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Honda Accord Hybrid: 50 MPG City - clone Toyota

Discussion in 'Honda/Acura Hybrids and EVs' started by bwilson4web, Sep 8, 2013.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    If the Honda Accord hybrid follows the usual pattern of Jetta, C-MAX, Volt, and others:
    • 2-3 months of high sales as the pent-up demand moves them off the dealer lots.
    • 4-6 month period of discovery as folks learn what works and doesn't.
    • 2-3 years of those claiming perfection and we should all trade-in our Prius.
    Bob Wilson
     
  2. sURFNmADNESS

    sURFNmADNESS Prii Family

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    I would give it till late Summer of 2014 to be fare on mpg. Going into winter months is never good to any car.
     
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    California and Florida have winters?

    Bob Wilson
     
  4. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Heck yeah, it gets down into the 30's in SF BA overnight in January :D :D
     
  5. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    2014 Accord Hybrid - Real World Mileage???? - Page 3 - Drive Accord Honda Forums

    "So black friday we took the (Accord) hybrid shopping (hate to be in those parking lots with a new car!). I was able to do a bit of 'normal' city driving. The 16 mile drive down I got 57mpg - but there is a good amount more downhill and not representative typical driving. We shopped for about an hour or so, the weather was about 60 and drizzling, then we took a 7.6 mile drive that had 5 miles of freeway and the rest city streets, this was more or less flat and normal driving conditions - not heavy traffic. The accord got 48.2 MPG on this route. We shopped for another hour or so, then took another drive for 7.8 miles, this time about 50/50 freeway and street. The car got 48.8 MPG. Then we took a 13.7 mile drive, mostly on freeway, and averaged 44.2 MPG. Lastly, we drove home, up the hill and through the canyons for 26.6 miles, and averaged 36mpg (this offsets the first drive down the hill). So there is some real world mileage on an accord hybrid that has just over 500 miles on it now. I'll fill the tank probably tomorrow and see what that shows. I did register on fuelly.com though have not entered anything yet (obviously)"
     
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  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Perhaps you might suggest they find a relatively flat set of roads they can do some 'mph vs MPG' testing:
    [​IMG]

    This would give a much better indication of the mileage as a function of speed.

    Bob Wilson
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my wife is down to 45 mpg after 2oo miles on current tank. weather has been mostly in the 30's. previous good weather tanks have been 50+. we went out yesterday for a 70 mile drive with four of us in the car and heat on, couldn't get it to budge over 45.
     
  8. wxman

    wxman Active Member

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    Bob,

    Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG achieved about 38 mpg at 69 mph with the Accord HEV while he got about 49 mpg at about the same speed in the Gen 3 Prius....

    CleanMPG Forums - View Single Post - The 47 mpg Rated Honda Accord Hybrid Challenges
     
  9. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    That makes sense, the battery/electronics won't really help at 69 mph (power consumption is too high) accord hybrid cd is .29, versus .25 for the prius. With the larger frontal area if the preliminary numbers are right, that gives a cdA of about 27% higher than the prius liftback. 49 mpg/1.27=38.6 mpg close to the wayne numbers.

    Its at lower speeds where the accord hybrid may be closer in efficiency.
     
  10. Stevevee

    Stevevee Active Member

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    Depends on the terrain as well. I can get 50 mpg or so on flats with no wind at 65-70, but the minute the terrain goes uphill, the mpg goes downhill. I've learned to hate the hills more than I did before :)

    I'd also add that in real life, the Accord is not really the competition for the Prius, but it is the competition for the Camry. The real head to head to head will be Accord/Fusion/Camry hybrids. But it does point out the efficiencies in the Prius design. It also points out the weakness in hybrids.
     
  11. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Did he do any other speeds?

    I prefer to check the cruise control range of speeds since this also corresponds to everything from neighborhood to highway speeds. The last set of CleanMPG graphs cut off at 45 mph, if I remember correctly.

    Bob Wilson
     
  12. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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  13. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Interesting but we really need a proper study. This snapshot suggests there may be a 'hole' in slow-speed performance:

    39.5 speed < 46.8 speed < 51.6 speed < 57.3 speed​

    If slower speeds are in serial-hybrid mode, it makes sense. When the engine generates power there is typically a 92% loss in the generator to the electrical power out. Then the motor typically has a similar 92% efficiency from electrical to mechanical power. The product is the end efficiency, a 84% system.

