2018 Honda Accord Hybrid nets nifty 47 mpg combined
It's a bit lower than before, but only in the city.
The 2018 Honda Accord is plenty thrifty in its gas-only variants, but the 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid trumps 'em both, even though it's not as stingy as it was in its previous iteration.
The 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid carries an EPA rating of 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway and -- surprise, surprise -- 47 mpg combined. The feds estimate an annual fuel cost of $800 based on 15,000 miles of majority-city driving, and it believes owners will save about $3,000 in fuel costs over five years compared with the average new car.
It's slightly thirstier than any member of the Clarity lineup, but it's also not ugly, so there's that.
Strangely enough, the 2018 Accord Hybrid is actually slightly thirstier than the car it replaces. The 2017 Accord Hybrid was rated at 49 mpg city and 47 mpg highway, so the change isn't huge, but nevertheless it's there. It's an interesting change, considering the 2018 Accord Hybrid weighs more than 100 pounds less than its forebear. I have a note in with Honda regarding this adjustment and will circle back here with an update when I get one.
While that is a very slight drawback for the new Accord Hybrid, the 2018 has a trick up its sleeve that the 2017 couldn't muster. In previous iterations, the Accord Hybrid only had space for its batteries in the trunk, which ate into precious cargo space. This time around, the Accord Hybrid doesn't have that problem, which means you get the same 16.7 cubic feet of trunk space as every other Accord owner.
It's also worth noting that the 2018 Accord Hybrid is one of the most fuel-efficient Hondas you can purchase. You can do better with any member of the Clarity lineup, but then you also have to be cool with driving one hellaciously ugly car. Life is full of tradeoffs.
If you're on the fence about the Accord Hybrid, don't worry, because you still have a little while before these cars arrive at dealers. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, either, but that should happen shortly before they arrive on dealership lots. They're expected to carry a lower starting price than in years past, thanks to a new base LX trim that the Hybrid lineup previously lacked.
