Honda unveils the new Accord Hybrid for the Thai market

Five months after introducing the naturally-aspirated Honda Accord facelift models, Honda Thailand has now added a hybrid variant, thus completing the update exercise for the entire Accord range.

Aesthetic revisions include newly-designed blue-frame LED taillights; a Clear-Blue accented front grill, rear trunk spoiler and sporty new alloy wheels

As before the new Honda Accord Hybrid packs the firm's Sport Hybrid Intelligent Multi Mode Drive (i-MMD) which delivers fuel economy as low 4.2-litre/100km and is able to propel the Accord Hybrid up to 120km/h in full EV Drive mode.

The facelifted Accord Hybrid is powered by a 2.0-litre, 16-valve, (Atkinson Cycle) Double Overhead Camshaft (DOHC) i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine combined to two powerful electric motors through an E-CVT transmission. The car is fitted now with a 1.3 kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium-ion battery that offers better electrical transmission and charging performance.

The new car is able to seamlessly opt between four pre-set modes, namely:

• EV Drive Mode (electric motors only up to 120 km/h)
• Hybrid Drive Mode
• Engine Drive Mode
• Sport Drive Mode (delivers up to 215bhp)

The facelifted Honda Accord Hybrid now also features the ‘Honda Sensing’ suite of advanced driving aids (ADAS) which features:

• Adaptive Cruise Control system (ACC): Maintains vehicle speed when on a cruise according to vehicle ahead.
• Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS): Audio-visual Multi-Information Display (MID) alerts the driver, further warning is provided via vibration of the steering wheel – differen levels of autonomous braking is applied if the situation is not resolved. CMBS can detect pedestrians as well.
• Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS): Cameras detect lane markings helps the driver to maintain the proper lane position, system applies corrective torque to the steering wheel if driver fails to react.
• Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) with Lane Departure Warning (LDW): If the car is moves out of the detected lane, the LDW will displays an alert on the Multi-Information Display (MID), steering vibration provides further warning. If uncorrected, the brake system will be activated to assist the driver in braking to reduce speed to return to a lane marked with a solid line.

The previously fitted systems such as Honda LaneWatch blind-spot display with a camera on the passenger-side mirror that provides a view on the 7.7 inch screen, Active Cornering Lights (ACL) and six-airbags are still offered as standard.

There have been whispers of widening the range of hybrid Hondas on sale in Malaysia, however, very little is set in stone as of now. For the Thai market however, the new Accord Hybrid is offered in two variants:

• Hybrid: THB 1,659,000
• Hybrid TECH: THB 1,849,000