    This is why we need to see an mph vs MPG chart that covers the cruise control range . . . for a warmed up car. This will also show any "knee-in-the-curve" where the car transitions from serial-hybrid to mechanical-parallel mode.

    In contrast, the Toyota system always splits 28% of the engine power out the equivalent, lossy electrical path, and 72% via the ~98% efficient mechanical path. Depending upon how much urban driving one does, this could be significant.

    Bob Wilson
     
  14. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    I test drove the Accord Hybrid today. Around town it stayed in electric mode more than my 2010 Prius. It basically drives like a normal car, no regen whine like you hear in a Toyota hybrid, no grabby brakes at low speed, normal PRND shift gate, plenty of power, smooth/sporty ride, better visibility, nicely weighted steering (that actually snaps back to center). The trunk is a little compromised due to the battery, but there's still a lot of room. The displays are definitely modern compared to my mid-80s monochrome Prius displays. The base model has a power driver seat with backup camera and right turn camera, both displayed on a high res 8" screen. The drive was too short for meaningful mpg numbers, it stayed in electric mode a lot.

    It's a much different car than my Prius. Sedan vs hatchback. Starting price is $5k more than my Prius, $29k for the base, but it's not apples to apples because the base Accord Hybrid has several features the Prius base doesn't have. Comparing it to the Camry Hybrid I'd say the Accord has less power but better mpg. The Accord feels like it's up a few levels on sophistication and style to me.

    Depending on how the real world mpg numbers pan out, I think the Accord Hybrid is impressive.
     
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  15. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Welp, two Accord Hybrid owners have started logging on fuelly.com. Unfortunately they are reporting MPG avgs down in low to mid 30's. :rolleyes:
     
  16. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The Canadian one is giving some details. Like driving in -17C temps and snow storms. Seems the ICE is running more for heat. The owner claims to be satisfied with it.

    Don't know where the US one is at.
     
  17. Stevevee

    Stevevee Active Member

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    It's a tough time to review, we're at exactly zero degrees this morning. Our Camry hybrid is now at 33.5 mpg average on a half tank, which sets a new low for it in our ownership. Judging from the feel of it, I think the tires need some air.

    I've seen my Prius V go anywhere from 38 mpg to over 47 mpg depending on the trip. So a new owner of the Accord would encounter these same issues. So far the only real-world tests have been at the various magazines which, in fact, tried to get decent (not maximum) mileage. In all of the tests, my V did as it was rated to do, the Prius lift back same, Accord has done well in all the tests, the Fusion hybrid has struggled in all tests to best the Camry hybrid.

    There was one test that involved several very long drives, interstate speeds, mountains and hills, where the Accord hybrid achieved less than 40 mpg. They weren't going for fuel efficiency, drove fairly high average speed, and the elevation changes were vast. While people focus on the 50 mpg rating, it's city, 45 mpg is highway rated.
     
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  18. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Sounds like a nice car to drive. The only grabby brakes on my Prius are on rare occasion, when backing out of garage the brake doesn't get setup properly and the first application is grabby. Other than that it's fine, very smooth. Maybe the 2010 had more issues with that??

    There are mixed reports on driveaccord.net .... one is saying he's getting the 50 city and near 45 highway. Few others are complaining they can't get out of the 30's. Time and a lot more reports will tell.

    Very few Accord Hybrids are available: Only 5 of them listed on cars.com within 75 mile radius .. in the SF Bay Area.
     
  19. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    We had a software defect in the 2010 that was fixed. The brakes are prone to bad feel, but you get used to that. One problem that does happen on my car is rust on my brakes makes the feel even worse, and occasional strong braking is needed to knock it off. Its probably the case that the regen is used enough that the mechanical brakes need a little more attention.

    We probably need to wait until at least february to get a big enough sample size.
     
  20. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Well, there's 5 loggers with Accord Hybrids on fuelly now. One is running 39 MPG, but the others aren't even 35. They better work that out over time.

    I'm well into this tank, driving SF bay area with 57 on gage with my 14 mile one way commute, high 40s to low 50s F.
     
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