Honda Accord Sport Hybrid 2015 Review

Honda Accord Sport Hybrid
Road Test

Honda’s only family-sized hybrid is much more technologically refined than any of its predecessors – and comes replete with latest-generation luxury and safety equipment. But there’s some discomfort with the company asking customers to pay $58,990 (plus on-road costs) for the privilege. Especially when there are plenty of blue-chip premium-class alternatives – including some more prestigious hybrids – out there for the taking...

If you set your new mid-size sedan budget somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 you’d have a swag of prestige cars to choose from. Whether you wanted a Mercedes-Benz C-Class Mercedes, a BMW 3 Series, an Audi A4 or a Lexus ES there’d be something in there for you.

Or you could buy a Honda Accord Sport Hybrid. Just.

If it was ever suspected that the one-time aspirant to the premium class was lacking self-confidence, there’s little sign of that in its latest top-shelf Accord. Although it may incorporate the brand’s latest petrol-electric technology the Honda hybrid – at nearly $60,000 – is as demanding in its insistence for premium-class credibility as it is breathtakingly expensive.

It is possible, for example, to buy a Lexus ES 300h (hybrid) for $2500 more than Honda’s only family-sized hybrid. In fact, the ES’ smaller brother, the IS 300h hybrid, is only a grand or so less than the Honda, and is within a whisker of the Accord’s 4.6L/100km economy (4.9L/100km).

That’s not to mention the hordes of premium turbo-diesels (Volkswagen's woes notwithstanding) out there that claim better fuel and CO2 figures than the petrol-electric Accord.

These are things that any prospective Accord hybrid buyer should contemplate as they mull over the undoubted technological weight behind the new Honda, and how it rates against its competitors – hybrid or not.

Whether you are a would-be planet-saver or merely trying to contain your annual fuel expenditure, the Accord, for all its claimed economy, isn’t going to change your world – or anyone else’s —significantly.

Our test car didn’t make anything like the claimed fuel consumption. On test the Accord Hybrid averaged 6.4L/100km which we found to be a pretty realistic figure for a regular owner putting their car to regular use. This figure was consistent over an extended test period, including our comparison test with the Toyota Camry hybrid in July this year.

All this isn’t meant to demean the car, or what Honda engineers have achieved. However you look at it, the Accord Hybrid is a classy effort.

From the immediate upmarket impression to the packaging, to the driving experience, there’s plenty to like. Make no mistake, the Honda – as it should be, given the premium asked – is clearly a generation ahead of any level of Camry hybrid in terms of refinement, style and equipment.

The cabin is pretty sumptuous, with heaps of all-round passenger space and a pleasing quality to the fit and finish that gives some insight into how Honda management sees the car.

The Accord Hybrid offers generous level of standard equipment with standard touchscreen (not particularly intuitive to operate) sat-nav, adaptive LED headlights, a sunroof, dual-zone climate control, leather trim with eight-way power-adjustable front seats, premium 360-watt audio, and 18-inch alloy wheels shod with 235/45-series tyres.

On top of that, electronic safety aids include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, auto high-beam, multi-angle reversing camera and six airbags in addition to the usual roll call of active and passive safety technology. Active noise control – first seen in Honda's now-defunct Legend – works on keeping an already quiet cabin even quieter.

About the only packaging compromise is in the boot which, though it quotes a reasonable 421-litre load capacity – achieved by including the 34-litre underfloor well that that would normally be occupied by a spare wheel – is actually pretty limited, largely because of the position of the lithium-ion battery pack behind the rear seat which makes it impossible to factor-in a load-through facility.

If you suffer a flat tyre in an Accord Hybrid, you’ll need to wield the repair kit that replaces the spare wheel.

The hybrid drive system has been discussed ad nauseam but to put it into a nutshell, the Accord Hybrid’s intelligent Multi-Mode Drive is a full-blown system that enables the car to operate in full electric mode, full petrol mode, or a combination of both via two electric motors that mimic a CVT transmission and play a vital role in controlling the petrol and electric energy pathways to power the car, or charge the battery pack.

The engine is a high-tech Atkinson cycle 2.0-litre four-cylinder, smaller than the Camry’s (also Atkinson cycle) 2.5-litre, and contributes 105kW/165Nm to the total 146kW/307Nm power output. The smaller size ostensibly means more efficiency but it does take a toll in NVH where it can be heard whirring away much of the time when the car is being driven in traffic. The larger-capacity Camry engine is quieter...

Typically, there’s nothing to be learned when it comes to driving the Accord Hybrid. Other than the ability to activate a “B” mode that more aggressively applies electric-motor braking to charge the battery and a choice of displays indicating real-time activities of the hybrid system it’s all pretty normal. We found it best to leave it in drive mode and allow the Accord to think for itself. The driver can also monitor the state of the charge in the battery pack while keeping an eye on the conventional fuel gauge.

Acceleration is brisk in both urban and country environments as the electric motor’s torque muscles into the mix to help keep the Accord out of trouble. It’s no surging powerhouse, but there’s never any feeling that it’s underpowered either, even if the aforementioned CVT-induced petrol-engine fuss can get a bit intrusive.

In terms of road behaviour, the Honda benefits from various suspension mods including some lighter components that help balance out the rearward weight shift brought about by the battery pack location. At 1642kg it’s heavier (by about 70kg) than its conventional VTi-L four-cylinder sibling, but still feels balanced and the relatively quick steering helps it point with decent accuracy. If there’s a downside, it’s that the ride is a bit firmer, although we’d not say it’s at all uncomfortable.

In all the Accord Sport Hybrid is a very pleasant car to live with. The fact it’s a hybrid is more of an icing on the cake than a defining aspect – although if you want the complete luxury experience you should probably look at the 206kW/339Nm V6L that consumes exactly twice as much fuel and outputs a bit more than twice the CO2 (217g/km against 107g/km) – but is $7000 cheaper.

That’s an unfortunate bottom line for the Accord Sport Hybrid. It’s wise to think about what similarly-priced contenders in the premium marketplace – hybrid or turbo-diesel – come close to, or even better, its economy and emissions claims.

2015 Honda Accord Sport Hybrid specifications:
Price: $58,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid
Output: 105kW/165Nm (146kW/307Nm combined)
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 4.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 107g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

Also consider:
>> Lexus ES 300h Luxury ($62,500 plus ORCs)
>> Toyota Camry Hybrid Atara SL ($40,440 plus ORCs)