The technological gods must really hate my guts, because in addition to this little dilemma, the wireless node that supplies my subscription to Minneapolis' city wide WiFi network has been having issues over the past couple weeks, making any type of web work absolutely painstaking. Supposedly it's fixed now (they called me to say as much) but I've had that service for five years now, and it's more ornery and finicky than a vintage British car. I know that if things are running smoothly, it's only a matter of time before something else goes terribly wrong.
On to business. Honda will be bringing their Accord Hybrid back to the market place after a brief hiatus. There is much anticipation (among people who care about Honda Accord Hybrids, anyway) about this vehicle, and already specs are being touted that the new Accord Hybrid will get about 3 MPG more than Ford's Fusion hybrid. Well that's great, but when we're splitting hairs up in the 45-50 MPG range, I'd venture a guess that most of the incremental differences in MPGs will come down to driving habits.
Of course, here at AutomoZeal, we leave most of the shiny, new stuff for others. Personally, I've never bought a brand new car. I'm not opposed to buying new, but I've just never had to do that in order to get what I want. Besides, I don't mind used stuff. I like a car that's got a bit of experience. That said, today, we're going to take a look at the previous iteration of the Accord Hybrid -one that, should you decide you want it, you can only buy used at this point.
I spent the past few days house sitting for my sister, during which time, I was also car sitting my brother in law’s vehicle, which at first glance isn't anything too special. As Hondas go, it does have some guts. Let’s have a look at it, shall we.
For starters, this is a 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid. Normally when I think hybrid, I think "snore" in terms of performance, but this one isn't too bad, actually. The tide is turning on hybrids from being all about efficiency to including some thoughts of performance. The newest trend in hypercars and supercars is a hybrid set up, in fact.
This generation of Accord hybrid, offered from 2004-2007, was a disappointment to hard core Honda folks who expected to become hyper-milers after purchasing the Accord Hybrid. Sure, the Accord Hybrid gets decent mileage rated at 29/37MPG for city/hwy (those numbers hold up to real life use, too -my brother in law averages above 30MPG all around with his), but as hybrid expectations go, that falls short. What the disappointed crowd overlooked was the fact that this Honda is about getting decent mileage AND some performance. It’s not going to blow the doors off a Mustang GT anytime soon, but it can scoot along at a good clip and provide enough thrust to put a smile on your face when you floor the accelerator. At the same time, the Accord Hybrid also lets you have some cash left over in your pocketbook after you've left the fueling station.
When one thinks of Honda as a brand, reliability and dependability spring to mind. The cars Honda makes don’t have the kind of character that vehicles with more racing heritage, iconic styling, or legendary performance possess that makes them cult classics, but Honda does have a bit of a cult following. It’s less of a cult that’s in love with their cars down to the nuts and bolts, and even the very idea of the vehicle, and more of a car cult that revolves around the continued use of the vehicle as an appliance of conveyance. With the possible exception of the tuner crowd (you’ll recognize them by the oft overdone “enhancement” of their Honda Civics, fitted with overblown body kits, giant wing spoilers, and fart-pipe exhaust tips nearly dragging on the ground at the car’s rump) the Honda buyer tends to be less picky about things like aesthetics and performance and more obsessed with Consumer Reports stats, cost of ownership figures, and fuel economy. Honda doesn't have to blow the doors off the other cars on the road, because that’s not what it’s buyer demographic is interested in doing.
That said, I have driven my share of Hondas (usually borrowed), and have this to add. Though their reliability may be legendary, I've found the fit and finish mediocre, and non-vital functional aspects not so great, either. On this hybrid, the rear door handles come loose some times and have to be popped back into place. In addition, the actuators that control the power locks crapped out on it rather early on (this is something you usually see happening in cars that are at least 10-12 years old. In this case, it happened about about year 5). I've borrowed a couple of Honda Civics in the past, as well as an older Odyssey minivan, and found the interior plastics cheap. I've accidentally broken two sun visor clips on Civics due to brittle plastic and the fact that they were designed and installed in a counter-intuitive manner that requires pushing the visor ahead in order to be able to pull it back. The older Odyssey (from back in the era when Honda hired artist William Wegman and his Weimaraner dogs to promote the vehicle) was perpetually flashing its check engine light in spite of frequent visits to the repair shop, and never did sound quite right. I also piloted a much older 4 cylinder Accord down the interstate one 4th of July only to have the rear control arm and ball joint blow itself apart, causing the wheel to slough off and drag under the car. No crash ensued, but I did spend a couple hours hanging out at the side of the interstate waiting for a tow. The point I’m making is that a lot of these reliability stats don’t seem to hold up to real life experience -at least for me. The Honda I drove where the wheel fell off had only about 140,000 miles on it, which is a lot, but not so much that the car can justify falling apart while in motion. This is especially true considering I was able to pile over 170,000 miles on my last Mustang without ever having to pay out more than $150 to repair anything on that car, and it was still running strong when I traded it in. I think when it comes to picking a car, people would be best served by finding something that fits their expectations in terms of how they fit in the vehicle and how the vehicle fits around them and their lifestyle, how the car performs and what it can do for them rather than relying on some statistics about somebody else’s experience. After all, people buying Hondas have different expectations of their vehicle than people buying Luxury brands or performance brands, so the things they’ll report on as failures or boast about as successes differ from what somebody with a car meant for an entirely different driving experience might consider a good or bad point.
