Honda has introduced the 2014 Accord Plug-In Hybrid at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. The PHEV version will go on sale starting with January 15 in New York and California, with a base price of $39,780 without taking into account the $790 destination fee. This makes it approximately $18,000 more expensive than the entry-level standard Accord which costs $21,680 and has a 185 hp, 4-cylinder engine. At the same time it is a full $10,000 more expensive than the high-end Accord EX-L with Navigation so we are not sure how many people are willing to spend so much money to get the hybrid variant.
The hybrid variant is powered by a 4-cylinder, 2.0-liter i-VTEC Earth Dreams engine generating 137 hp, with a 166 hp electric motor and a 6.7 kWh lithium-ion battery providing a combined output of 196 hp. According to Honda, the Accord PHEV provides a best-in-class EPA MPGe rating at 115 MPGe, making it more frugal than competitors such as the Toyota Prius Plug-in (95 MPGe), Chevrolet Volt (98 MPGe) and the Ford C-MAX Energi (100 MPGe).
Next summer Honda will launch a regular hybrid version of the 2014 Accord that will get the same gasoline engine but it will lose the plug-in functionality. This is estimated to return 49 mpg in the city, 45 mpg on the highway and 47 mpg in the combined cycle.
Source: Carscoop
