Honda Accord Hybrid Set To Launch on October 25

Honda has been trying to breach into the volume car segment lately, with its new Brio-based cars family. And, though the formula has worked for Honda with the cars like the Amaze, Mobilio, and BR-V, I, personally, have missed the cars that it is best known to produce; cars, like the Civic and the Accord. However, half* the bereavement is going to end on October 25 as the Japanese car giant is all set to revive the Accord nameplate in India in the car’s latest and hybrid avatar. Yes, folks, the Accord hybrid is coming to our shores – quite literally – as it’s going to be a CBU (Completely Built Unit) import.

To start with, the CBU import is going to push the price north of Rs 35 lakh. Okay, before we conclude that it is quite high, let’s see what its biggest competitor is offered at. The Toyota Camry Hybrid, which is available in the country for more than a couple of years, is offered at around Rs 30 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). This seems like quite a big difference, but trust me it isn't. Because, while the Camry is a fairly old car, the Accord Hybrid is a newer offering from Honda compared to that from Toyota. Also, the former lags way behind the latter in terms of features.

For this reason, you will find a dual screen setup at the central console of the Accord. Out of the two screens, the lower one is the 7.0-inch touchscreen and offers support for Google Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Moreover, the interior setup is more flamboyant when we take the Camry’s interiors into consideration.

On the outside, the new Accord displays its technological prowess with its unique LED headlamps and a sleek wide stance. And, as a matter of fact, the car only uses LED bulbs to fulfill its illumination requirements both on the inside and outside. You can also admire the unique diamond-cut wheels, the elegant lines on the exteriors and a lowered stance.

Under the hood, the Hybrid version is powered by a 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder, which is paired with two electric motors and produce a consolidated power figure of 215PS. Well, this is what the brochure of the American Accord Hybrid said, and we expect the Indian version to produce the same figure. Thanks to the hybrid powertrain the mileage of this variant will be easily more than 20kmpl. Other than this, we may also get the good old 2.4-litre iVTEC petrol motor, which was available in the country with the seventh-gen Accord. It produces around 176PS of power and 225Nm of torque.

Do watch out for our first drive impressions and more details of the car!

*P.S: The other 'half' will go away when the Civic is launched.