2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Limited vs. 2013 Honda Accord EX-L Four-Cylinder

Edmunds.com

2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Limited vs. 2013 Honda Accord EX-L Four-Cylinder

The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid's biggest competitor might be its sibling, the four-cylinder 2013 Honda Accord EX-L. Here's our latest comparison test.

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empowah

It's also worth mentioning that although the hybrid costs more initially, you get some of that money back when you sell it.

On KBB, the retail price for a five-year old Camry Hybrid is $5,000 higher than that for a similar Camry LE. And buyers typically finance their cars; the extra amount in the monthly payment is offset by the savings in fuel, so there's effectively no "break-even" period.

duck87

As empowah said, it's interesting when you do the financing costs because then you'd realize that the hybrid does not cost much more (trim for trim), but the fuel savings are immediate. When you look at the combined mileage figures and you do the math, things start spinning in your head... that being said, this being the "What's hot" section of Edmunds, there's an alternative- you can bypass both of these trim levels and go with the Accord Sport with 6 speed manual.

bankerdanny

Not that it's the first hybrid to do this, but the Accord just lays a major beatdown on the Volt. It does everything the Volt does (and in a similar fashion with the series hybrid mode), but with more room, better mileage, better performance, and a lower price.

bankerdanny

@empowah: Edmunds method of calculating 'payback' time has always been faulty in this regard. Almost nobody pays cash for a new car at this price point.

typesh

The news here is even better for the Hybrid if you compare like trims (when possible). EX 2.4L. to Hybrid EX (aka 'Hybrid'), the difference is around $3,500. EX-L 2.4L to Hybrid EX-L, it's $3,600. So the payback is 3.5-5.5 years roughly depending on how you calculate it, and of course not including the higher resale value. As empowah mentioned, for the majority that finance it (usually 36-60 months), the payback is immediate, and the resale value is a bonus. So unless the Hybrid is going for sticker while the 2.4L is massively discounted, the Hybrid is the one to get.

juddholl10

You bring up a hugely important point about driver involvement. While the editors of the What's Hot section, formerly the enthusiast-focused Inside Line, tend to center around driver involvement as it pertains to road feel and mechanical relationships, it might be useful and incredibly interesting to discuss driver involvement in the realm of the hybrid drive model. The Accord Hybrid seems to me to be the most involving hybrid car to have ever hit the road, involving and supporting the driver's own driving habits instead of forcing the driver to play a silly eco-game (a game that angers drivers of large displacement vehicles trying to turn left).

schen72

I would certainly pay cash because I don't finance depreciating assets. Just a personal rule I follow.

shatner

I would certainly pay cash because I don't finance depreciating assets. Just a personal rule I follow.
__________________

So I guess you have never been married!

noburgers

I still worry about the cost of replacing the battery pack in the overall long term costs. But you save tranny servicing and I would guess you might get huge miles out of your brake pads and rotors.

bankerdanny

@shen: you would be part of a minority of new car buyers then. The vast majority of new car purchases are financed via loans or leases and very few owners (again few, not all) keep the car after the loan/lease has expired. Most will trade into a new car a

dagmar3

I honestly don't understand why Edmunds.com totally ignores the True Market Value of the cars they compare. Why bother with calculating and updating the TMV of a car if you are just going to assume that everybody will pay MSRP?

The payback period of a hybrid should account for the real prices actually paid for the vehicles. And right now, the conventional Accord comes with significant discounts from MSRP while the hybrids do not.

accordlover4

People who buy accords are practical

The size of the trunk matters, it's one of the Accords best features.

Why no mention of the actual difference in cargo volume... agenda to recommend Hybrid cars???

stevenfma

Reviewers
1) had to use CA gas prices
2) got less than Fuelly.com for the I4
3) made no attempt to hyper-mile the I4
3) kept batteries warm in south CAL
4) drive 40% city
...still say the break-even point to 5 years.

In the real world
1) Accord Hybrid is not doing so well 35 mpg combined average: http://www.fuelly.com/car/honda/accord/2014/hybrid l4
2) Accord I4 is doing well with 34 mpg combined average: http://www.fuelly.com/car/honda/accord/2013/gas l4
3) Hyper-mile I4 mix = 36.3-37.5 mpg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7362386@N04/11533913915
4) Hyper-mile I4 highway = 45.4 mpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/7362386@N04/11533925615
... the break-even point is more like 25 years and 1,000,000 miles.
... oh wait you have to change the batteries @ 200k miles... make that NEVER !

9608

I just checked the Edmunds inventory tab for the Honda Accord Hybrid. In a 50 mile radius of the Chicagoland area there are exactly three available Accord Hybrids listed. Plus I understand that Honda dealers are asking sticker list prices for these cars.
I am very interested in an Accord Hybrid but will probably wait another year or 18 months until supply better matches the demand.