Everyone makes a big deal about the death of regular cars, especially midsize sedans, but Honda seems to have missed the memo. Not everyone needs the larger footprint or wants the active lifestyle cosplay associated with most SUVs and crossovers. If you fancy yourself one of these people, the 2024 Honda Accord Sport Hybrid is all the car you’ll ever need.
Your pickings these days are much slimmer than they used to be, but Honda isn’t alone in keeping its midsize sedan alive. As has been the status quo for literal decades, the Accord’s biggest foil continues to be the Toyota Camry — itself seeing a thorough redesign of its own for 2025 inside and out, and especially under the hood. So, the Accord has work to do: it needs to put up a fight against its old foe, and be a compelling alternative to the crossovers and SUVs the buying public is obsessed with.
It helps that the Accord ain’t ugly. Fresh off a full redesign last year, this 11th-generation evolution keeps the sloping, coupe-ish roofline we first saw in 2018. It’s a looker for sure, with its slim LED headlights and wearing much less chrome than its predecessor. This Sport trim is the caliente-ish version, wearing a different 19-inch wheel design than other Accords, as well as a subtle lip spoiler and gloss black accents. It would’ve been nice if Honda blacked-out the window trim to match the rest of the “sporty” gloss black accents, but at this point, we’re nitpicking.
Inside, picture any new Honda and you get the gist of the Accord. That’s a compliment; the overall layout is clean and subtle, fit-and-finish is great, the physical switchgear is a blessing. A 12.3-inch touchscreen handles infotainment; it’s not particularly flashy, but it’s easy to use and comes with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s worth noting the Sport doesn’t get wireless charging or an auto-dim mirror, both of which odd omissions for a car pushing $40,000. Oh no. Anyway, despite the sloping roofline, there’s good headroom regardless of where you sit, there’s great legroom in the back, and the trunk is a spacious-for-a-sedan 473 litres.
Base Accords use the same 1.5L turbo-four as the Civic and CR-V, but the Sport is hybrid-only. A 2.0-litre normally aspirated four-cylinder works with two electric motors mounted side-by-side beside the gas engine, pumping out 204 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque, and paired to a CVT. It’s bittersweet because the manual Accord is dead, but the CVT is one of the better-behaved units out there. It doesn’t make the car sound like a whiny mallard when you floor it. Our only knock against the Accord here is the fact that it remains front-drive-only. The Camry gives you hybrid power and AWD, letting you have your cake and eat it, too.
Of course, all-wheel-drive generally comes at the expense of fuel economy, so perhaps the Accord is better off without it. Honda officially rates the Accord Hybrid at 5.0 L/100 kilometres in the city, 5.7 on the highway, and 5.3 combined. Their ratings are seemingly spot-on; we covered 800-plus kilometres in our time with the Accord — on one tank — averaging an impressive 5.3 L/100 km in the real world. This really surprised us; hybrids are typically most efficient around town, but the Accord’s electric end has no issues motivating the car on its own, even with the skinny pedal tipped in more than you’d expect. That it happily takes 87-octane gas is the icing on the cake.
Accords have always leaned towards the sporty end of the spectrum, and this newest car is no exception. It’s hardly as engaging as a Civic Type R, but the Accord is it’s punchy, the transmission avoids the “motorboating” sensation you hear and feel with most other CVTs under full-throttle acceleration, and the steering is responsive, well-weighted, and surprisingly feelsome for a modern car.
Plus, it has no right to corner as well as it does; carry some extra speed into a tight on-ramp, stay on the gas, and you’re rewarded with more grip and far less body roll than you’d expect. It’s something Nathan noticed with the HR-V; there’s just something right about the way a Honda drives. The Accord is no exception.
Price-wise, the Sport sits smack-dab in the middle of the Accord lineup. You do get a number of bells-and-whistles for $41,500, including a heated steering wheel, LED lighting all around, and Honda’s full suite of driver and active safety assists; spec any colour that isn’t dark grey, and you’re looking at $41,800 as-tested before destination, taxes, and all that fun stuff. It’s worth noting other basics in this day and age, such as cooled seats up front, heated seats out back, memory settings for the driver’s seat, and wireless charging for your phone, are locked behind the pricier Touring trim. Granted you do get a fair bit of car for the money, but the Camry is definitely a better value proposition, as you can get into a hybrid under $40,000.
Sometimes, it’s worth giving your head a shake and asking yourself if you really need all that extra space, all-wheel-drive, and the look-at-me-I’m-outdoorsy-and-therefore-interesting cosplay associated with SUVs. If you don’t, between its remarkably efficient powertrain, comfortable interior, and surprisingly athletic driving dynamics, the 2024 Honda Accord Sport Hybrid is all the car you’ll ever need.
