2014 Honda Plug-In Hybrid Accord is CARB's first SULEV20 gas car

Not sure which is better, Sulev20 or AT-PZEV,but 47 mpg city and 46 mpg highway is great.

 

You're right!, according to this, PZEV is 30 milligrams.
How the EP Label Smog Score is Determined!Drive Clean - Understand the Smog Score
Smog Score* Emission Standard
NMOG + NOx (g/mile)
10 ZEV, Bin 1 0.000
9** ATPZEV, PZEV 0.030
8 SULEV, LEV2 SULEV, Bin 2 0.030
7 Bin 3 0.085
6 Bin 4 0.110
5 LEV 2 ULEV 0.125
4 LEV 2 LEV, Bin 5 0.160
3 Bin 6 , SULEV (Medium Duty Vehicle) 0.190 - 0.200
2 Bin 7 0.240
1 Bin 8, LEV 2 ULEV (MDV), LEV 1 ULEV 0.325 - 0.356
*Does not include upstream emissions.

 

IIRC the old CARB *LEV classes did not combine pollutant classes, so this question of which standard
is lower is an apples to oranges comparison.

 

Someone check the figures, but our gen III prius should easily beat this standard, as well as other cars.

Green Car Congress: California ARB LEV III Concept Targeting Fleet-Average SULEV-Level Emissions Performance from New Vehicles by MY 2022
Its a new SULEV20 standard that has

NMOG + NOx < 20 mg/mi

While the old SULEV standard has
NMOG < 20 mg/mi and NOx < 10 mg

It does not mean that SULEV vehicles are not also SULEV20 vehicles. SULEV20 allows for higher NOx emissions if NMOG is very low, but puts a lower cap on NMOG. The aditional durability might be a warranty issue (150,000 miles, versus 120,000 miles) that makes the honda the first car with a waranty for SULEV20.

 

This will be Honda's first 'full' hybrid, right? It's cool they will also have a non-plug in hybrid, but of course most will buy conventional Accords. More choices in the market is good and a lot of people like the way Honda's 'drive'. Of course we'll be hearing about how numb the hybrid steering is, blah, blah. I'll just put in earplugs

"The powrtrain uses Honda's Earth Dreams two-motor hybrid system that electrically couples a 2.0-liter iVTEC Atkinson cycle engine to a Continuously Variable Transmission. It's pretty complicated, the way the powertrain works, but we describe ithere.

The Accord PHEV has an MSRP of $39,780. Later in 2013, a non-plug-in version of the Accord Hybrid will become available"

 

It would be more interesting if it had a 40+ mile EV range rather the 10-15 miles.

25% EV and 75% SULEV vs 80% EV and 20% E-AT-PZEV.

It does seat 5 which seems to be the deal breaker for many Prius owners considering a Volt.

 

Would be nice, but not feasible now. Would require much bigger battery that would eat into passenger space and send the price north.

But, we'll have a nice range of plug-ins-

PiP - small-mid liftback sedan
C-Max Energi - a CUV?
Volt - unusual 4 seat sedan
Accord - true 5 seater midsize sedan with trunk <--Americans like these

I changed my stance a little on hatchbacks vs. sedans. I don't use the hatchback feature all that much, but it's come in handy a few times.

Trunks are nice because they give secure storage where in case of an accident, stuff is not going to possible go flying around the cabin. Plus trunks are easier to open than hatches.

 

I agree 100% with this, plug car and driver seemed to like the accord the best out of the mid sized sedans when they did their comparisons.

The problem the accord phev and fusion energi come into is price and trunk size. Its hard to justify that extra money compared to the prius phv, c-max energi, and volt. Dealers may discount the accord phev to get sales up though, but at msrps it does not seem to give a good price/range/mpg point. Ford dealers likely will use the fusion energi's price point/trunk space to steer customers into the fusion hybrid and c-max energy. Its good that honda is adding an accord hybrid to the camry, fusion, sonata hybrids giving more choice. All of these mid size options give great gas mileage compared to mid sized sedans from just 5 years ago.

Personally I would like a locking trunk. I may put down a deposit on a tesla S. locking trunk up front and hatch in the back. It does cost more, but you get more.

 

The Accord plug-in trunk looks fairly small in the pic. I was hoping that is a pre-production model and that the production model will get a slightly larger trunk. Hopefully it gets a donut spare. More than a few wanting donuts in their PiP cargo area.

It's a start for these PHVs. They are going to get better in subsequent revs.

2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid: First Drive Photo Gallery - Autoblog

 

"The Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid achieves 124 MPGe in the city, and 105MPGe on the highway in hybrid mode, and 47 MPG city and 46 MPG highway when driving in gas only mode thanks to advanced technology in its design."

2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid is CARB&#8217;s first SULEV20 gas car | My Electric Car Forums

Honda Accord Plug-in Forum | Accord Plugin Forum and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Car news

 

The front takes a little getting used to...

 

That's what they're saying:

Central Valley Business Times

They're claiming 124 MPGe, as well. If it pans out, it'll be pretty impressive.
.

 

My read of the SULEV20 rules is that manufacturers have a choice whether to seek the old SULEV or newer SULEV20 cert.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Honda is looking to put a full hybrid drivetrain in a slightly upsized Insight-like car in a couple years or so. could be the closest thing to a Prius liftback copy.

 

"Honda Accord Hybrid will get 68 mpg in Japan
In June, Hondawill launch its new AccordHybrid sedan in Japan, and claims it will get 29 kilometers per liter of gasoline, or the equivalent of 68 miles per gallon. It will beat out all other Hondas in mileage, and will outpace the 23.4 km per liter and 23.2 km per liter ratings that Toyota's Camryand Crown hybrids get respectively, according to the Nikkei.

The US version of the Accord Hybrid, arriving at dealer showrooms in mid-2013, will be getting much lower mileage. Honda anticipates it will get 47 combined miles per gallon, with 49 in the city and 45 on the highway. Honda Accord Hybrid will get 68 mpg in Japan

Yes, the elusive 47 combined mpg!

 

I'd say more than a little imo ... 1980's deja vu ... but if the benefits outweigh the ugly factor, why not. Heck, our Leaf looks like a cross between an ant and a tadpole but driving for pennies per mile counts for something.
.

 

But would it not be as efficient if they didn't make it so ugly On the mid size sedan phev, Its hard to argue that the accord phev is as pretty as the fusion energi. Some will like some trade offs in the accord, but electric range and looks are clearly in the fusions favor.

I really have no idea what the designers at nissan were thinking when they designed the leaf exterior. I can say, it looks the least ugly in black. The c-max energi also is not very good looking, but it looks better in person.