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America’s best-selling midsize sedan bolsters its resume for 2016 with the arrival of the restyled and reengineered 2017 Accord Hybrid, America’s most powerful and fuel-efficient midsize hybrid sedan, launching today at Honda dealerships nationwide. Featuring an advanced second-generation two-motor hybrid powertrain, the 2017 Accord Hybrid delivers a knock-out combination of power, fuel efficiency and standard high-tech feature content with peak total system output of 212 horsepower, best-in-class EPA fuel economy ratings of 49/47/48 mpg (city/highway/combined)1, and a starting MSRP of $29,605.
In addition to its more powerful and fuel-efficient hybrid powertrain, the 2017 Accord Hybrid benefits from the extensive upgrades made to the Accord lineup for 2016 including dynamic new styling, sportier driving performance and the latest in advanced technology.
Available in three well-equipped trims – Hybrid, Hybrid EX-L and Hybrid Touring – all Accord Hybrids boast increased levels of standard and available equipment including the Honda Sensing™ suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, offered as standard equipment on all models; and for EX-L and touring trims, Honda’s newest Display Audio touchscreen interface featuring Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ compatibility.
“The Accord Hybrid is the ultimate Accord, offering exceptional dynamic qualities with the greatest technological sophistication and fuel efficiency in the Accord family,” said Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Consumers have made Accord America’s top selling midsize sedan, recognizing its unique combination of performance, value, efficiency and refinement, and the 2017 Accord Hybrid ups the game in each of these traits.”
A 30-time recipient of Car and Driver magazine’s “10 Best” award, unprecedented for any vehicle, the Honda Accord has been America’s top retail selling car for three years running and is also the best-selling midsize car among under-35 year old car buyers. Through the end of April of 2016, Accord is the outright best-selling midsize car in America with sales up 13.2 percent versus year-ago results.
Additional new available features for the 2017 Accord Hybrid, depending on model and trim, include remote engine start, front and rear parking sensors, rain sensing wipers, heated rear seats and auto high-beam headlights. The Accord Hybrid will also feature new exterior colors and interior fabrics and décor. Hybrid-exclusive design features include a special aluminum hood and unique alloy wheel design, blue highlighted LED headlights and taillights and “Hybrid” exterior badging. A more compact hybrid battery pack increases trunk capacity to a class-leading 13.5 cu.-ft. in the midsize hybrid sedan segment.
Combining the next generation of Honda’s two-motor hybrid system with an ultra-efficient 2.0-liter i-VTEC Atkinson Cycle engine, the 2017 Accord Hybrid powertrain achieves a peak combined output of 212 horsepower, the highest of any midsize hybrid sedan and up 16 horsepower over the 2015 Accord Hybrid. EPA fuel economy ratings of 49/47/48 (city/highway/combined) put the Accord Hybrid at the top of the class under a more stringent EPA ratings system for 2017 model year vehicles, making it the most powerful and fuel efficient midsize hybrid sedan in America.
The Accord Hybrid’s two-motor hybrid powertrain takes an elegant and innovative approach to hybrid power, eliminating the need for a conventional mechanical transmission. The Accord Hybrid’s powertrain seamlessly transitions between three modes of operation:
- EV Drive – using its electric propulsion motor and lithium ion battery pack to drive the front wheels for short distances under light loads (with the engine turned off)
- Hybrid Drive – the electric propulsion motor drives the front wheels while the gasoline engine powers a second motor/generator to supplement electrical current drawn from the battery pack
- Engine Drive – using a lock-up clutch mechanism to connect the engine and propulsion motor, the front wheels are driven by both the motor and gasoline engine
Honda Sensing™
All 2017 Accord Hybrids come standard with Honda Sensing™, among the most comprehensive suites of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies in the competitive class. The following technologies comprise Honda Sensing:
- Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
- Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
- Forward Collision Warning (FCW)
- Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)
- Road Departure Mitigation (RDM)
- Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
All 2017 Accord Hybrids also feature a standard Multi-Angle Rearview Camera with dynamic guidelines and Expanded View Driver’s Mirror. The Touring trim adds new auto high-beam headlights that enhance nighttime visibility and driving convenience.
Exterior and Interior Design
The Accord Hybrid gets a major facelift for 2017 that closely follows the changes made to the gasoline-only powered 2016 Accord models. In place of the previous wrap-around front bumper is a more sharply creased and intricately structured front fascia, the lower portion of which tucks into large intake-like meshed areas that house new standard LED fog lights. An Accord Hybrid exclusive, elegantly contoured aluminum hood meets up with a brighter, more pronounced front grille. The more expressive face of Accord is complimented by a sharply sculpted rear bumper fascia and new LED taillight design. Blue-accents on the front grill, headlights and taillights of the 2017 Accord Hybrid, along with special “Hybrid” badging, provide a subtly distinctive look and visual differentiation between from its gasoline-only powered stable mates.
