2018 Honda Accord Hybrid Sedan

In its 2018 version, the Honda Accord is now a totally redesigned car. The 2018 Accord gets better passenger space at the rear as the batteries are now placed below the rear seats. The new standard and additional features on offer are the Heads-up display, Adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and lane departure warning.

The 2018 Accord hybrid comes with 4 variants. Starting from the base variant LX Hybrid to the range-topping Touring Hybrid. The LX Hybrid starts at just around $25,100 while offering a Honda Sensing, Dual-Zone Automatic Climate Control, A push button Start and Multi-Angle Rear View Camera.

The EX Hybrid pushes up the notch by one-touch power moonroof and heated front seats and an 8-inch touch screen infotainment. The range-topping Touring Hybrid starts at around $35,330 and gets a Heads-up display, Ventilated rear seats, Wireless phone charging, and body-colored parking sensors. All these trims just have some cosmetic as well as interior changes.

Trims	LX Hybrid	EX Hybrid	EX-L Hybrid	Touring Hybrid
MSRP (FWD)	$25,100	$29,000	$31,500	$35,330
Features	Honda Sensing Dual-Zone Automatic Climate Control Push Button Start Multi-Angle Rear View Camera	One-Touch Power Moonroof Heated Front Seats 8-Inch Display Audio Touch-Screen Blind Spot Information System	Leather-Trimmed Interior Driver Seat Memory 450-Watt Premium Audio System	Head-Up Display Ventilated Rear Seats Wireless Phone Charging Body-colored Parking Sensors (front/rear)

2018 Honda Accord Hybrid Driving and Performance

“The hybrid powertrain gives decent thrust, making for good passing power on the highway and off-the-line power in the city. Based on our impressions from the standard Accord, handling capability is improved over the previous generation, especially with the optional adaptive suspension.” - Edmunds

The Honda Accord gets a 2L inline-4 which is assisted by 2 electric motors. When mated with its E-CVT, it produces 212hp of power and 232 lb.-ft. of power. This makes the Honda Accord the most powerful car among the lot.

Its rival the Toyota Camry LE gets a bigger 2.5L I-4 DOHC Hybrid engine but gets similar power figures as that of the Honda. The Chevrolet Volt with its 1.5L DI engine makes about 149hp of power and produces about 294 lb-ft of torque.

Models	Honda Accord LX Hybrid	Toyota Camry LE	Kia Optima Hybrid Premium	Chevrolet Volt (LT)
MSRP	$25,100	$27,800	$25,995	$34,095
Engine	2.0L Inline-4 assisted by two electric motors	2.5L I-4 DOHC Hybrid	2.0L CVVT DOHC I4 GDI	1.5L Direct Injection (DI) DOHC 4-cylinder
Transmission	E-CVT Automatic	CVT Automatic	6-Speed Automatic	CVT Automatic
Power	212 hp	208 hp	192 hp	149 hp
Torque	232 lb-ft	163 lb-ft	271 lb-ft	294 lb-ft

Acceleration

Thanks to the highest power and torque output among the cars compared here, the Accord is fastest to 60 mph taking 7.1 secs. The Camry trails closely at 7.2 seconds. The Kia Optima Hybrid and Chevy Volt fall behind the two by a good 1-second gap.

Models	Honda Accord LX Hybrid	Toyota Camry LE	Kia Optima Hybrid Premium	Chevrolet Volt (LT)
0-60 MPH	7.1	7.2	8.1	7.8 sec
Quarter mile	15.7	15.6 sec	16.2 sec	15.9 sec
Engine	2.0L	2.5L	2.0L	1.5L
Emission  (Tons/yr. of CO2 Emissions @ 15K mi/year)	3.6	3.4	4.2	1.3

Braking

The Accord gets 11.5-inch discs at the front and 11.1-inch discs at the rear which can stop it from 60mph in 135 ft. That’s the worst braking performance among the cars compared here. The Chevrolet Volt gets the best stopping distance of just 120 ft.

Model	Honda Accord LX Hybrid	Toyota Camry LE	Kia Optima Hybrid Premium	Chevrolet Volt (LT)
Brake Front(in)	11.5	12.0	12.0	10.8
Brake Rear(in)	11.1	11.1	11.2	10.0
Curb Weight(lbs.)	3327	3472	3486	3543
60-0 MPH (ft.)	135	125	127	120

The Accord Hybrid delivers an impressive 49 mpg in the city, 47 mpg on the highway and 48 mpg combined mpg. However, even after getting a smaller engine than the Camry and both getting similar performance, the Camry beats the Accord delivering 51 mpg in the city, 53 mpg on the highway and 52 mpg combined.

