2016 Honda Accord Hybrid launched

Honda has officially launched the ninth-generation Accord in India at a price of Rs 37 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The car makes its debut less than a week before Diwali, allowing Honda to cash-in on the lucrative festive season. The 2016 Accord gets a completely restyled exterior with new LED headlamps and taillights, sharper body lines, new front and rear fascias and 18-inch diamond-cut aluminium wheels.

The cabin, too, has been overhauled and looks a lot more sophisticated and plush than its predecessor. Moreover, the Accord gets a plethora of features like an infotainment system featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, electric sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, remote pre-cooling and pre-heating for the cabin and a remote start function.

Honda has tried to keep the car as light as possible, using high-strength steels for 55.8 percent of the unibody and aluminum in the front sub-frame construction. Consequently, the Accord Hybrid weighs 1620 kgs, which is 15 kgs lesser than the Toyota Camry Hybrid, despite being wider and longer than the latter. Moving on to the hybrid powertrain, it combines a 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine with two electric motors (one is basically a generator) powered by a 1.3 kWh lithium-ion battery.

The total power output stands at 215 PS, which is more horses than you will find in the BMW 520i. The Accord employs “series hybrid” system, which shifts among three driving operations. First there’s the Electric Drive mode that relies solely on battery power for propulsion. However, the range in this mode is barely two kms.

Then, there’s the Hybrid Drive mode, wherein the engine helps the smaller motor (the generator) to feed electricity to the larger motor, which in turn moves the car forward. And finally, there’s the “Engine Drive” mode where the petrol engine kicks in at mid- to high-level speeds and can work in tandem with the electric motor. The hybrid system is mated to an e-CVT gearbox that sends power to the front wheels.

Honda hasn’t mentioned the 0 to 100 km/hr acceleration time or the top-speed of the Accord but that’s unlikely to matter as this car is mostly for those who prefer to be chauffeured around. Furthermore, with a fuel-economy of 23.1 kmpl, Accord has aced the number that matters the most to the Indian customers. The Accord Hybrid will be available to book at all Honda dealerships. Routine maintenance will be carried out at all service centres but deliveries and specialised hybrid repairs will be done at select sales outlets and service stations only.

Honda will sell the Accord via the CBU route and the car will go up against the the Camry Hybrid, Skoda Superband the Volkswagen Passat GTE, which will be launched early next year. The Accord first came to India in 2001 and after doing admirably well initially, its sales tanked with the 8th generation model, forcing Honda to discontinue the car in December 2013.