year’s absence, doesn’t quite engender the same warm feelings.

However, any model that flaunts a hybrid badge really is a numbers car. With each dab of the brake and each lift of the accelerator, they recover precious watt-hours in an attempt to save thousands of gallons of fuel over the life of the vehicle—which can add up to serious dollars, particularly when today’s environment of cheap gasoline eventually comes to an end.

Even with hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, and Chevrolet Malibu all now in the mix, the Accord hits some big-deal EPA mileage numbers: 49 mpg city, 47 highway, and 48 combined, with a peak output of 212 horsepower. These measures top those of many rivals.

Among all these alternatives, it’s a veritable proving ground of clever engineering approaches, and the Accord hybrid is the outlier in its class. It’s laid out almost as an electric car, with the four-cylinder engine turning an onboard generator—most of the time, that is.

No Transmission, Plenty of Shiftiness

The front-wheel-drive Accord hybrid eschews the transmission as we know it, instead using a clutch and two electric motor/generators. One motor is geared directly to an Atkinson-cycle, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine—making 143 horsepower and 129 lb-ft of torque—with a clutch connecting them to the differential; the other motor is geared directly to the differential. This enables three distinct driving modes: an EV mode using only battery power, a Hybrid mode that uses electricity to propel the car with the gasoline engine powering the generator, and a more elusive Engine Drive mode employed between approximately 44 mph and 75 mph under certain conditions, during which it will clutch the gasoline engine in at a fixed ratio. (Major hipster cred: You’ll have the only electric-gasoline fixie outside of a Koenigsegg Regera.)

Drive moderately, and there’s confident response when you tip into the accelerator and a nice, linear feel to the acceleration—more linear in the lower sweep of the speedometer than you get in the conventional, four-cylinder/CVT model, thanks to the electric motor’s instant torque. Even with a moderate prod of the accelerator, the Accord hybrid launches confidently using only the motor. The gasoline engine typically fires up by about 20 mph but is quick to shut down as soon as city cruising speeds are reached. If you’re gliding along at a steady 55 mph, the Accord hybrid’s system cycles the engine off for a half-mile or more at a time, combining power sources once again only until you get to the next downhill stretch.

The less delightful side of the powertrain emerges as soon as you decide not to drive the Accord as a moderate and mindful hybrid owner. When you ask more of this powertrain, the engine buzzes in its upper rev reaches to keep up with the motor’s electricity demands. In a situation where the four-cylinder/CVT Accord would be settled and steady, like a 70-mph freeway cruise, the Accord hybrid is perceptibly busy, as even in that Engine Drive mode the system will grab spare energy from the generator, draft the propulsion motor for some light assist, and occasionally shut off the gas engine for short stints.

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