2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Expected to Get 47 Combined MPG

(American Honda Motor Co., Inc.)

Honda released initial fuel economy estimates for its all-new 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Wednesday. The EPA hasn’t announced official ratings yet, but Honda says it expects the Accord Hybrid to get 49/45/47 mpg city/highway/combined.
The Accord Hybrid’s fuel economy is better than the 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid’s ratings (43/39/41 mpg city/highway/combined), as well as the fuel economy of the 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid, which both get 36/40/38 mpg. The 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid (47/47/47 mpg) gets worse city fuel economy, but does better on the highway, though its combined rating is the same. The 2013 Toyota Prius gets a higher 51/48/50 mpg rating.
The 2014 Accord Hybrid is expected to go on sale this October. Pricing in the U.S. has not been released yet, but Bloomberg reports that Honda priced the Accord Hybrid 20 percent higher in Japan than the Toyota Camry Hybrid because of its better fuel economy. This has created speculation on whether or not the same will be true for the Accord Hybrid in the U.S. Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, told Bloomberg that the pricing tactic is smart since consumers are looking for the best balance of cabin size and fuel economy. Bloomberg says that 2013 Honda Accord sales have already increased 23 percent so far this year, and Toyota Camry’s sales have fallen by 5.5 percent.

(American Honda Motor Co., Inc.)

Its main rivals, the 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, start at $26,140 and $27,200, respectively.