2021 Honda Accord Hybrid First Drive | Still At The Mountaintop

2021 Honda Accord Hybrid First Drive | Still at the mountaintop

We won't bury the lede. The 2021 Honda Accord is still a stupendous sedan and arguably the best in its segment. The car was completely revamped for 2018, and none of its competition have overtaken it since. Some among us will contend that the Mazda6 is top dog for pure driving enjoyment, but the Accord stands tall alongside the Mazda and is only getting better as this latest generation is treated to its mid-cycle update.

That said, there is one specific change that does have us bummed, and that's the loss of the manual transmission. With a take rate of just 2%, Honda decided it wasn't worth the trouble anymore. Guess you'll just have to buy a Civic Type R.

2021 Honda Accord Review | Price, Specs, Features And Photos

2021 Honda Accord Review | Price, specs, features and photos

Honda takes the idea of a "mid-cycle refresh" of its cars rather literally, and sure enough, three years into what is likely to be a six-year lifespan, the current generation Accord sees a comprehensive round of updates. Yet, true to the company's norm, don't expect massive changes for the 2021 Honda Accord. The styling is updated, but even we're having a hard time telling the difference. The interior sees more infotainment features on more trims, while the various driver assistance systems have been updated and increased in number. There have also been some improvements made to throttle and brake response.

All of this should be welcome news, but it's really just a bunch of icing on what was an already delicious, well-iced cake. Despite some impressive new competitors in recent years, the Accord continues to shine as our top family sedan choice. It does virtually everything well. It has a huge interior, yet is responsive to drive. It's fuel efficient, yet all its powertrains, including that of the Accord Hybrid, provide punchy acceleration for the segment. It's also well-equipped, and should provide the long-term value that's become synonymous with the name Honda Accord. In other words, the best just got better.

2021 Honda Accord Gets Better Base Tech, Hybrid System Improvements

2021 Honda Accord gets better base tech, hybrid system improvements

The 2021 Honda Accord is getting some trim shake-ups, some refinements to the powertrain in its hybrid variant, and some minor styling updates to keep the midsize sedan fresh. 

On the styling front, you'll have to really squint to see the differences, which are effectively limited to the Accord's front bumper. The grille is a bit wider, and the accent lines reaching toward either side of the lower fascia from the fog lamps now take slightly different routes. Apart from that, you'd be hard-pressed to notice anything has changed. 

Honda Tags Civic Type R, Rdx, Accord, And More In Fuel Pump Recall

Honda tags Civic Type R, RDX, Accord, and more in fuel pump recall

American Honda Motor Company's recent issues with fuel pumps continue, as a new recall affects a large number of Honda and Acura vehicles from the 2018-2020 model years. The recall covers a total of 136,057 vehicles, including select 2018-2019 Acura NSX, 2019 Acura RDX, RLX, and RLX Sport Hybrid models, as well as 2018-2019 Honda Accords, Civic Hatchbacks, Civic Type Rs, HR-Vs, 2019-2020 Insights, and 2019 Fits. 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign No. 20V314000, published May 28, 2020, states that the low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tanks of the aforementioned vehicles could falter or completely fail. Should the low-pressure fuel pump fail, the car could stall, regardless of its state of motion.

Junkyard Gem: 1983 Honda Accord Sedan With 411,794 Miles

Junkyard Gem: 1983 Honda Accord Sedan with 411,794 Miles

I've learned that finding discarded vehicles with astronomical figures showing on their odometers can be very difficult. Most manufacturers stuck with five-digit odometers well into the 1980s and even the 1990s, which rules out a majority of potential high-mile candidates right off the bat. With more recent vehicles, electronic digital odometers won't display unless you power up the main ECU— theoretically possible in a junkyard, but a real hassle. The most likely old cars to rack up interstellar mileage (Mercedes-Benz diesels) are also among the first to have their instrument clusters harvested by boneyard-prowling eBay sellers. Fortunately, Honda began installing six-digit odometers around 1981, and so today's Junkyard Gem (found last winter in a Denver car graveyard) can share its very impressive final odo reading with us.

1986 Honda Accord Aerodeck For Sale On Bring A Trailer

1986 Honda Accord AeroDeck for sale on Bring a Trailer

Attention to Honda and longroof fans alike. And frankly, anyone who is into the rad era of automobiles. There is a 1986 Honda Accord AeroDeck for sale on Bring a Trailer right now, and it's very much rad. 

For the uninitiated, the Accord AeroDeck is a shooting brake from Honda that wasn't sold here. While we made do with the Accord sedan and coupe body styles in the '80s, some lucky folks on the other side of the ocean were cruising around in these stylish and super utilitarian Hondas. They weren't cruising around all that quickly, though.