Of course, even Honda owners like to keep pace and sometimes rack up a victory or two at a stoplight scoot-out on their way to work, and that’s where a car like the Accord Hybrid comes in. It functions fine as a family car, has nice features for business people who want things like leather interiors, heated seats, and navigation, and when the driver is feeling a bit squirrelly and wants to get their kicks, the Accord Hybrid has some horsepower to cover that as well.
How does it do all this? Well, the 2005 Accord Hybrid came with a 3.0L V6 that when dropped into a regular V6 Accord, offers 240 HP. When dropped into a Hybrid Accord and paired with an electric motor that draws power from a nickel-metal hydride battery pack installed under the rear floor of the car and charged by regenerative braking, that HP rating jumps a bit to 255 HP and 232 lb-ft of torque. All Accord Hybrids of this time came well appointed, with leather interiors and electronic adjustable seats, windows, locks, and mirrors, but integrated Navigation as an option (today’s car has it). The Accord Hybrid also sported a unique little speed bump type spoiler mounted atop the deck lid, and special 16” alloy wheels along with hybrid badges to differentiate it from its less complicated kin. The Hybrid turns off its engine while at a stop and automatically blazes to life again when the accelerator is depressed. There’s an ever so slight bit of lag to adjust to here, but after a while of driving the Hybrid, one gets accustomed to it and can kind of preemptively depress the accelerator for a fast takeoff if need be.
The trade-off in having a Hybrid Accord was first and foremost a $3,000 premium over the cost of a top of the line regular Accord. Base price for a new Accord Hybrid in 2005 was around $32,500. Due to the placement of the battery, the rear seats won’t fold down in the hybrid the way that they will in a regular Accord. Also, there is no spare tire (that storage space is occupied by the battery). Instead, you get a tire repair kit, a can of fix-a-flat, and a little bitty air compressor. So, better hope you don’t shred your tire with the hybrid, or you’ll be stuck waiting for a tow. I don’t know how many Accord Hybrids were made during this production run, though I don’t often see these cars, so I doubt there were many. When my sister and my brother in law drove this car to the Honda dealership to pick out a new Odyssey minivan earlier this year, the techs there were a bit gah-gah over the hybrid and spent some time cooing over its performance specs (which as I’ve said, are ok, but nothing to swoon over), so I get the impression that even at Honda dealerships, these are kind of rare birds.
Now the bad news. While all Hondas of the time came with their factory 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty, the Hybrid did too. However, hybrids also included an 8 year/80,000 mile warranty to cover the hybrid components of the vehicle as a way to assuage buyer’s reluctance to take on a hybrid knowing that if the battery fails, it will be an expensive replacement. I’m not sure my brother in law’s car has hit the mileage mark, but it is now 8 years old, or at least closing in on it’s 8th birthday. This means when that battery pack can no longer charge, it’s going to be a $3,000-$5,000 replacement job. Don’t even think of attempting the work yourself, because hybrid cars require special certification to work on, as well as some special tools (usually with non-conductive grips to keep mechanics from getting zapped while wrenching away on them). So, it’s not like you can just take it to your local shop and have the work done. So far so good with my brother in law’s car, but now that its hybrid warranty is up, it becomes somewhat of a hot potato. Owners of aging hybrids are stuck playing a game of sell it now before something goes horribly wrong, or wring another year of use out of it and hope it stays strong. When that battery pack goes kaput, the car’s value takes a dramatic nose dive. I don’t know what my brother in law’s plans are for the Hybrid, but considering he and my sister just added a brand new Odyssey to their Honda stable, I’d bet he’s going to hold onto this one for a while and replace the battery pack if needed.
Over all, I quite like the Accord Hybrid for the very reason that traditional hybrid buyers dislike it: the fact that it is willing to sacrifice a tiny bit of efficiency for a nice share of performance. I recommend these cars with the caveat that buyers should beware of the aging battery pack and potential for a mammoth repair bill. I enjoy driving my brother in law’s car, and have used it several times to run errands for my sister and to pick up my niece and nephew (I don’t have kid seats for them in my own car). The 2004-2007 Accord Hybrid is an overall good car with nice options and a few drawbacks (spare tire and lack of fold down rear seats) as well as some minor fit and finish issues.
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