2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Sport Review: Why This Sedan is So Popular

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Me with the 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Sport. Photo: Scotty Reiss

Me with the 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Sport. Photo: Scotty Reiss

Conveniences, Elegant Touches and Hybrid Performance 

There’s a reason that the Honda Accord has been perennial favorite since it was introduced to drivers in the 1970’s: It’s a solidly reliable car with an elegant look, thoughtful touches and with each model year, more intuitive touches and details. It gives you a grown-up experience that lets you move through the world with confidence

For 2023, the Honda Accord has been completely redesigned. With a starting price of about $27K and as reviewed here, about $33K, it also continued the journey of including even more thoughtful details: capless fuel filler, personalized driver settings, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and an even smarter key that locks as you walk away from the car (with the key, of course). 

And, it has a hybrid setup that gives you more control over how you use the car’s energy, even allowing you to increase the amount of power sent back to the battery through regenerative braking, and drive on all electric for a few miles if you wish. It’s a great way to learn electric driving if you’re inclined.

But what it really delivers is great fuel economy. Honda estimates the Accord Hybrid Sport model to get abut 44 MPG; we averaged 39 MPG during our test drive. 

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A Newly Redesigned Sedan, Inside and Out

A top reason for Honda’s popularity over the years (in addition to the brand’s reputation for reliability) has been its elegant, timeless look. And for 2023, this continues. Honda refined more than redesigned the look of the Accord, giving it a new honeycomb mesh front grille and sleeker LED headlights. On the rear end it still has a demurely pert spoiler on the trunk and now, a light bar that frames the “H” badge and incorporates slender new tail lights.

These refined details continue inside. The honeycomb grille is reflected in a panel that spans the entire dash and hides the air vents. It contrasts with the soft-touch dashboard and multimedia screen above, and the climate control panel below. At night the screens, dials and controls glow with backlighting (even the USB ports!), making everything really easy to see. The overall experience is elegant but also, very functional. 

Our test model was equipped with some really nice features, including the 12” multimedia touch screen featuring Honda’s new system. It’s smart, customizable and can be updated via over the air updates. It also had wireless Apple CarPlay, which I really appreciate, and a solid suite of driver assist and safety features. Functions like adaptive cruise control and road sign reader are standard, which is fantastic. So many brands still charge for those, which are incredibly helpful on the road.  

Let’s Talk Hybrid: Driving in EV Mode

Four of the Accord trims are hybrid models; in fact, only the base model and the one above it are not hybrid. They feature only slightly less powerful engines and are estimated to get about 11 MPG (combined) less than the hybrid models. 

With the hybrid trims, Honda includes a lot of coaching. Drivers can add energy to the battery, use it when they like or let it boost overall fuel economy. I like that you can ‘play’ with the hybrid system to get the feel for an electric car, pulling the left paddle to maximize regenerative braking and add power back to the battery.

When there is a significant charge on the battery — you can tell via the gauge on the left side of the driver display — you can tap the EV mode button on the center console and drive in all electric. You can only drive a few miles, so unless you have a solid reason for wanting to drive in all electric, keeping mind that depleting the battery’s charge also forces the system to use more gas. Ideally, it’s designed to supplement the gas engine to make it as efficient as possible. That’s how you’ll get the estimated 44MPG. 

During our test drive I didn’t use the regenerative system much because I did a lot of highway driving. As a result, the battery level stayed pretty low and I averaged 39 MPG. The good news is, if you ignore the EV system altogether and drive as you normally would, you’ll do pretty well on fuel economy. And if you really want to push it, you can, and you’ll do better. 

How Does the Honda Accord Sport Hybrid Drive?

Good question. I wasn’t able to compare the Sporty Hybrid model to the non-sport models, however, all hybrids carry the same 204 HP motor which, because it’s hybrid, is relatively quiet. The Accord accelerates nicely on the highway and was easy to manage on local roads in traffic. I played with sport mode but didn’t notice much of a difference between sport and normal.

I could feel econ mode, however; it’s clear that there is more regenerative braking in econ mode. That, paired with pulling the left paddle, gave a more “electric car” feel to the drive experience. For much of my drive I operated in comfort (which I felt in reduced MPG) for the ease of driving in heavy traffic in the city and on the highway.

Is the Honda Accord Sport Hybrid Good for Families?

Yes and no. Yes, in that there’s plenty of room for everyone to spread out, lots of rear seat legroom and the trunk is roomy for all the things you’ll need to carry. 

The roomy rear seat could easily accommodate kids car seats; in fact, I had my two car seats in the Accord for about half of my test drive. However, only the Touring model has rear seat air vents and USB ports; I would not recommend the lower trims for families with kids in car seats or tweens or teens who need to plug in a phone (they can also get cranky about the lack of air vents). But if you plan to have kids in the rear seat most of the time, look at the Honda CH-R, which is much more ideal for families.

What This Car Costs 

Our test model was a 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Sport; for the 2024 model year the price went up about $650. Here’s how 2024 pricing shapes up on the Honda web site: 

What We Loved 

The Honda Accord gets me — my 25-year-old self who needs an affordable car with pampering touches and a sense of elegance and confidence. In this car there is no self-doubt, no second-guessing, no feeling left behind in terms of tech or features. Just a solidly built, elegant feeling grown up, efficient sedan. 

Disclosure: Additionally, A Girls Guide to Cars may earn a commission from affiliate links in this story.

By Scotty Reiss

Journalist, entrepreneur and mom. Expertise includes new cars, family cars, 3-row SUVs, child passenger car seats and automotive careers... More about Scotty Reiss

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