Honda Car Forum

I tried the Honda Accord V-6 Hybrid the other night.

Very strong acceleration, well beyond needs.

What was cool:

-stop at a light, engine shut off; let go of brake, engine starts
smoothly and immediately.

-cruise at 120 km/h, three cylinders shut off (little light on dash
"ECO" turns on).

-let off gas during cruise and you could feel the electic motor "drag"
as it generated electricity for the battery.

-apply brakes, and even more energy was diverted to the motor/generator.

(There's a little meter bar that shows when the battery is discharging
or recharging)

What was not cool:

- automatic transmission
- ... and not so well programmed at that
- 3 litre engine
- no fold down rear seats (the battery is there)
- 253 total HP.... what's economical about that?
- does not qualify for the Quebec hybrid rebate (misses the mileage goal)
-stopped the car in "D", engine stops. Shifted to "P" and the engine
started up again. Should have remained off, IMO. I guess it's the way
this is mechanized that allowed the engine to restart.
- price ($39,400 in Canada, $31,000 in the US).
The CAD $ is running 89 - 90 cents these days...
I could probably talk them down a couple K on the car; and up a
couple K on the trade in, but it's still not worth it to me.

I take it that they put in a 6 banger in order to get 3 cylinder cruise
on the highway, and that this might not have worked well with a 4
banger. Why not a 5 banger? Why not a smaller displacement 6 banger? I
simply can't believe that a Honda Accord really needs 200 HP, never minf
253 with the assist.

Any Canadians here who can explain the price differential (US / CAD)
that is way beyond the exchange rate?

Cheers,
Alan FreeLunch.

"Alan Browne" <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote in message
news:yJpcg.59496$yN.645818@weber.videotron.net...
>

<snipped for space>

> Any Canadians here who can explain the price differential (US / CAD) that
> is way beyond the exchange rate?

I can't explain the vast difference in the prices. But I can tell you that I
like the 200 hp under the hood of my '01 Accord.

IMO the Accord Hybrid is a dumb marketing/engineering move. The
standard V-6 Accord already has more power than any reasonable North
American driver needs. Why add a hybrid boost on top of that?

An ~2.0l four cylinder hybrid Accord would make much more sense for fuel
economy.

John

John Horner wrote:

> IMO the Accord Hybrid is a dumb marketing/engineering move. The
> standard V-6 Accord already has more power than any reasonable North
> American driver needs. Why add a hybrid boost on top of that?
>
> An ~2.0l four cylinder hybrid Accord would make much more sense for fuel
> economy.

I agree completely and I've posted on the subject (and the "cons"
reflect that.

I don't see hybrid "boost" as a performance item but as reuse of
deceleration. Period.

Part of the problem, I suspect, is how well would the 2 litre engine
behave with two cylinders shut down?

Cheers,
Alan

"Alan Browne" <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote in message
news:z96dg.15998$DC3.451506@wagner.videotron.net.. .
>
> I don't see hybrid "boost" as a performance item but as reuse of
> deceleration. Period.
>
The way Honda is doing it on their production models that is mostly true.
Their concept car, the Dualnote, is a different story:
http://world.honda.com/Tokyo2001/aut...nit/index.html
According to the September 2002 article in Popular Mechanics, Honda
engineers say the electrics effectively double the off-the-line acceleration
to roughly what is expected from a 600 HP conventional power train.

As the electric technology improves we will see performance increasingly
being a reason for hybridization. But the Accord "hybrid?" Hardly worth the
effort, IMHO.

Mike

Alan Browne wrote:
> John Horner wrote:
>
>> IMO the Accord Hybrid is a dumb marketing/engineering move. The
>> standard V-6 Accord already has more power than any reasonable North
>> American driver needs. Why add a hybrid boost on top of that?
>>
>> An ~2.0l four cylinder hybrid Accord would make much more sense for
>> fuel economy.
>
>
> I agree completely and I've posted on the subject (and the "cons"
> reflect that.
>
> I don't see hybrid "boost" as a performance item but as reuse of
> deceleration. Period.
>
> Part of the problem, I suspect, is how well would the 2 litre engine
> behave with two cylinders shut down?
>
> Cheers,
> Alan

With a small 4 cylinder motor you don't need cylinder deactivation.
Cylinder deactivation only seems to provide a minimal fuel economy boost
and is mostly be used on V-8s and V-12s (MBZ).

John

I posted this elsewhere and it is appopriate here. I like the Accord
Hybrid Navi and had a Civic Hybrid before. If you were raised in the
muscle car era, the Accord Hybrid ROCKS!

I have already said:
>I have had an 03 Civic Hybrid and now have an 05' Accord Hybrid. If I
>had to have one or the other, in today's market and gas prices, I
>still choose the Accord. It is my trip vehicle and the 03 Civic did
>not cut it. Wandered, under powered (Do NOT get the CVT Civic if you
>pull out onto busy 50 mph two lane roads, regularly), and
>uncomfortable, even with the Leather interior (aftermarket) upgrade I
>had on it.
>
>Yes, I like power and my first new car was a V8 back in the day -
>'70s. The Accord Hybrid (as is true of ALL current Hybrids) will NOT
>save you money over the life of ownership, fact - read any study. The
>premium cost is too high to be made up by gas savings. Heaven help
>you should need something unique fixed. (The AC radiator/condensor is
>$750) So, why own it.
>
>It is the fastest production Honda Accord with 15 hp ('05) more than
>the non-hybrid V6. The Hybrid gets 29 mpg in town (and I do get about
>that) and I get 34.5 mpg at 80 mph average highway and the rated 37
>mpg if I average 60 - 65 mph. The non-hybrid 05 V6 comparably
>equipped, actually gets 18-22 city and 27- 32 highway.
>
>So, I ride in luxury (the Accord starts with everything and adds
>hybrid), get the best mileage of any vehicle with comparable size and
>performance, can comfortably transport 5 and have LOCKOUT-ABLE trunk
>storage (the Prius has no secure storage when you leave it for service
>or leave valuables in the "trunk").
>
>I work around and build military hybrids and chose to own one, just to
>say that I do. Status - which is the only reason to own one - today.
>That will not be the case in 5 to 10 years.
>
>BTW: Yes, I am hunting for some lightning bolt symbol magnets to put
>on the side to flaunt that it is a hybrid,
>
>Honda did just fine, by me. (except for the lack of a spare, which I
>have solved - after market.)
>
CC


On Tue, 23 May 2006 09:02:19 GMT, John Horner <jthorner@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>IMO the Accord Hybrid is a dumb marketing/engineering move. The
>standard V-6 Accord already has more power than any reasonable North
>American driver needs. Why add a hybrid boost on top of that?
>
>An ~2.0l four cylinder hybrid Accord would make much more sense for fuel
>economy.
>
>John