Honda Accord Hybrid Earns Spot on 2019 Wards 10 Best Engines
The two-motor hybrid powertrain that underpins the Honda Accord Hybrid has been named to the 2019 Wards 10 Best Engines list. WardsAuto called the Accord Hybrid “one very smooth operator.”
The family-friendly sedan is certainly not like most other hybrids, and certainly not just a regular Accord into which a hybrid powertrain has been haphazardly shoehorned. It combines a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine with an electric propulsion motor to deliver an impressive 212 total system horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque.
The combustion engine’s 40 percent thermal efficiency alone is remarkable, but so is the second motor that helps the car operate without the need for a conventional automatic transmission. Deceleration selectors replace the paddle shifters that would normally be found on non-hybrid Accords to provide drivers with more control over braking power and energy regeneration.
Do the Research: Check out the Honda Accord’s specs
Nearly all of WardsAuto’s judges were able to achieve 40 mpg in their test drives behind the wheel of the 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid, but what especially impressed them was the snappy power delivery to the front wheels — 212 horsepower is more than what most hybrids in that price range offer.
Today’s modern hybrid cars also tend to take on more than they can handle. They must often change between electric, hybrid, or combustion-only propulsion, all the while accounting for other settings like normal, sport, and economy driving modes.
“But the operation is all very seamless, quite, amazingly responsive and affordable,” wrote Tom Murphy, WardsAuto editor, adding that the Accord Hybrid “[made] believers out of even our staunchest hybrid skeptics.”
No wonder it’s not the car’s first time on the list.
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