   2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Simon Hill
The mid-size sedan segment is hotly contested, representing substantial volume for both the top players and also-rans alike. Here in Canada the heavy hitters include the Hyundai Sonata in fourth place, Toyota Camry in third, Honda Accord in second, and Ford Fusion at the top of the charts.
For buyers who want their mid-size sedan with green credentials and top-shelf fuel economy, Hyundai and Toyota both offer hybrid versions of their popular mid-size sedans, while Ford offers not only a conventional hybrid version of its Fusion but also a plug-in hybrid version (the Fusion Energi) that offers extended electric-only speed and range. Honda, however, was apparently scared off the mid-size hybrid market following the poor reception given its Accord Hybrid of 2003–2007, and since then hasn’t offered a hybrid version of it’s brisk-selling Accord at all. Until now.
In an interesting twist, rather than introduce a conventional hybrid first Honda has chosen to jump back into the fray with a plug-in hybrid version of its well-received ninth-generation Accord, promising a conventional hybrid version at a later date. The Accord Plug-in has been on sale in select markets in the U.S. for several months, and recently appeared in Canada on a test-market basis. Having already driven and reviewed its one and only direct competitor, the Ford Fusion Energi, I was interested to see how the electron-enabled Accord would stack up.
It certainly gets off to a promising start, because the new Accord has a lot of good things going for it, and they’re pretty much all accounted for in the hybrid version of the car. Outside, there’s little difference between the Accord Plug-in Hybrid and the regular car, save for the addition of a charge port, several “Hybrid” badges, some blue-tinted bling across the grill and around the headlights, a rear spoiler, and 17-inch forged aluminum wheels with aerodynamic plastic covers. These look quite good from a distance, but somewhat less so up close.
  2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid. Click image to enlarge |
Inside, the hybridized Accord boasts most of the goodies from the top-end Touring trim, with couple of notable exceptions including the lack of a power moonroof, and the inclusion of some unique upholstery: Where the Touring trim gets leather, the Plug-in Hybrid gets environmentally-responsible Bio-Fabric cloth upholstery made from plant-based materials. My teenage daughter liked the fuzzy feel of the seats, but remarked that “If you put little kids back here it’s going to get really dirty looking,” a comment that mirrored my own concerns about the light grey interior (currently the only colour on offer). I do prefer the Accord Plug-in’s cloth seats to the unconvincing faux-leather seats in the higher-trim Prius models, but I wonder why Japanese marketing folks assume that just because a customer might want to burn less fossil fuel, they are automatically against the idea of leather seats? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that cows fart methane, which is bad for the environment, but then why does Honda wrap the steering wheel in leather? At any rate I think Ford has an advantage here because you can get the Fusion Hybrid and Energi with leather upholstery.
