2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Road Test and Review

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Honda Accord isn’t as popular as it used to be. This mid-size sedan used to be the brand’s best-seller, but now its sales volume trails the CR-V, HR-V, and Pilot crossovers and the compact Civic. It still sells well, but fewer people want the Accord’s combination of a low, sporty seating position and a big, spacious interior. 

And yet, for those who do, it remains an outstanding sedan. And half of them choose its excellent gas-electric hybrid powertrain. 

The 2025 Honda Accord Hybrid, priced from $33,655, sits at the top of the Accord’s lineup. This powertrain brings speedier acceleration as well as much better gas mileage. We just spent a week testing the 2025 Accord Hybrid to learn more about this spacious, fun-to-drive, and economical mid-size sedan. Keep reading to hear about its pros and cons so you can see if it’s the right car for you. 

The Hybrid Upgrade

If the Accord Hybrid sounds expensive to you, here’s one note: You can’t buy a low-cost base model like a Toyota Camry LE. The base Accord Hybrid Sport is similarly equipped to the gas-only Accord SE, which already starts at $30,560. Plus, as we’ll discuss, your extra three grand also buys you better gas mileage, another 12 horsepower, and an extra 55 lb-ft of torque. 

In the Accord Hybrid, the electric motor pairs with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine. The engine recharges a small battery to power the electric motor. The car can even run on solely electric power for short stretches and with gentle acceleration; it can enter electric mode automatically, or you can press an “E” button on the center console to lock in extra all-electric action. 

Its features include a moonroof, a 10-way power driver’s seat, heated front seats, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, an eight-speaker stereo, and a full suite of advanced safety and driver-assistance features like adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring. The EX-L ($34,940) swaps cloth upholstery for leather; the Sport-L ($35,375) adds a few sportier design cues to the EX-L; and the Touring like our test vehicle ($39,300) has ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, a head-up display, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and a different infotainment system. 

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Speed and Efficiency

Between its gas engine and its electric motor, the Accord Hybrid has a total of 204 horsepower and 247 lb-ft of torque. That’s not enough for wild speed, but it makes the Accord Hybrid agreeably quick. Plus, the engine is smoother and quieter than the Toyota Camry – lending the Accord a more premium feel. 

It gets great gas mileage for a big, powerful sedan, too. In EPA testing, most Accord Hybrids get 46 mpg in the city, 41 mpg on the highway, and 44 mpg combined. And the EX-L, with smaller wheels, gets 51 mpg city, 44 mpg highway, and 48 mpg combined. (By contrast, the base 192-hp gas-only Accord gets 29 mpg city, 37 mpg highway, and 32 mpg combined.) 

Our test vehicle demolished its EPA estimates. We averaged an incredible 51 mpg in our week of mixed driving. Our test took place in a temperature sweet spot for hybrids – warm but not crazy hot – but we give the Accord plenty of credit, too. We most recently averaged 44 mpg in a hybrid Camry and 47 mpg in a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. 

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Sporty Handling, Too

The Accord’s smooth, quiet, powerful engine complements its poised ride and handling. This is the premium sports sedan of the mid-size family car class. It’s also one reason to buy the Accord over a crossover. Its low center of gravity gives it lively moves that you just won't find in an SUV. And while a Camry or Sonata floats casually over the road, the Accord hugs it tight. Some people will find it too firm and prefer the other sedans’ extra isolation. But the Honda is steadier and more composed – feeling tightly put together and always behaving itself. 

A selectable Sport mode dials up the steering’s weight along with the accelerator’s responsiveness. We appreciate that Honda also lets you customize an “individual” mode that lets you pair sporty steering with a more economical throttle, or vice versa. 

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Low and Sleek

The Accord Hybrid was last redesigned for the 2023 model year, and its looks haven’t changed since then. We’ve heard some critics say it’s too tame, but others will appreciate its restrained simplicity. It’s crisp and modern, and it’s not covered with trendy swoops and slashes. 

The proportions also help it stand out. It’s low and long, like a big sports sedan. And after a long hood, it stretches smoothly toward its rear end. Its sleek silhouette looks more like an Audi A7 liftback than a taller-looking, stubbier Camry with a more upright, rounded-off profile. 

