2017 Honda Accord Hybrid

The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid's cabin is comparable in quality to many other midsize cars'. The layout is understated and attractive, and the materials quality is generally good, though there aren't quite enough soft-touch materials to call the Accord Hybrid upscale. The front and rear seats are comfortable, but taller occupants may wish they had a little more headroom. The Accord Hybrid's trunk space is on the low side for the class, but it does have a higher cargo capacity than most midsize hybrid rivals.

When it comes to technology, the Accord Hybrid stands out for its standard active-safety features, which go far beyond the standard rearview camera that you'll find in many other midsize sedans. There's also an available touch-screen infotainment system, but it can be frustrating to use at times because of the lack of redundant physical buttons and knobs.

• "Consumers also will appreciate the handsome but low-key exterior design, the roomy interior, and the wood-like plastic dash trim." -- Car and Driver
• "The interior features plenty of high-quality materials and a good build quality, while the sharp exterior and blue hybrid accents help separate it from the standard Accord." -- Motor Trend
• "Interior materials are about par for the class, with padding on the dash top, door tops, and armrests augmented by dark wood and piano black trim with matte-silver and chrome accents. Our test vehicle had an all-black interior, but two-tones in black/tan and black/grey are available." -- Consumer Guide

Seating

Like most midsize sedans, the Accord Hybrid seats five. It comes standard with cloth upholstery and a power-adjustable driver's seat, which makes it easy to find a comfortable driving position. The front seats are supportive, and they won't leave you aching after a multihour drive. Taller drivers may wish the front seats offered more legroom, but nobody will complain about the available headroom.

The rear seats are fairly comfortable as well, and they'll feel spacious to most passengers. Even with the front seats pushed back all the way, there is enough room in the rear seats for adults to slide in, though taller riders may find they are short on headroom.

If you want to up the comfort level, you can opt for leather upholstery. Heated front and rear outboard seats are also available, which can help you and your passengers stay warm on chilly mornings.

• "… we found the Accord Hybrid's front buckets to be soft and comfortable during our day-long drive. One thing we'd like to see added, however, is ventilation for front seat occupants. The Accord Hybrid is at least well-suited for the colder months with available heated front and rear seats." -- Left Lane News
• "There's good headroom up front, but really tall drivers might find legroom a bit tight. All Hybrids come with a 10-way power driver seat (including tilt cushion and adjustable lumbar support), and EX-L and Touring add driver-seat memory. In back, there's sufficient headroom for those up to about 6-feet tall, and there's ample legroom, even with the seat ahead pushed all the way back." -- Consumer Guide

Interior Features

Standard features in the Accord Hybrid include dual-zone automatic climate control, push-button start, Bluetooth, a rearview camera, forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, Honda LaneWatch, and an infotainment system with an 8-inch display.

Available features include a power moonroof, a seven-speaker audio system, HD Radio, satellite radio, a USB port, front and rear parking sensors, and an infotainment system with a 7-inch touch screen, HondaLink smartphone connectivity, navigation, and voice recognition. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also available.

Most audio and climate functions are controlled through the infotainment system, which can be upgraded to include a touch screen. While the touch screen makes the car feel more modern and has a smartphone-style layout that's easy to use for most people, it does have some drawbacks. Namely, nearly every function is controlled via the touch screen, and there are no buttons or knobs. This means that adjusting some settings is a tedious, multistep process, and the lack of a volume knob is frustrating. Additionally, adjusting the climate system's fan speed is not as easy as it could be; rather than simply turning a knob, you have to repeatedly press a button to reach the desired speed.

Drivers concerned with safety will certainly appreciate the Accord Hybrid's suite of driver assistance features. While the majority of midsize cars only come standard with a rearview camera, the Accord Hybrid comes with a plethora of safety tech. In addition to a rearview camera, you'll enjoy driving aids like lane keep assist and Honda LaneWatch, which uses a camera on the passenger-side mirror to let you see objects in your blind spot. It displays a video feed onto the center stack screen, which is shown whenever you active your turn signal. There are also accident avoidance features such as forward collision warning and collision mitigation braking, which can help you avoid low-speed impacts by automatically applying the brakes for you.

See 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid specs and trims »

• "The audio system in upper-level models has no buttons or knobs, but gets smartphone-style graphics. Not quite as good is the control layout. The audio system in the top-line Touring we drove has no knobs or buttons; instead, volume is adjusted with a virtual slider control, and tuning is done through virtual buttons on the screen. The former, in particular, is awkward to use while driving, though redundant steering-wheel controls help. We're told the mid-line EX-L is the same, but that the base model's audio system has conventional knobs. Also a bit tedious to use are the climate controls. Although you're not going to have to adjust the automatic climate system very often, if you do, you'll be repeatedly tapping 'repetitive-step' pushbuttons for fan speed, temperature, and mode, which we find less handy than simply turning a knob." -- Consumer Guide
• "Inside, the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are appreciated, the presence of Lanewatch remains a fave, and the now-standard HondaSensing safety suite (which includes things like lane-keep assist, road-departure mitigation, and adaptive cruise control) is going to make a lot of people feel better about buying this gas-electric Accord." -- Autoblog
• "The interior of the Accord Hybrid has also been revamped, with the most notable change being a new touchscreen infotainment system located in the center of the sedan's dash. Already in use in other Honda vehicles, the high-resolution screen cleans up the car's overall look by doing away with a multitude of buttons and knobs, although we lament the demise of the volume knob." -- Left Lane News

Cargo

Because of the extra space that the electric motor's battery occupies, hybrids tend to have less trunk space than their nonhybrid counterparts, and many don't have very impressive capacities. The Accord Hybrid fits this description. It has 13.7 cubic feet of trunk space, which is about two cubic feet less than the nonhybrid Accord sedan offers. However, the Accord Hybrid has one of the largest trunks of any midsize hybrid, and it offers nearly as much space as some nonhybrid midsize rivals like the Mazda6 and Buick Regal.

Unfortunately, if you need more space than that, the Accord Hybrid can't help you much; the rear seats don't fold down, and there isn't even a pass-through for longer items. There is a little added space under the trunk's floor, though, since the Accord Hybrid comes with an inflator kit instead of a spare tire.

• "The smaller battery pack compared with the previous Accord hybrid increases trunk space from 13 to 14 cubic feet, though unfortunately the rear seatbacks don't fold, and no pass-through is provided." -- Car and Driver
• "It's smaller than in the 'regular' Accord, and the seat back doesn't fold down (the battery fills the space that would otherwise be the opening), but the Hybrid's trunk is still of usable size, and there's added storage space under the floor." -- Consumer Guide
• "The Accord Hybrid's 13.5 cubic foot trunk is the most spacious in the midsize hybrid sedan class." -- Motor Trend