2014 Honda Accord Plug In Hybrid Review and Road Test 

Honda rates the battery pack at 4.6kWh usable capacity in the Plug-In. This is done to extend the life of the battery as complete charge/discharge cycles are bad for most battery chemistries. The usable capacity is essentially in the middle of the battery's capacity window so it will never be either "full" or "empty". This is a usable capacity of about 68% or so and is largely similar to what the Volt does with its battery (16.5kWh 10.8 usable). The Fusion Energi on the other hand has a usable capacity of 7.2kWh (of a total 7.6 as you mentioned), or about 60% higher and it has the a higher discharge rate which is why it drives differently. The Ford battery is almost completely used in a complete charge/discharge cycle and has the possibility of "wearing" faster. On the same road in the same climate the Fusion has a real world driving range that is 60-70% longer than the Accord even though the Accord is slightly more efficient. This is down to the size of the battery as well as some efficiency differences at varying speeds.

Alex on Autos Yes but in real world it's not quite those numbers: if I fully drain the Accord PHEV battery I get consistently max 3.8 kwH charge. Diff must be remaining battery charge for HEV mode but it won't go below that even if you try to drain more by driving super slow. Second in my testing I didn't see 60-70% more EV range with the Fusion. For me it was more similar what C&D got (just 1-2 mile difference). But reason for that is most likely that I'm able to get consistently 18-20 miles by only switching manually to EV mode when I don't need more than 2 bars of energy. Takes bit more work but I couldn't get that with Fusion but I had only limited time to test EV range there.

The Prius does use the gasoline engine for engine braking, but the manner in which it uses it is very different from the Accord. In the Prius the energy is almost all mechanically directed from the wheels to the engine. The Prius is primarily a parallel hybrid although it can operate in limited manners as a serial hybrid. This means that engine braking and the regen braking feel still changes slightly. When the battery is full MG2 and MG1 work together to spin the engine, but in this configuration at least 80% of the power is mechanically transmitted. With the Accord, 100% of the power is sent electronically, so regen braking still feels the same but the power goes to the generator unit to spin the engine. It's quite a novel twist.

The 13 EV miles would help boost your overall MPGs up to maybe 60-65 MPG overall from 45MPG(ish). This is the same idea going on in the Prius plug in.

I am a bit split about which one should I choose..the hybrid or the plug-in version. As I said earlier, I am doing around 120miles/day commute from zip 10467 to 12553 via Thruway or Bear Mountain's Route 9W. The main goal is to save gas and in the meantime have the reliability and...torque, of course. You advice, please. Thanks again.

***** In my opinion, the plug-in only makes sense if there is an HOV or carpool benefit. While you may save money some day, it won't be any time soon.

So, what you suggestion is?

***** go for the hybrid. Getting a plugin might take awhile to see a return in savings. Just my guess though.

That is the trouble with "city" MPG numbers. The MPG test cycle doesn't really include that much idling and slow traffic. In general hybrids would give you the best fuel economy in this type of situation but the 4cylinder Accord does quite well also.

Hi, is it good honda accord plug in hybrid? I want to buy it, do you recommend me buy it?

It is 59 miles each way starting at 1,100 feet, going up to 2,200 ft then down to sea level. There's a mix of mountain highway, freeway, 12 or so miles of city driving and some moderate traffic. Right before the office there's another 800 ft mill to climb before going back to sea level again.

simrdown mon Yeah US has great prices. A car like this i would want not used...but the price is too crazy.