Earlier this week, Honda Motor Corporation announced it will pull the plug on the gasoline-electric Accord Hybrid. I say good riddance.

If there is ever a car without a compelling reason to exist, it's the Honda Accord Hybrid. It probably sounded like a good idea when it was on the drawing boards: Be the first gas-electric hybrid designed to maximize performance rather than gas mileage.

So when the Accord Hybrid made its debut back in 2004, it was outfitted with a six-cylinder internal combustion engine and an electric assist motor. The combination generated 255 horsepower, and did it in a fashion that's clean enough to be rated by the EPA as a Level II Super Ultra Low Emissions (SULEV II) vehicle.

The problem? 255 horsepower isn't all that much power. For the same money, you can get a non-hybrid Volkswagen Passat 3.6L that generates 280 horsepower. And guess what? The Passat is also a SULEV II-rated vehicle. A better performance alternative to the Accord Hybrid can even be found in Honda's own backyard, in the form of the 258-horspower Acura TL sedan.

Since the Accord Hybrid was not designed to maximize gas mileage, it's fuel efficiency is predictably unremarkable. Under the revised EPA standards, it gets a combined city and highway average of 27 miles per gallon. The four-cylinder Accord does almost as well at 25 miles per gallon (26 if you opt for a manual transmission). In California, the four-cylinder Accord also meets EPA's SULEV II rating - and you'll save about $10,000 off the sticker price. For another $5,000 less, you can get a non-hybrid Honda Civic that significantly beats the Accord Hybrid in the gas mileage category.

Evidently, all of this has not gone unnoticed by the buying public. Honda sold a mere 439 Accord hybrids in the United States last month. By contrast, Toyota Motor Corp. sold 24,009 of its less-expensive and gas mileage-leading Prius model during the same month. But an even closer competitor to the Accord Hybrid is Toyota's Camry Hybrid. Unlike, the Accord, Toyota opted to maximize gas mileage for the Camry Hybrid - and with a combined city and highway average of 34 mpg under the EPA's new standard (39 under the old standard), it trounces the Accord Hybrid in fuel efficiency. Moreover, the sticker price on the Toyota version is $26,820 - about $5,000 less than the Accord Hybrid. Even Ford's Escape Hybrid SUV gets a combined average of 32 mpg under EPA's new standard - far better than the Accord Hybrid.

So, where does this leave the Honda Accord Hybrid? Out the door, evidently. Honda doesn't make too many mistakes, but the Accord Hybrid represents an unremarkable application and execution of hybrid technology. It excels in neither performance, gas mileage, nor emissions control. Honda made the right move when it decided to pull the plug on the vehicle.

Back Seat Driving, June 7, 2007


2005 Honda Accord Hybrid