Model	Honda Accord LX Hybrid	Toyota Camry LE	Kia Optima Hybrid Premium	Chevrolet Volt (LT)
MPG (City)	49	51	39	43
MPG (Highway)	47	53	46	42
MPG (Combined)	48	52	42	42

“The hybrid delivers the same creamy, unperturbed ride and alert handling as the other Accord models. When driven in stop-and-go traffic under moderate throttle, it may be the best version for appreciating the Accord’s quiet interior and upscale finishes. Better still, there’s no longer a cargo-volume penalty for choosing the hybrid.” – Car and Driver

Seating and Comfort

The Honda gets a passenger volume of 105.6 ft.-cube which is the best amongst its rivals owing to its bigger size. The Accord gets a front row headroom of 39in., shoulder room of 58.9 in. and legroom of 42.2 in. The second row gets a headroom of 37.2 in., shoulder room of 55.1 in. and leg room of 33.7 inches.

The Accord Hybrid's cabin looks attractive and uses some quality materials. The front seats are supportive and offer great outward visibility. The rear seats are indeed comfortable and ones with better legroom.

Model	Honda Accord LX Hybrid	Toyota Camry LE	Kia Optima Hybrid Premium	Chevrolet Volt (LT)
Passenger capacity	5	5	5	5
Passenger Volume (ft. cube)	105.6	99.9	102.6	90.3
Front (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (In.)	39/58.9/42.2	38.3/57.7/42.1	39.8/58.1/35.6	37.8/56.5/42.1
Second (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (In.)	37.2/55.1/33.7	37.6/55.7/38.0	37.8/56.4/35.6	35.8/53.2/34.7

Cargo/Trunk volume

The Honda gets the best boot space among all the rivals. It gets 16.7 ft.-cube of boot space – more than the other three cars compared here. In fact, the Accord Hybrid's trunk gives you enough room for four sets of golf clubs or about 13 shopping bags.

Model	Honda Accord LX Hybrid	Toyota Camry LE	Kia Optima Hybrid Premium	Chevrolet Volt (LT)
Volume (ft. cube)	16.7	15.1	13.4	10.6

The Accord weighs around 3327lbs. which makes it the lightest car among its rivals here. However, at 194.1 inches, the Accord is also large. This points that Honda has employed some clever engineering to get rid of excess weight.

Model	Honda Accord LX Hybrid	Toyota Camry LE	Kia Optima Hybrid Premium	Chevrolet Volt (LT)
Curb weight(lbs.)	3327	3472	3486	3543
Length(in)	194.1	192.1	191.1	180.4
Width(in)	72.8	72.4	73.2	71.2
Height(in)	57.5	56.9	57.5	56.4
Ground clearance(in)	5.8	5.7	5.1	5.5
Wheel base(in)	109.3	111.2	110.4	106.1
Track width(in) F/R	62.4/62.7	63.0/63.2	63.5/63.8	60.6/61.8

The 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid comes with Honda Sensing suite of active safety features including:

• Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
• Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM)
• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow
• Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)
• Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR)

Following table lists the various safety features of Honda Accord Hybrid.

• Advanced Front Airbags
• Side Curtain Airbags with Rollover Sensor
• 3-Point Seat Belts at all Seating Positions
• Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH): Lower Anchors (2nd-Row Outboard), Tether Anchors (2nd-Row All)
• Smart Vent Front Side Airbags
• Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)
• Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD)
• Multi-Angle Rearview Camera with Dynamic Guidelines
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry is around $2000 costlier than the Honda Accord. For those extra $2000 the Camry gets a bigger engine, similar performance figures, and the best Fuel economy. But the Toyota doesn’t have passenger volume as that of the Accord. So, at around $2000 cheaper than the Camry the Accord is still a better buy.

Kia Optima Hybrid

The Kia is priced like the Honda Accord at $25,995. But the Kia does not offer the fuel efficiency or performance of the Accord Hybrid. However, the Optima does match the Accord in terms of build quality and it definitely looks chic.

Chevrolet Volt

The Chevrolet Volt is around $10000 costlier than the Accord for which the Volt gets a smaller engine, no better interiors, nor is it as efficient as its rivals. Also, the Volt is a smaller car. So, here too the Accord is the best buy compared to the Chevrolet Volt.

The Honda Accord starts at $25,100 which is the cheapest car among all its rivals. For which the Honda offers better performance, decent fuel economy, best passenger comfort and an overall bigger car. So, the Honda has placed its cards right this time as the Accord is the best buy amongst all its rivals as it excels in almost all the parameters.