Mid-size cars are very popular in the USA, the top two cars in this segment are the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord, these two vehicles duke it out year after year for the top sales crown. In Canada, mid-size cars are not as popular, Canadians prefer small cars and CUV/SUVs, but the Accord and Camry still sell quite well.
We’ve reviewed quite a few different Accords over the last couple of years, we’ve reviewed a V6 sedan and V6 Coupe, and the 4-cylinder sedan. However, we’ve never reviewed the hybrid version of the sedan, but last week that changed when we got the keys to a 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring. The Accord Hybrid competes against hybrid versions of the Camry, Sonata, Optima, Fusion and a few others. This is quite a competitive segment, just like the non-hybrid mid-size segment.
In Canada, the 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid sedan is offered in two trims, the Accord Hybrid and Accord Hybrid Touring, with starting prices of $31,200 and $37,300 respectively.
Both trim levels come with the same engines, a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder producing 143 horsepower and an electric motor producing 180 horsepower, for a combined total output of 212 horsepower at 6,200 rpm. Power is sent to the front wheels via a Continuously Variable Transmission.
According to Honda, the Accord Hybrid should consume 4.9/5.1/5.0 L/100 km in city/highway/combined driving. In our week long review, we averaged 5.3 L/100 km with 70/30 city/highway driving, with mostly the “Econ” mode on. We did a test loop of 50/50 city/highway, and the computer showed 5.0 L/100 km. Our numbers are pretty close to Honda’s numbers, the fuel economy on the Accord Hybrid is pretty impressive.
Honda calls the hybrid system in the Accord “Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive” or iMMD. The system uses two motors and can be driven in three modes: EV Drive, Hybrid Drive, and Engine Drive. In most driving conditions, the Accord Hybrid operates in the Hybrid Drive mode, which uses the electric motor to drive the car while the gasoline engine acts as a generator to charge the battery pack. Under low load/speed, the Accord Hybrid drives in Electric Drive mode, which uses the electric motor and batteries only to propel the car. In medium to high speed driving, the Engine Drive mode is used, which uses only the gasoline engine to propel the vehicle.
There is a button for electric mode only, I personally didn’t bother putting the car manually in electric mode, I let the car’s computer decide which mode was best for driving. The Accord Hybrid also comes with an “Econ” button, which is the most efficient way to get around, but it does make the very slow and it’s not much fun driving in this mode, but you do save quite a bit of fuel in this mode. Since this is a hybrid and not a sports car, I left the car in the Econ mode most of the time.
When you do turn off the Econ mode, you can definitely feel the extra power, as the batteries give you more power, acceleration is quicker and the car feels more alive. Then there’s also a sport mode button, which gives you even more power from the batteries and the Accord Hybrid becomes quite a lot of fun. In the sport mode, the power feels more like a V6 than a 4-cylinder. However, driving in these two modes, especially sports mode, fuel economy will definitely suffer and you won’t get near the posted fuel consumption numbers, but they’ll still be better than the 4-cylinder Accord’s consumption numbers.
The Accord Hybrid comes with a CVT, which a lot of manufacturers are turning to. The Civic also has a CVT, but unlike the Civic’s CVT, the Accord Hybrid’s CVT does not have simulated gears. Because of this, the CVT feels a lot like a rubber band (a complaint a lot of reviewers have on CVTs), you keep waiting for a gear to change but it never happens. I liked the CVT on the Civic, but I don’t think I could live with the Accord Hybrid’s CVT, it just feels too much like the CVTs from a few years ago.
The transition between the different modes is seamless and you don’t really notice when the Accord Hybrid changes between modes.
The interior on the Accord Hybrid is identical to the non-hybrid, which is a pretty nice interior to begin with. With the Hybrid’s electric motors, the interior is very quiet when the gasoline engine is off, which is to be expected. The gasoline engine does make a bit of noise but it’s more noticeable because of how quiet the interior is when the electric motor is running.
The interior is very comfortable and spacious, there’s a lot of space for the front and rear occupants, with plenty of head room for most people. The trunk does lose a bit of space to the battery pack, but it’s still quite large at 382 liters. The battery pack is placed behind the rear seat, which means the rear seats can’t be folded down to access the trunk or place longer items.
Our review car was the Touring model, which means it came all the tech bells and whistles Honda offers, below is a list of all the tech, safety, and convenience features:
- Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
- Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
- Forward Collision Warning (FCW)
- Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS)
- Road Departure Mitigation (RDM)
- Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
- Advanced Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with traction control
- Anti-lock brake system (ABS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
- Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
- Auto-locking Doors
- Multi-angle Rear View Camera
- LED Headlights
- LED Taillights
- LED Daytime Running Lights
- LED Fog lights
- Auto High-Beam Headlights
- Rain-Sensing wipers
- Heated Front and Rear Seats
- Remote Engine Start
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Wireless Phone Charging
- Active Noise Control
- Hill Start Assist
- Auxiliary Input Jack
- USB Connectivity
- Navigation
- Dual-Zone Automatic Climate Control with Air-Filtration System
- Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror
The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid is a car that meets the space needs of families and also saves you quite a bit at the gas station. It looks like a normal Accord, which is a pretty handsome looking car, great for someone that doesn’t necessarily want to be known as a hybrid driver. The hybrid Accord has all the features that make the Accord sedan so popular with the added benefit of better fuel economy.
