We looked at the Accord Hybrid before we bought our HCH2, but I really didn't like it. We're big guys and could've used the extra space, but 34mpg just wasn't acceptable. Besides, why pay $8K over the 4-cyl. EX to get exactly the same mileage?

No offense intended, but I thought that introducing a negative-noise generator to cancel the 3-cylinder noise was a patch on top of a patch, and a stupid idea. If they'd designed it as a 4-cylinder hybrid with about 45mpg, I would've bought one.

I've never owned a car with more than 140hp, so the 4-cylinder would've been plenty. I just think that Honda totally misjudged their market on this one. I'll be interested to see how many of the "power" hybrids the other companies sell.

Also, let's not forget that the current Accord design is a bit long in the tooth.

HAH: 34mpg, 253hp, $30,990
HA4: 34mpg, 166hp, $22,450 (EX)
HA6: 29mpg, 244hp, $27,300 (EX)

 

Gonavy - sorry man, lighten up, I was just having a little fun with your accelerate at 2000 rpm comment. I didn't realize that everyone was so serious around here. I'll go crawl back under my rock.

 

The 4-cylinder engine is too wide to fit it, the tranny, and IMA under the hood. The V6 is actually more compact in the transverse (3cyl wide vs 4). So there was not way the existing car or components could do the job for a 4cyl HAH without a bottoms-up respin. Like you said, the design is getting old, so there is hope sooner rather than later...

IMO Honda did the best they could and really thought they could hit up the larger family sedan market...but they kinda missed. Horrendous marketing of the HAH (as in almost none) didn't help either. Tons of threads hre bat that around.

I totally understand how many could (and did) decide the HAH wasn't for them.

 

Can Honda develop a 2-litter V-6 engine then?

 

not very likely, and that doesn't necessarily solve the fit issue. The smallest 6cyl I've seen was the Ford 2.4L in the Countour and Probe.

When the Accord gets its full respin (2008?) there will almost definitely be a 4cyl hybrid, and it might even be the 'preferred' drivetrain. It will probably be a different engine than the existing series, though. Others here are far better versed in the Honda engines than I am.

 

The smallest V-6 they had was 2.5L.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_J_engine

 

I wonder how much of the FE savings on the Accord hybrid vs. regular gas engine are due to the extra features of the car: auto top and active management of switching between 3 and 6 cyl. (And maybe the AC system running off the electric system rather than the gas, as long as the hybrid system is charged.)


I think it might be *slightly* short-sighted to think of the Accord as a $33k car alone, until you price out what a comparably-equipped Prius or Camry would cost. There's not a whole lot of difference in the price between a leathered-up fully equipped model of those two, vs. the Accord.


So it becomes a question of - on a dollar-for-dollar compare - would you want the 4cyl Camry (which doesn't seem to be getting glowing reviews overall) or the Accord, for the same $$.

(Oh and I forgot - do people REALLY pay full-retail for an Accord Hybrid? And how many people have to tack on upward "market adjustments" to get a new Prius)

So a new Accord might be more like a $27-28k car, on a good deal.

 

What DOES a comparably equipped Prius or Camry go for? I tried to price the TCH on Toyota's website, but it would only say some of the options are available and to see a dealer for pricing. One example is leather. The website would let me select leather, but didn't give a price for it. But in the fine print, it said to contact the dealer for the price. Did anyone get a TCH with navigation, leather, XM, etc...?

 

When my wife and I were car shopping in April, we looked at an '07 4cyl Camry which we could have bought for $26,300. We then went and drove the Accord Hybrid, which a) we liked better and b) the dealer was asking for $27,700. Buying the Accord was a no-brainer especially factoring in the Federal tax credit.

 

These are just general numbers (in North Carolina) but the Prius I priced out with leather, satellite, tinted windows (which I wish Honda would do at the dealer!) etc was just a little over $32k

Then I tried it with the Camry hybrid and managed to "spend" $30,200


Makes the 26k for my Accord (27 if you include the HondaCare extended warranty and 3-year-contract on XM) look not so bad afterall!