Honda accord hybrid 49/45/47 mpg ymmv

Hey, Honda got rid of the ugly grill of the HAPI. That is a major improvement.

 

I have a hard time believing you can approach Prius-like fuel economy without Prius-like anemic acceleration and handling. So far, the C-Max and Fusion have shown their true colors. Honda apparently hasn't learn from lawsuits on their Civic Hybrid.

 

Over five years ago, I was able to get 32 mpg (384 miles/12 gallons -computed at the gas pump) on my 1990 Honda Accord LX 4 door Sedan with a clunky 3 speed Automatic using 10% ethanol gas driving from Maryland to Michigan on the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpike just by setting the cruise control to 55 mph.

Now I can easily achieve 55 mpg (550 miles/10 gallons- computed at the gas pump) on my 2010 Toyota Prius III using 10% ethanol gas driving from Maryland to Michigan on the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpike just by setting the cruise control to 55 mph... my fuel efficiency expectations are now higher and it take much higher MPG number to raise my eyebrow...

 

We'll have to disagree. I like to think the thin LRR tires and lousy electric power steering has something to do my stellar fuel economy. We'll see who eats crow when real world fuel economy for the Accord comes out. The best the Accord can do is match the 43 mpg of a Prius v, IMO.

 

On Fuelly.com, the average overall MPG for various hybrids are:

• Toyota Prius III Hatchback = 48 MPG
• Honda Civic Hybrid = 44 MPG.
• Toyota Prius V = 42 MPB
• Toyota Camry Hybrid = 40 MPG
• Ford C-Max Hybrid = 40 MPG
• Ford Fusion Hybrid = 40 MPG

The new 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid has much improved styling. It is a beautiful sedan. It surprisingly, however, looks a lot a clone of the Toyota Camry except with the Honda badge and mildly softer lines and angles.

Given its midsize length, I would expect ride comfort on the highway to be much better than the Prius for long distances. The gas engine is 2.0 L, 141 HP and the Electric Motor has 166 HP. Acceleration and mountain driving should be much more enjoyable than the Prius. Fuel efficiency should be about on par with the Toyota Camry Hybrid, about 40 MPG in real life.

The difference in fuel used for driving 25,000 miles a year at 50 MPG vs 40 MPG is 125 gallons, or about $500 extra a year or $44 dollars extra a month for the Honda Accord Hybrid versus driving a Prius. So for economically minded, the Prius offers a substantial savings.

The biggest problem I see with the 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid is that the starting base price is going to be around $38,000 or more. This is $7,000+ more than the Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Honda's reputation has gone downhill over the past several years. They simply haven't kept up with the times and the quality of their cars have gone downhill.

So to sell their flagship Honda Accord at a $7000 premium over the very equivalent or even superior Toyota Camry Hybrid is suicidal or shows Honda is not serious about competing.

 

Wonder if they're planning a couple trims or just one top end model way over $30k.

9th gen Accord sedan offers MUCH more comfort, quietness and agility over the *&^*) Prius liftback. Not a bad tradeoff for 2 extra gallons after 450 unless one is a die hard greenie.

I'll take 43 combined. Keep in mind it's the flatter part of the curve with high MPG numbers. Big gas savings are getting out of the sub and low to high 20's mpg combined cars.

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Jameskatt, the Fusion hybrid number could be skewed, fuelly hasn't made separate category for Fusion Energi.

Accord Plug-in is $39k something before destination, Accord hybrid not going to be anywhere near $38k here. That figure was translation from sales price in Japan.

What about Honda quality going downhill? Accord and Civic? Accord sedan may just outsell Camry to end consumer since many Camrys go to rental fleets.


Let's talk about design quality with an 2013 Camry Photo. Ought to put some lines to emphasize seat pointing way left.

