Early next year, the 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid, and the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid will put Honda into the mid-size hybrid sedan category. Honda did offer an Accord Hybrid from 2004 to 2007, but that model used a more powerful hybrid system and didn’t offer the pure-electric running that the new Accord Hybrid will. It was also tuned for power, not for fuel efficiency.
The new version of the Honda Accord Hybrid uses a 2 motor system. The first serves as a generator to charge the battery and is attached to a 4-cylinder atkinson cycle engine. The second electric motor powers the front wheels. The hybrid system can run in three ways – all electric mode, as a series hybrid with the gasoline engine turning the generator to power the electric motor, or as a parallel hybrid with the engine and motor together contributing torque. Total power output is 196 horsepower and 226 lb-ft of torque. Maximum electric-motor output is 166hp.
The gasoline engine is completely belt-less – the water pump, power steering, air-conditioning compressor and friction-brake servo are all powered electrically.
The 2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid has not yet received it’s EPA ratings, but Honda says it will do 15 miles of pure electric driving.
The lithium ion battery pack is mounted vertically at the front of the trunk against the rear seat back. The 6.7 kWh battery pack qualifies buyers of the Accord Plug-in Hybrid for a $3750 federal income tax credit. The Accord Plug-in Hybrid will also qualify for single occupant HOV access in California.
The 2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid will be rolled out to select dealers in certain regions starting in early 2013. The non-plugin version will follow a few months later and will be available nationally. Both versions of the Accord Hybrid will by built in Sayama, Japan.
