Honda Accord Hybrid: 50 MPG City - clone Toyota

I don't see hypermiling making much of a dent in gas usage. Most people seem to drive to get somewhere on time. So busy here in SF Bay Area. I've tried hypermiling when I'm a bit tired and want to get somwhere in timely fashion: Can't do it.

 

You can hypermile and still stay with the flow of traffic. Certain techniques may not be accessible, but you can drive for efficiency in nearly any road condition.

 

Well . . . the Volt tranny comes to mind.

Sorry - couldn't resist a bit o complex tranny humor.
Actually, I'm still confused how/why Honda is hinting they're knocking off the mpg champion, and yet their comparing it to the Ford.
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Midsize hybrid sedan mpg
Fusion > Camry > Sonata
They aren't comparing it to a Prius. It doesn't outperform any of the numbers.

Then they are doing the normal bit of automotive dishonesty
combined on both fusion and accord hybrid is 47, so they are just looking at one number the one where it tests better city epa mpg.

 

When I look at passenger / cargo space of Accord/Prius ... I find the deliberate exclusion of the Prius to be glaring - and thus, an affirmation of the mileage champ. So ... that's all I'm saying.

Ergo, the Volt's complex tranny may actually help it keep it's mpg's from suffering, more than they otherwise would.
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Hatchbacks have higher cargo space than sedans, and Americans prefer sedans. The accord hybrid is in the most popular class of car. Passenger space in the smallest the fusion hybrid is 101 cu feet versus 94 cubic feet of the prius. These are different classes of automobiles although consumers do substitute.

Hybrid buyers have chosen the hatchback, but that may have been only because the prius was so far out in front in terms of gas mileage. This generation of midsize sedans have closed the gap, but it is still there. They also provide better acceleration but the cost premium has gone down.

 

The Fusion should not be compared to the Prius, it belongs with the Sonata, Accord and Camry.

Ford's C-Max matches well in size and features to the Prius, however seems targeted wrongly at the Vee, since it's wheelbase and cargo are more that of the regular Prius. However, their MPG, even with the BS figures do not top that model so they pick the argument they think they can win.

 

I think big reason so many people like Prius is have to look hard to find any evidence of a hybrid battery: It's so well tucked away.

Midsize sedan buyers have expectations of a big trunk: most will look in Accord Hybrid trunk, see the big battery and say .... ah ... not for me (us). But same is true with Camry, Fusion, etc...

 

Software updates are not linked to battery replacement. 06-09 Civic Hybrid owners (myself included) got a recall notice to update the software. It's just: if you're getting a new battery and you haven't got the update as yet, step one is the software update. That said: I'd suspect at least 50% of battery replacements are not through Honda:

Post-update one trait many owners notice is an amazing reluctance for the car to throw codes, regardless of battery condition. And both the dealerships and corporate Honda are very adept at stonewalling owners with ailing batteries. I guess that's one reason I'm here.

 

actually software updates are related to battery replacement. It's software that prevents the battery from being over used and then dying prematurely. That extra bit of battery use was what aloud the Honda to get such high mileage - that it got into the CA carpool lanes driving solo. The software upgrade will limit battery use, while providing lower mileage and thus it will last longer. You can't have one without the other.
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Welp, Honda built IMA and the failures happened in droves. We'll see about this Sport Hybrid over the years. At this point, I'll take a Honda over a Toyota even if conventional.

Sat again in a spankin new Camry Hybrid while having radio replaced under warranty in Prius, get flabbergasted over that grossly offset steering wheel. Appalling.

 

Well our '06 still has original battery, and new software. Think we're beating a dead horse here...

 

Appropos of Accord and C-MAX,

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/09/15/honda-succeeds-where-ford-failed.aspx

 

It is still unknown in Honda will succeed. All we have are the sticker numbers. There hasn't been reviews yet where the NA version has been driven. The Japanese Accord hybrid appears to live up to expectations, but we still have to see if it meet the sticker with owners here.

 

The plugin version is out. They are the same car except for smaller battery pack. If indications are correct, when used as non-plugin, the HAPI has been getting 45-49 mpg on the freeway from non-hypermilers. One magazine hypermiler got 59 mpg on that thing.

So this is not Ford from early indications.

 

how would we know? There isn't a universe of HAPI owners accross the country reporting mileage

Compare Side-by-Side
0 reports on the government site, compared to 5 on the fusion energi (they have both been around about the same amount of time) and a noisy 82 reporters of the fusion hybrid. Until drivers get these cars in cold weather states in cold weather, how would we know that they won't have the same complaints of winter mileage. Through august honda has sold less than 300 of these phevs, less than half of what ford sold in august alone, and 9% of the volts sold in august alone. Until they get some hybrids out there to customers, its hard for me to believe that this beast will get 6 more mpg than the camry hybrid in the real world.

 

At least we know from a few forum reports that they CAN get summer driving at or around EPA mpg. Can we even say that about the Fusion or C-Max? The fact that Fusion is not changing their numbers make me even more pissed.

 

Yes we have reports of people exceeding the fusion mileage, even on that fuel economy.gov report with 53 mpg. If you drive like the epa 2 cycle test at 70 degrees you will greatly exceed the rated mpg, but no one but wayne gerdes drives like that. We also have a 29 on that report, probably a car with bigger than 17" wheels and something wrong with it or the driver. YMMV and EPA is not the real world.

Reports from a few magazine writers are often wrong. Just wait for the numbers to come out.

 

One source is Honda Accord Plug-in Forum | Accord Plugin Forum and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Car news .... but the site hardly has any activity.

I'm seeing So much confusion over the Accord Hybrid vs. Accord Plug-in. Mention Accord Hybrid and first words out of some mouths is .... 'oh that thing costs $40k'. ....

Duh, no, the Accord Hybrid is not even priced yet. 'You' are talking about the Accord Plug-in. Big diff between 6.7 kWh battery and 1.3 kWh

 

Give it a year to prove itself before we go believing the same media that told us Fusion Hybrid & C-Max was 47 mpg too. The same media keeps saying my Prius V gets only 40 mpg, yet my lifetime now after 1+ years and 20k+ miles is 47+ MPG. (48.8 mpg if you want to believe the computer! - LOL)