.... and let's hear the peanut gallery say .... 'doesn't matter if seat point to left, wheel right ... in fact I kinda like it that way'......

whateva. Compare to OP photo

 

Car with low fuel economy usually have power in reserve so they have the extra torque to accelerate even in poor driving conditions. Cars with hi fuel economy like the C-Max usually have limited power in reserve so there is oft no extra power to accelerate in poor driving conditions - this can adversely affect its fuel efficiency. The EPA normally allows auto makers like Ford do their own fuel efficiency testing - it is only when a vehicle's fuel efficiency rating is in question that the EPA will step in and test the fuel efficiency of a vehicle.

 

i don't know what kinda camera tricks you're playing man, but i just went out to my wife's hycam and the steering wheel/seat are absolutely dead on. and the in terior looks just as nice as the accord, personal taste excepted.

 

Nice try, your accusations are just words.

Take driver's headrest off, sit behind, take photo centered between headrest....

post up the pic.

 

Sorry, I was thinking of something else and misposted here.

Bob Wilson

 

Here's one from Motortrend looking straight up the right seat seam, wheel still off to right and would be more if camera was centered. Hopefully I can get a pic showing headrest posts, offset and put in some trace lines.

 

A non plug in Prius normally only idles at warm up or to recharge its HV battery. Unless the driving temperatures are very cold the Prius isn't going to idle that long. Unlike a conventional car the Prius isn't idling when it is at a full stop because stop start technology turns off the gasoline engine when the car is not in motion. In non marathon driving situations, the Prius HV battery gets most of its power from the regenerative braking - which translates mechanical to electrical energy (at an energy translation efficiency between 10% to 50% - that is to say the mechanical to electrical energy translation is lossy). In marathon driving situations where one is essentially driving without brakes - the HV battery is going to get most of its power from the initial idling and excess power generated during a acceleration/pulse. The Prius' small battery capacity means that there isn't much electrical power in the *bank.* The most energy efficient strategy -tactic for this limitation is to frequently switch between charging and discharging the electricity.

On a conventional flat towable-manual transmission gasoline vehicle, an expert hypermiler 'banks' the extra energy in momentum during a pulse and then turns off the gasoline engine and sets the transmission in neutral during the glide. One of the reasons, a hypermiler is seen often driving between 35 to 15 mph is because at low speeds aerodynamic drag forces are very low and this extends the the distance of a glide. The hypermiler's goal is to glide between 5x to 10x longer than the pulse distance. To make the gas/diesel engine run more efficiently - the hypermiler tries to synchronize accelerations on a downgrade/downhill segment of the road - in addition a hypermiler accelerates the internal combustion engine at its most efficient speed called the *sweet spot*. The Prius Atkinson cycle engine *sweet spot* has a very wide fuel efficient range of 900 to 1900 rpm compared to the normal conventional gas car's Otto cycle engine which is usually between 1400 to 1500 rpm. In an Otto cycle engine - a vacuum gauge is use to zero in on the exact RPM by trying to run the engine with the highest vacuum level as possible. A hybrid power plant load is a combination of two sources - electrical and conventional gas - this makes things more complex. Hypermilers often will use an OBDII engine scanner like a Scangauge2 to read a composite engine load ( in the Scangauge2 it is called xgauge LOD) to determine the most efficient operating speed - with the most efficient hybrid load being somewhere between 65 to 85% .

 

Hold that thought.

Bob Wilson

 

if i could post a pic, i would. perhaps some other owners will chime in, but i sat in the back and raised the headrest. looked fine from there too.

 

Taking the sharp right turn into our home tract confirms how 'un-agile' (gr?) Prius handling is.

Fact is, the cheapest cars have torsion beams. All midsize and up have multi-link rears or like, ... and

my niece's 2002 Civic has some type of independent rear suspension.

 

It's a sedan isn't it? Hatchbacks and wagons traditional passed on independent rears because of the suspensions space requirements. Sedans got away with the loss of cargo space because the space lost was in the hard too reach corners of the trunk. Not saying a HB couldn't have a independent rear, but the rear wheel wells will likely impinge more into the cargo area.

 

Acura TSX Sportwagon would be an example of that