#PRODUCTWATCH: 2024 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID SPORT

It was a birthday week to remember, test driving the 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid Sport. It’s no mystery that the Accord is one of our beloved favourites in the Honda family. This midsize Sedan is the perfect drive, the perfect median between luxury and economy without ever sacrificing style. Our test ride was am ever-eyecatching Radiant Red Metallic.

The biggest selling point of all here is an unparalleled Fuel Economy 5.0/5.7/5.3 l/100 km (City/Highway/Combined). We were so pleasantly surprised not only how smooth and quiet our drives were, but also how little they cost! One day during our test drive we decided to cross the border to Buffalo from Toronto’s east end on a full tank of gas, only paying $17 US to fill our tank on the way back! That was incredible!

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The Accord Hybrid Sport operates on a 2.0-litre, 16-valve, Direct Injection, DOHC with dual variable timing control (VTC) 4-cylinder engine and runs at a combined 204 total horsepower. The Driver gets a multitude of options to drive in: ECON, Normal, Sport and Individual drive toggle modes.

One new unique thing I noticed here was the traffic sign recognition. While this feature is nothing new, an upgrade has been done in this generation where when you are crossing the US border, the speedometer converts for you the American speed limit with a red marking, making it easier than ever to ensure you are driving at a safe speed and within parameters.

Above this, the Accord Hybrid Sport is filled to the brim with features we love.  The moonroof makes our daily drivers that much better. But simple and subtle things like assisted opening trunk, proximity entry, pushbutton start, multi-angle rearview camera, Maintenance Minder™,  driver attention monitor (it let me know a couple times when I was getting fatigued on the long drives!) and dual-zone automatic climate control with air-filtration system have gone from nice-to-haves to must-haves today for us.

Entertainment wise, the ride boasts a gorgeous 12.3-inch colour touchscreen Display Audio System with 8 speakers. This looks rather superb and we love the new split-screen option when using Android Auto, making it easy to toggle between playlists on Spotify, while navigating with Google Maps all at once. Genius! Another new update is that we love that when we input a destination on Google Maps using Android Auto, right away there is an indicator that tells us how much fuel you are saving using ECON mode when you input your destination. Also, it also will tell you ahead what parking avails in the area surroudning your destination are like, i.e. EASY or DIFFICULT. Throughout your drives, you’ll notice how much more interactive they are, with notifications popping-up asking you if there are stalled vehicles, slowdowns, etc. are still impacting your routes. This can be good for some, but foreseeably a nuisance if you are trying to stay focussed on driving.

There are some minor downsides that we must highlight with the Accord Hybrid Sport. We were a little baffled at the lack of USB charging ports, this latest model preferring USB-C charging ports only, meaning you have to purchase new cables to charge if you don’t have this type already. This, and no wireless charging option was available as well. This model has no driver’s seat memory position – which though not a dealbreaker, can be a bit of a hurdle for some. The Driver does get 8-way power adjustment with lumbar support still and heated seating is available in the front row.

We definitely missed having automatic lock when walking away from the vehicle here, and there were a lack of beverage holders (things got a little messy with a hot coffee!) and charging ports for our backseat passengers. This was a little uncharacteristic of the care and intuition that Honda usually shows our passengers’ needs. Seats also are in sport fabric versus the usual leather trim – again not a huge deal but might not be ideal for some.

One thing Honda doesn’t sacrifice here though is its thorough safety features. Passive Safety features here include: 3-point front seat belts with automatic tensioning system; Front knee airbags (SRS); Rear side airbags; HondaLink™ Assist Automatic Emergency Response System; Side curtain airbags with rollover sensor system; SmartVent™ side airbags; Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH); Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure; and Childproof rear door locks.

Actve Safety features here include: 4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS); Auto high beam headlights Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS®);  Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system; Hill Start Assist; Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system; Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) system2; Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA®) with Traction Control; and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD).

More highlights from our Birthday Week Test Drive:

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In all an amazing ride that more than ever focuses on smoothness and economy and we’re here for it! The 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid Sport starts at $43,400 CAN. More here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)