Plug-in hybrids simply make sense. After all, if you’re going to electrify a gasoline-powered car, why not give it the ability to run
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
as far as possible on cheaper battery power before the internal combustion engine is forced to kick in? The ability to get a $5,000, $8,000 or $8,500 government rebate from three of Canada’s largest provinces (BC, ON and QC) just for having that socket under its bodywork is another reason for wanting to plug it in.
Before you get too excited about this 2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid, mind you, it’s not yet available for mass-market sale. The new 2014 Accord Hybrid is on dealer lots as we speak, a car that I just drove and came away from extremely pleased, but this plug-in model has only been made available within select U.S. markets since last summer, Canadians only getting a little test-marketing taste.
Of
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
course, there are more important things for Honda Canada to consider than the hopes and dreams of BC Gulf Islands, Cambridge, Ontario and Sherbrooke, Quebec hippies, let alone handfuls of mainstream greenies who are willing to pay significantly more in order to do the right thing for the environment. There needs to be a good enough business case made to bring a niche model like this to market, and that means something more than just getting goodwill points for having another environmentally responsible image car in the lineup. Truly, unless Honda puts enough Accord Plug-in Hybrids on the road there won’t be a sizable enough impact to make that green statement anyway, which wastes the money the company might otherwise put towards another vehicle that could make an even bigger dent towards lessening our automotive environmental impact. This in mind
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
the Japanese brand’s U.S. division only managed to sell 298 Accord Plug-in Hybrids within its limited markets in 2013, so do some quick math with our approximate 90-percent smaller population in mind and Honda Canada would be lucky to push a mere 30 units out the door, which is hardly enough sales to build a business case around. But enough about philosophy, psychology, sales and marketing, what about the car?
Other than a restyled grille and front fascia, headlights excluded, plus the little charging door flap on the left front fender, the Accord Plug-in Hybrid looks much the same as the new 2014 Accord Hybrid I just tested. Honda even chose the same metallic black paint from the car’s four-colour palette (medium grey, dark blue and cream white metallic hues are also available) for both test cars, the ideal shade
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
for highlighting each model’s blue-chromed badge, grille, headlight, and trim garnishes. I happen to love the look, especially the scalloped detailing on the grille, a feature that really makes the two Accord hybrids stand out from every other car on the market. Honda adds a rear spoiler to both as well as 225/50R17 Michelin Energy Saver A/S all-season (M+S) tires wrapped around 17-inch forged alloys with aerodynamic covers featuring unorthodox star-shaped centres. The rest of each car is pure Accord from front to back, which means that it’s conservatively good looking, with nice elegant lines and a sporty stance.
Inside, the two cars are near identical as well, although this plug-in model didn’t have the top-line perforated leather upholstery and powered glass sunroof of the Touring-trimmed regular Hybrid that I just enjoyed. No problem for me, as I happen
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
to really like the winter warmth and summer coolness of cloth, and the Plug-in Hybrid’s seats seemed like they’d stand the test of time while still being plush enough for a luxury feel. What might be more important to buyers in this environmentally conscious class is their construction; they’re covered in a plant-based bio-fabric. Those seats are extremely comfortable in the Honda tradition, while front and rear roominess is excellent, just like the naturally aspirated Accord, with the same sculpted headliner to increase headroom for taller folks. Both cars have upscale interior detailing with nice soft-touch plastic dash tops, stitched leather-like soft-touch door uppers front and rear, plus the same padded treatment for the armrests, including the ones at centre. It’s a rich cabin that honestly borders on premium, the switchgear excellent in quality as well.
The
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Accord Plug-in Hybrid’s leather-wrapped four-spoke steering wheel features Honda’s usual four-way circular buttons on each upper spoke, with more buttons for audio and phone accessibility on the left lower spoke plus trip computer and cruise controls to the right. The steering wheel circles a particularly attractive primary gauge cluster featuring backlit white numerals on a black faced centrally mounted speedometer that’s unique to Accord hybrid models. It comes surrounded by bright green and blue graphics that let you know how environmentally conscious you’re driving, a maximum of five green branches lighting up at ignition shutdown to inform that you’ve been a very conscientious global citizen, or not. Various green and blue gauges complement the look while providing useful information for most of the car’s functions including graphics of the hybrid system in real-time action, while a multi-information display in the centre of the speedometer shows real-time
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
fuel economy, historical fuel economy, current range (in both EV and HV mode), and more.
Move your eyes to the satin-finished metallic trimmed centre stack and the technology theme continues, a full-colour recessed eight-inch infotainment screen at the very top, capable of being split in order to show navigation on one side and the car’s hybrid systems on the other. Just below the top display is a touchscreen for audio settings and other features, while under this is the automatic HVAC interface, a wonderfully simple system that’s easy to operate and boasts buttons that are large enough to use while wearing winter gloves. Honda’s trademark start/stop button resides to the left in a subtler deep red rather than the bright red used in sportier models, a feature that is contrasted by the bright green Econ button just left of the steering wheel, which allows reduced air conditioning output along with other functions to keep the Accord Plug-in Hybrid rolling along as efficiently
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
as possible. Back to the centre stack, the final interface on its top portion, just above a big open storage cubby filled with auxiliary, USB and 12-volt charging connectors, is for accessing the infotainment system, with separate buttons for navigation, phone, info and audio, along with Honda’s big rotating dial at centre and a few other buttons for walking through the system. It’s all intuitively designed, so it’s easy to get used to even if you’re new to this type of technology.