Every Accord Hybrid but the EX-L also has flashy 19-inch wheels, though they have different styles on the Sport, Sport L, and Touring trim levels. The EX-L has smaller, simpler 17-inchers for those who’d pick a quieter look or prefer the practical advantages of better gas mileage, a smoother ride, and cheaper replacement tires. (Count us in!) 

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

High-Quality, User-Friendly Interior

The Accord Hybrid also feels like a premium car inside – though not a cutting-edge one. And for some, that’s the perfect combination. 

Here’s what we mean: Modern luxury cars are all about screens. Not only will some people have more traditional tastes, but it’s easier and less distracting to make many adjustments by pressing a button or twisting a knob than tapping at a screen. The Accord’s interior reminds us of an old Audi, with a simple and symmetrical dashboard and beautifully precise moving parts. We’d wish for a larger volume knob, but these days, it’s a relief to even have one. 

Yet it’s also modern. Every Accord Hybrid has a big 12.3-inch touchscreen (versus the mere 7 inches on gas Accords), plus a crisply rendered 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster. 

The top Accord Hybrid Touring model like our test vehicle includes Google Built In, which means that you can install Google Maps and select other apps into your car. Every trim level also supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so you can use your phone’s apps on the touchscreen as well. 

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Stretch Out

Given the SUVs’ popularity, many sedans have raised their seating positions to try and keep up. The Accord Hybrid takes the opposite approach. You sit low and you stretch out your legs – by Honda CR-V standards, it’s like you’re in a sports car. Some people will hate it, but they have plenty of alternatives. Those who love it will be glad to find a modern car with this experience. We do wish Honda included a height-adjustable passenger seat, though, in case the driver ever ferries a passenger who’d like to sit up higher. 

The backseat is also low to the ground, but not uncomfortably low relative to the floor. Head space is a bit tight, so let the tallest member of your carpool call shotgun. The Accord Hybrid has a best-in-class 16.7 cubic feet of trunk space.  

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Highest Safety Status

The 2025 Honda Accord earned the highest status of Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, reflecting exemplary performance in a host of crash tests. That includes a tough new evaluation of rear-seat safety in frontal impacts. And while its top competitors also got the highest marks from the IIHS, the Honda edges them out with perfect five-star scores in every evaluation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Every Accord Hybrid is also packed with advanced safety features – forward automatic emergency braking, a lane-departure warning with lane-keeping steering assistance, and blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert. 

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Accord Hybrid vs. the Competition

As we’ve mentioned, the Accord faces two other mid-size hybrid sedans – the Toyota Camry (now sold exclusively as a hybrid) and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The Accord has the sharpest handling and liveliest acceleration of the trio, and we got the best real-world gas mileage in our admittedly unscientific testing. It’s also the most expensive. 

Between the Sonata and Camry, the Hyundai is the most serenely opulent, with a quieter ride and posher interior materials. The Camry costs less, especially if you’re interested in a base model without all the bells and whistles. And it’s the only one of the trio available with all-wheel drive. 

Honda fans also have some in-house rivals to consider. In the Accord family, the hybrid is a steep upcharge. Its fuel savings may not pay for themselves, especially if you would have chosen the base Accord LX ($28,295) rather than the better-optioned SE. But you also get the benefit of a quieter, more powerful engine. Meanwhile, if you aren’t attached to the Accord’s huge backseat and gracefully big shape, the Honda Civic Hybrid may check all your boxes for less money. And if you’re curious about joining the crossover bandwagon, the CR-V Hybrid costs a few thousand dollars more than the Accord Hybrid, isn’t as fuel efficient, and doesn’t handle as crisply. But if you value a high seating position and big cargo hold, it’s an excellent choice among a sea of hybrid SUVs. 

2025 Toyota Camry XSE ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Fun and Fuel Efficient

No other car is like the Accord Hybrid. Big sedans aren’t selling like they used to. And among the survivors, value tends to beat out sporty performance. 

But if you still like a roomy four-door that lets you sit low and enjoy your driving experience, the Accord Hybrid is still a better buy than most SUVs. And it’ll cut your gas bill to boot. 

2025 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring ・ Photo by Brady Holt