All Accord Hybrid trims have unique 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels and feature the expanded use of LED lighting – LED daytime running lights (DRLs), taillights and fog lights for all trims, and LED headlights for the Touring trim.
The Accord Hybrid also gets a revised exterior color palette with five new colors – out of the eight available – as well as new interior tricot seat fabric (base trim) and color schemes including a sophisticated new wood grain-style dashboard trim.
Body and Chassis Upgrades
The 2017 Accord Hybrid’s sportier design is matched by its improved dynamic performance. High body rigidity is complimented by new high performance dampers and a retuned electric power steering system that delivers even more linear and precise response. All Accord Hybrid models are fitted with Amplitude Reactive Dampers with newly-tuned internals for a more supple, yet controlled ride, and new Straight Driving Assist technology that helps reduce the driver’s workload when driving on a crowned or canted road surface.
Display Audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
The 2017 Accord Hybrid audio and digital experience is also significantly upgraded with the application of a new 7-inch touchscreen Display Audio interface (EX-L and above trims) featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, as well as newly available HondaLink Assist (e911) and HD Radio®. Smartphone pairing is now simplified with a single USB cable connection, no longer requiring an HDMI cable connection. The new Display Audio system serves as the interface for new Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, offering a multitude of new functions and features, including smartphone-linked navigation (Apple Maps or Google Maps), audio streaming, voice-controlled SMS text messaging and more.
The lower 7-inch Display Audio touchscreen is paired with an upper 7.7-inch display screen and steering-wheel controls. The upper screen can display audio settings, turn-by-turn directions (from embedded navigation, when so equipped, or from Android Auto or Apple CarPlay navi apps), time and trip information (e.g. range, trip distance), LaneWatch and Rearview Camera displays, incoming calls, SMS text messages, and parking sensor alerts.
2017 Accord Hybrid Major Engineering Changes and Feature Upgrades
Body and Chassis
- Increased body rigidity courtesy of multiple new stiffeners, a thicker front shock tower bar and sturdier rear bulkhead
- Retuned electric power steering
- Amplitude Reactive Dampers
Exterior
- New, more dynamic front and rear styling
- Restyled aluminum hood
- Rear deck spoiler
- Expanded application of LED lighting
- New exterior color options and interior decoration
- Rain-sensing wipers (Touring)
- Front and rear parking sensors (Touring)
- Side sill garnish (Touring)
Interior
- Remote engine start
- HondaLink Assist
- 7-inch touch screen Display Audio system (EX-L)
- Expanded application of SiriusXM Radio (added to EX-L) Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (EX-L and Touring)New HD Radio (EX-L and Touring)
- 7-inch touch screen Display Audio+ with Navi system (Touring)
- Heated rear seats (Touring)
Safety and Driver Assistive
- Honda Sensing
- Auto High-Beam headlights (Touring)
- Front and rear parking sensors (Touring)
Powertrain
The 2017 Accord Hybrid features a significantly reengineered second-generation two-motor hybrid powertrain. The new hybrid powertrain benefits from numerous changes that reduce the physical size and weight of components while increasing efficiency, performance and cargo capacity. Total combined horsepower is up 16 horsepower to 212 HP and EPA fuel economy ratings are 49/47/48 mpg (city/highway/combined)1. These EPA fuel economy ratings are based on the new more stringent ratings requirements enacted by the U.S. EPA for the 2017 model year and cannot be directly compared to the figures for earlier model Accords or competing vehicles. Nevertheless, when compared using the same criteria, the 2017 Accord Hybrid bests the 2014/2015 model in all ratings.
Advanced Safety Performance
In keeping with Honda’s commitment to safety, the 2017 Accord Hybrid is the first Honda vehicle to have as standard equipment the Honda Sensing suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies. Honda Sensing is designed to expand the driver’s situational awareness while sensing and responding to potential road hazards, including other vehicles, road obstacles and even pedestrians, even to the point of mitigating the possibility or severity of a collision.
The 2017 Accord Hybrid is expected to receive the highest safety ratings – a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), including a GOOD rating in all crash modes.
The Accord Hybrid incorporates Honda’s next-generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure, designed to more efficiently absorb and disperse the energy from a frontal collision, along with new ultra-high-strength door rings designed to help better protect occupants.
Standard safety and driver-assistive features include four-channel anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Brake Assist and Hill Start Assist; Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®) with Traction Control; an Expanded View Driver’s Mirror; dual-stage, multiple-threshold front airbags, driver and front passenger side airbags and side-curtain airbags for all outboard seating positions; and Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