The big leather-wrapped and chrome trimmed lever just below on the lower console leads to the Accord Plug-in Hybrid’s biggest leap in technology, however, its drivetrain. To be clear, this isn’t the first plug-in hybrid out there; others from Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet are already available from their respective dealers, with new ones from BMW, Cadillac, Mitsubishi etcetera on the way (of course this list
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
doesn’t include the many non-hybrid electrics that are already available). If you’re familiar with Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist mild hybrid system you’ll find this new take on HEV technology refreshing, as it’s a full hybrid that allows total electric/EV mode. The system combines a 141 horsepower 2.0-litre Atkinson cycle gasoline engine with two electric motors, the first a 124-kW (166 hp) primary electric traction motor that drives the front wheels, and the second a smaller motor generator that helps to smooth the transition between gasoline and electric power; a 6.7-kW lithium ion battery pack powers the electric motors. Basically this smaller motor acts like an eCVT, or electric Continuously Variable Transmission, whereas the combustion engine assists the electric motor via a single-speed transmission when the battery is low or vehicle speed is high. Altogether the Accord Plug-in Hybrid’s power unit makes 196 horsepower and untold amounts of immediately
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
accessible torque, good enough for brisk eight-second sprints from standstill to 100km/h and strong passing power when needed.
More notable is the ability to choose to drive in hybrid mode from the beginning and EV mode later on, when you might be able to extract more mileage from electric power, or vice versa. You can also run the car in charge mode, which recharges the battery en route at the expense of a bit of extra fuel, but again the bonus is the ability to use EV mode later when you can get the most out of it. It’s a flexible drivetrain that lets you maximize the power stored in its battery pack.
As any car buff knows, the enemy of performance is excess weight, so Honda has modified the Accord Plug-in Hybrid with weight saving components like an all-aluminum
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
front subframe instead of the regular Accord’s mixed steel and aluminum unit, while an aluminum hood and aluminum rear bumper beam combine for more mass reduction. Despite the diet, the Accord Plug-in Hybrid adds about 180 kilos to the regular Accord, although this wasn’t noticeable off the line or through the corners where the car felt agile as far as midsize family sedans go, but maybe not quite as nimble as the regular Accord (which could come down to its less grippy lower rolling resistance tires). Additionally, the Plug-in Hybrid’s regenerative brakes are strong when needed while they feel more normal than most regenerative braking systems.
Being that the car isn’t available in Canada there’s no use talking about pricing, although we can guess at where it might need to come in if Honda eventually chooses to bring it here. One of its main competitors, the similarly sized and shaped
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Ford Fusion Energi, is priced at $40,449 including its $1,550 freight and dealer-prep charge. Considering how much three of our provincial governments are willing to take right off the top of that MSRP, the price to take an Accord Plug-in Hybrid home could be in the $32,000 to $35,000 range, and this is for a car that comes well equipped with standard proximity sensing remote entry and pushbutton ignition, navigation, a backup camera, lane departure warning, forward collision warning, and much more, plus Honda’s fabulous LaneWatch blind spot display that projects a live rearward image of your right-side blind spot onto the main infotainment screen allowing safer right lane changes.
I suppose the only negative that can be said about this car is a complaint I make for many hybrids, a small trunk without the benefit of a pass-through for longer items. The Accord Plug-in Hybrid’s trunk measures just 244 litres, which is quite a bit
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
smaller than the already abbreviated regular Accord Hybrid’s 360-litre trunk, whereas the conventionally powered Accord’s trunk measures in at 439 litres and comes with 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks.
A measurement that’s possibly of greater importance to Accord Plug-in Hybrid customers is EV range, which is good for a tad over 20 kilometres before the gasoline engine kicks in. That might not sound like very much, but compared to most hybrids which can only muster a tenth of its distance in pure electric mode and not even that if you plan on accelerating with the flow of traffic and then driving the speed limit, the Accord Plug-in can get you around your local area to do errands or for that matter to work and back again (for most peoples’ commutes). I found the 20-km estimate is quite accurate unless those miles are driven at higher speeds than the average city’s posted limits, and likewise if you’re
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
conscientious about slipping it into “B” to charge the battery on downward grades and then lightly applying the brakes to regenerate even more charge whenever possible, you’ll see its EV range extend yet further. What this means is that you can go for a very, very long time without ever having to add fuel to the gas tank if most of your driving is done in low-speed urban centres and your commute and errands can be achieved in 20 km per trip.
When it comes time to plug it in the Accord Plug-in Hybrid takes less than an hour with a 240-volt rapid charger, items that are showing up all over the place these days, while a regular 120-volt house socket will take less than three hours. That’s superb, incidentally, besting most of its contemporaries. Also impressive, the U.S. EPA rates the Accord Plug-in Hybrid at 115 MPGe (2.0 L/100km) combined city/highway when using full electric power and partial gasoline power, although just
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
below the EPA’s rating on the official government webpage is an unofficial rating from an owner that attests his car achieves 138 mpg (1.7 L/100km). And remember that EPA numbers are much more conservative than Canada’s EnerGuide system, so at least the first number can be believed. Less conservative Canadian ratings of the non-plug-in Accord Hybrid are 3.7 L/100km city, 4.0 highway and 3.8 combined, which are brilliant of course, but then again it’s easy to see the benefits of going with a plug-in if the initial cost of entry is kept within reason.
With regular unleaded nearing $1.50 per litre in many Canadian jurisdictions and most market analysts expecting that price to rise yet further in coming months and years,
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
it’s quite possible a plug-in hybrid could pay off over the duration of its lifetime. No doubt Honda Canada will want to see how well its regular Accord Hybrid sells before taking the plunge into plug-in territory, and that model is an extremely good HEV that delivered much better than average EV capability during my test. If Honda manages to bring the plug-in north of the 49th and do it for something near $40k it’ll be a mighty competitive alternative to what’s available now, and our market and environment will be made the better for it.
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