New 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid

[Eddie Sessum]

I also agree space is more important than weight if it was 100lb or so weight would matter

[Toz]

The lack of a fold down rear seat is a real bummer

[B25Nut]

The lack of a fold down rear seat is a real bummer

 

That, and it still looks like an Accord. It will be, however, another big step forward in the exceptance of hybrids by the general public. I love to see innovation like this. I hope the design ends up to be durable.

[Toz]

 

That, and it still looks like an Accord. It will be, however, another big step forward in the exceptance of hybrids by the general public. I love to see innovation like this. I hope the design ends up to be durable.

yup pretty much that thing there!

 

However the lack of folding rear seats is why I never considered a Pre-13 Ford hybrid either

[KLH]

I'm so happy I bought the FFH over the HAH. Two screens, no folding back seats, boring styling, and higher price were the deal breakers for me.

[murphy]

It wasn't easy, and there was no pass through, but the rear seats on my 2010 Fusion Hybrid could be folded down. All it took was a long screwdriver to push the latch releases from inside of the trunk.

[hybridbear]

yup pretty much that thing there!

 

However the lack of folding rear seats is why I never considered a Pre-13 Ford hybrid either

If the trunk is designed where the load floor is flat and deep then it isn't much of an issue. For example, the TCH doesn't have folding rear seats. But its trunk doesn't have the funny ledge that the FFH trunk does. We often have to fold down one side of the rear seats for hauling stuff because I don't want to set stuff on the leather so I prefer to fold down the seat. But if we had bought the TCH this wouldn't have been an issue because everything would have fit in the trunk.

 

Everyone's circumstances are different, but at least for us there hasn't been one occasion yet where we couldn't have gotten by with the trunk size/shape of the TCH with no fold down seats compared to the FFH with fold down seats. In fact, in our comparison shopping the odd shape of the FFH trunk was listed on our list of Cons of the FFH because we knew it would make it difficult to load the trunk.

 

If you're consistently hauling long objects then a fold down rear seat is a necessity. But if you aren't then it isn't a very big deal. It is especially not a big deal if you have multiple vehicles and can use the other vehicle to haul long objects.

[acdii]

You aint seen nuttin until you saw what I hauled in the FFH. Several planes, with 7' wing spans, through the trunk and up past the front seat.

 

However, check out what I haul in my Flex. Aint no way you can haul this in any sedan!

 

 

 

The plane in the middle barely fit in the F150 bed, and that was with the rudder and horizontals removed. Here its all assembled. Sadly I trashed the Prop on Sunday when it struck an object I didnt see during taxi tests. Destroyed an $80 prop. :(

[aaronj1159]

Yeah, fold down seats are a must for me (or I'd have to buy a roof rack, which I may still do - but I'm not FORCED to). I'm a snowboarder and travel to the slopes at least 10-15 times a winter. Without the fold down seats I'd be forced to buy and use a roof rack. The only reason I'd get a rack for my FFH is because I'll occasionally have a few passengers and need the seats too, but that's not too common.

[hybridbear]

Here is another reviewer who instantly got good gas mileage in the Accord Hybrid, about 54 MPG US.

A quick 80-km drive on secondary highways and back roads through York Region revealed genuine fuel economy. With speeds never exceeding 80 km/h, my driving partner and I achieved 4.3 L/100 km in the 1,617-kilogram (base model) car (more impressive since our combined weight exceeded 200 kg).

They were driving in slower speed conditions that could probably yield 54+ MPG in the FFH as well when driven carefully, but most car reviewers never get near those numbers because they go from car to car so often that they don't know the nuances of each car like owners can.

 

Either way, it's very interesting to see how many journalists are quickly getting great MPG numbers from the new HAH and how rare that is. Even the Prius, considered by many to be an "easy" hybrid to drive because you can't get bad gas mileage in it, didn't return such good numbers to journalists. Now the question is: how much money is Honda slipping these writers under the table for this good press? ;) :busted:

Edited October 17, 2013 by hybridbear

[hybridbear]

Consumer Reports got poor gas mileage in the HAH. While most other journalists have gotten better MPGs with the HAH than they did with the FFH, Consumer Reports only got 38 MPG in the HAH.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/10/2014-honda-accord-hybrid-first-drive-review/index.htm

[hybridbear]

This article from Motor Trend has a good technical analysis of how the HAH powertrain operates

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/alternative/1310_2014_honda_accord_hybrid_touring_first_test/

[KLH]

I've owned a Honda CRV for the past 10 years. I still own a Honda Pilot. If the HAH had a one-piece 8"+ screen and fold-down rear seats, I probably would have purchased one... but it doesn't. So that opened the door for me to buy the FFH.

FWIW, my FFH has exceeded my expectations. I hope that HAH buyers at least test-drive the FFH. I bet that they'll come to the same conclusion that I did...

[corncobs]

This article from Motor Trend has a good technical analysis of how the HAH powertrain operates

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/alternative/1310_2014_honda_accord_hybrid_touring_first_test/

Even better is the end result of their test drives. Not quite EPA as far as I can tell.

[KLH]

... But the HAH is... ugly...

[hybridbear]

Has anyone test driven one yet?

 

A local Honda dealer has one in stock. I don't know if I'll be able to get over there to test drive it though before it sells.

[Eddie Sessum]

Havent even seen one but my guess is that first one is presold and they wouldnt let you drive it. Unless its a demo for them to make orders from.

[KLH]

Has anyone test driven one yet?

