So gas prices keep rising, and they probably aren't gonna drop anytime soon. Right now we have the S and an Element (EX 2wd), S is the fun car and the Element the daily. Wel,, luckily my wife and I work at the same place so we don't have to drive two cars, but we drive about 50 miles a day.

Anyway, I have been looking at the Accord online and really thinking aout it lately and now I have driven it. For starters my mom recently bought a Ridgeline (everything but the nav), the dealer screwed up the tags so they gave her a fully loaded Accord V6 with hav asa demo, its pretty cool and quick too. After trucking around in it I decided to go to the dealer and test the Hybrid, it is slick! For starters i love the electric motor info on the dash, I don't think its really necessary but its fun to look down at. The first thing you notice is the lack of power when you depress the peddle, since when stopped the gas engine turns off and the electric gets the car back running until the gas motor kicks in. Once going though the car has a good deal of torque and you can do whatever you want with it. The interior is just as comfortable as any other high-end Accord, but the passenger seat is not electric. I did not really experiance the overstear that is spoken of in reviews, but I may not have been driving the car fast enough, or maybe I am not a sensititve enough driver. Anyway, I only drove it around on the streets for about 10 minutes so I didn't get to take it on the freeway, but i'm sure it handles great there too.

As soon as we have the money together I think we are gonne get the non navi one. It should save us a few hundred bucks a year in gas a year. The only thing I wish it has is the sun roof and the folding back seat. Otherwise my wife and I love the Accord Hybrid!

 

The lag you feel has nothing to do with the electric motor starting the car from a dead stop. The electric motor in that car probably has more torque than the gasoline half of the motor. My guess is that Honda added a little delay so as to not scare the pants off of unsuspecting new hybrid owners.

Gabe

 

I dunno about the lack of power, but it has the fastest 0-60 of all the Accords, accordiing to C&D.

 

[QUOTE=Gabe,Apr 10 2005, 09:11 AM] The lag you feel has nothing to do with the electric motor starting the car from a dead stop.

 

Only as long as the drive batteries are charged up. Punch it often enough and you'll drain those batteries. After that, you're just driving a standard V6 Accord that's now saddled with the dead weight of the electic motor and support batteries, not to mention the added power consumed while the system "recharges" said batteries!

I'll bet it's fun while it lasts though!

Drive Safe,
Steve R.

 

from what i understand, the gasoline engine helps get the car moving from a standstill and then the electric motor kind of takes over when the car has reached a stable speed. btw does this motor disable 3 of the cylinders when you're simply just cruising?



its amazing how honda makes the engine more fuel efficient and is able to squeeze out 15 more hp over the stand 3.0 v6 motor. honda.

 

Did you know Toyota is bring out there Highlander Hybrid in 2 months? The est. the 0-60 in 7.3 sec... That's pretty fast for a SUV. Gas mileage is great too. Something to think about if you want to haul around stuff like the element. Oh, and you can tow upto 3,000 lbs.

 

I really have high hopes for these SUV hybrids. That would be decent milage for what I need. A second car grocery getter/winter car that can tow a ski boat once in a while. But the current issue of Automobile tested one, )and as you probably can guess from most of these publications, when they test them they drive the snot out of them) and it only got 13 or 14 MPG in their test. So if you have a lead foot you might be better off with the standard drivetrain.

 

No actually the electric motor is used at low speeds, the gas only comes on when more power is demanded.

The +15hp is not due to engine mods but instead is due to the extra power of gas + electric running together.

Interesting Diesel V Hybrid article...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive...gy/1215782.html

 

Everything I've read on Honda's hybrid systems say (unless I missed something) that the gasoline engine is the primary source of power. The electric part adds it's 2 cents worth whenever the driver requests the added power. In this case, I'm thinking, "punching it to pass on the freeway," that sort of thing. It's also likely that the electrics help when the car first starts off. Electric motors make their best torque right at stall speed so once the engine lights off, the electric motor continues to assist with getting the car rolling. Overcoming inertia from a dead stop is one of the scenarios that eat up a lot of fuel.

The hybrid Accord V6 "does" have the cylinder deactivation feature. Once you're up to speed and running at relatively light throttle settings, the rear 3 cylinders (I think it's the back set?) shut down. That's why the car has such high freeway EPA numbers. This system also includes "active" motor mounts to quiet the added vibrations that come from running a V6 on only three cylinders. All of this is computer controlled. Needless to say, there's a LOT more to this system than "just" bolting an electric motor to the back of a standard Accord V6.

Kuddo's to Honda and Toyota for developing the technology!

Drive Safe,
Steve R.