2021 Honda Accord Hybrid First Drive | Still At The Mountaintop

In typical Honda fashion, changes are subtle enough that you may not notice them without a deeper look. The biggest appearance switch-up is a larger and restyled grille. It looks grander than before, even if you’d be hard pressed to tell the 2020 apart from the 2021 at first glance. Honda also redesigned the LED headlights for better illumination (likely the result of IIHS testing). Lastly, designers reduced the size of the fog light openings and added new wheel designs.

Tech enhancements are more abundant, and they’re nice enough that you may want to spend the extra dollars on a 2021 over a potentially discounted 2020. Even the base trim now gets Honda’s 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. And if you snag an EX-L or Touring (or EX on Hybrid models), CarPlay and Android Auto are upgraded to wireless connectivity — a Honda first. It worked flawlessly for us, never crashing or failing to load. Even when running navigation and streaming music with our phone on the wireless charger, our phones never overheated, which is something we can’t say for BMWs. Honda also added two rear seat USB ports.

You shouldn’t notice any differences in driving the unchanged standard 1.5-turbo four-cylinder (192 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque) or the upgrade 2.0-turbo four-cylinder (252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque). However, the Hybrid model that we drove has been updated. Total system output is still 212 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque, but Honda says it has retuned the hybrid system "for a more direct and immediate throttle response with a more natural acceleration feeling as engine revs climb in concert with the driver’s throttle input." 

To fully understand that, we’ll give you a quick refresher on how the Accord Hybrid’s powertrain works, because it’s rather unusual in operation. In most circumstances, the electric motor solely powers the front wheels. Its battery pack is then replenished by regenerative braking and the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine acting as a generator. The benefit here is that you get supremely smooth acceleration with an unnoticeable switchover from electric to "gas" power. Plus, the Accord Hybrid is significantly quicker than all of its competitors. Only when you’re cruising at highway speeds does a clutch engage allowing the engine to directly drive the wheels. By contrast, a parallel hybrid, such as Toyota uses, employs an electronically controlled CVT to constantly meter out power to the wheels from the gas engine, the electric motor or both depending driving situations.

Due to the engine acting as a generator, the noises it makes don’t always align with what the human ear is accustomed to hearing as revs rise and fall. Honda thinks its 2021 updates make this process more normal even though the physical components are all carryover, and it fundamentally works the same as before.

As we drove through the steady misting from the northern edges of Tropical Storm Zeta in super tropical southeast Michigan, the disconnect between throttle position and engine revs was still abundantly noticeable. The complete lack of musicality from the engine itself, however, does a decent job of masking where exactly the revs are. It goes from a low buzz, to a medium buzz, and eventually with the throttle flattened, to a slightly higher and louder buzz. If you’re familiar with a CVT’s operation, this won’t seem unusual. Ultimately, the disconnect between sound and throttle position is less of an issue than Honda is making it. It’s a hybrid — a little weirdness is expected.

Honda claims a 0-to-60-mph time of about 6.5 seconds, which is outrageously quick for a large hybrid sedan that’s rated at 48 mpg combined or 43 mpg for the Hybrid Sport and Touring. It’s also a full second quicker than the significantly less efficient 1.5T. The electric motor gets the car off the line quickly, but throttle response at speed is disappointing. It’s a one potato, two potato, thr- count from when your foot goes down to when the Accord Hybrid begins its surge forward. Similar to a turbocharged engine building boost, the Accord scoots once it’s caught up to your foot. Response improves by a bit in Sport mode, but who wants to drive a fuel-efficient hybrid around in a mileage-sapping "Sport" mode all day?

The Accord Hybrid still encourages backroad shenanigans should you so desire. Our Touring trim tester had the adaptive dampers that can be firmed up by a tap of the Sport button. Just as we found in our last Accord Hybrid review, this one can tear up a twisty section of road and leave you grinning at the end. Its composure through back-to-back corners is laudable. We’ll credit some of this car’s excellent balance in these situations to its battery location below the back seat and therefore in between the axles. There’s a beautifully controlled lean when pushed, as the suspension has just enough forgiveness in it to sop up mid-corner bumps without upsetting the chassis. It’s just stiff enough to give the driver total confidence to keep pushing, and it’s frankly astonishing how well this big, front-drive sedan handles. We’re also grateful for the low seating position and skinny A-pillars, more icing on an already delicious cake.

The 2.0T is still the go-to for enthusiasts who want power, but Accord Hybrid owners are denied none of this car’s cornering chops. Plus, the attractive new 19-inch wheels don’t seem to hurt ride quality too terribly on rough pavement, even if a smaller size would be cushier.

Photo Gallery