I don't mean to be pig-headed, but why bother test driving a HAH? I highly doubt that anything good can come from this... If you like the HAH, you'll get buyers-remorse. If you don't like the HAH, you'll sound like you're trying to justify buying the FFH (to those that like the HAH).

 

The HAH is simply another current generation hybrid. While I'm sure it does a few things better and a few things worse (like splitting the screen), I bet driving the HAH feel pretty similar to the FFH. There really shouldn't be any new ground for FFH owners.

 

Now if the HAH came with illuminated sill plates standard, that'd be something...

Edited November 6, 2013 by KLH

[B25Nut]

One of my goals in life is to be as informed as possible on anything I'm really interested in, and this includes hearing both sides of an issue. I want to promote hybrids and in the process I don't want to sound biased toward one manufacture. If Toyota or Honda have a feature on one of their hybrids that has an advantage over Ford's, I want to know about it first hand. I tell people to check out the hybrids from all three manufacturers, and let their personal preferences determine their choice. Of course, I'll point out to them first the many areas where the FFH has an advantage.

My local Honda dealer won't have a HAH until the end of the month. I'm looking forward to driving it since they are getting the Touring trim. I want to find out how distracting it is to have the sound of the engine being out of sync with accelerator inputs. No matter what impressions I get from the test, it will not produce buyer's remorse. The style of the FFH and folding rear seats still trump all other factors.

[hybridbear]

I don't mean to be pig-headed, but why bother test driving a HAH? I highly doubt that anything good can come from this... If you like the HAH, you'll get buyers-remorse. If you don't like the HAH, you'll sound like you're trying to justify buying the FFH (to those that like the HAH).

 

The HAH is simply another current generation hybrid. While I'm sure it does a few things better and a few things worse (like splitting the screen), I bet driving the HAH feel pretty similar to the FFH. There really shouldn't be any new ground for FFH owners.

 

Now if the HAH came with illuminated sill plates standard, that'd be something...

I would not have buyers remorse even if I think the HAH is superior because it was not available in October 2012 when we bought our FFH and thus it wasn't an option.

 

One of my goals in life is to be as informed as possible on anything I'm really interested in, and this includes hearing both sides of an issue. I want to promote hybrids and in the process I don't want to sound biased toward one manufacture. If Toyota or Honda have a feature on one of their hybrids that has an advantage over Ford's, I want to know about it first hand. I tell people to check out the hybrids from all three manufacturers, and let their personal preferences determine their choice. Of course, I'll point out to them first the many areas where the FFH has an advantage.

My local Honda dealer won't have a HAH until the end of the month. I'm looking forward to driving it since they are getting the Touring trim. I want to find out how distracting it is to have the sound of the engine being out of sync with accelerator inputs. No matter what impressions I get from the test, it will not produce buyer's remorse. The style of the FFH and folding rear seats still trump all other factors.

Like B25Nut I want to understand it. As can be seen from all my posts about understanding how the FFH powertrain works, I am very interested in understanding how these cars work. I want to drive the HAH to be able to see how Honda's engineers built their car to make it supposedly better than the Prius, TCH & FFH. More than anything else I want to understand the HAH powertrain to see if its design is superior to the approach taken by Ford or by Toyota. All three systems are very similar in components but all three systems appear to use the similar components in very different ways based on the computer programming. I want to further understand the similarities and differences to see which system works best.

[lolder]

It seems like the HAH gets it's good numbers from a very low single speed overdrive-like direct gear ratio at cruising speeds. Other than that it's like a Volt where the ICE driven generator and HVB drive the wheels. A synchronized clutch disconnects the ICE from the direct gear drive. The ICE may be able to operate as an Atkinson or an Otto cycle when high power is required.

[acdii]

I was behind a new HA Sport. Its underpants were exposed. If you notice a lot of cars now have a skirt under the rear bumper to hide the exhaust and suspension, the HA does not. Looked like it was missing something.

[KLH]

I would not have buyers remorse even if I think the HAH is superior because it was not available in October 2012 when we bought our FFH and thus it wasn't an option.

I guess I just exposed my own insecurity as I've had my FFH less than a month.

 

D'Oh! Carry on. Don't mind the new guy...

:facepalm:

[acdii]

I had a TCH, and after owning a few Fusions, I would never get another TCH, which means the Hah would have to be one hell of a car in order for me to get one. So far from what I have seen, not impressed enough to even bother glancing at one on the lot. Like the Mazda 6, it sounds good on paper, but the moment that engine started I walked away. Even BD with fouled plugs was better than that!

[hybridbear]

I guess I just exposed my own insecurity as I've had my FFH less than a month.

 

D'Oh! Carry on. Don't mind the new guy...

:facepalm:

I understand. We started looking in March of 2012 and at that point the new 2012 TCH was the best hybrid sedan out there. We almost bought one, but then I started reading articles and reviews of the 2013 FFH and we decided to hold off and not buy anything until we could compare the 2013 FFH to the 2012 TCH and see which we liked better. In October 2012 we test drove the first FFH to arrive in Minnesota. The dealer let us do an overnight test drive so I picked it up one evening after work and brought it home. My wife and I both took the next day off so we could spend the day analyzing the two cars. In the morning we drove around a bit in the FFH and then took our other car to go pick up a TCH to test drive. We did about a 2 hour test drive in the TCH and then brought it back to the dealer and did more driving in the FFH. That evening we brought the FFH back to its dealer.

 

We had long lists of items to compare and investigate with each car. We really wanted to be sure about our purchase. In the end, the FFH was the clear winner. It's more comfortable, more stylish, more efficient and was less expensive when compared to the TCH.