The 2023 Honda Accord Gets More Stylish and More Torque in Its Hybrid Form: Here’s What You Need to Know!

The 2.0T is gone, but the Accord Hybrid is more potent than ever

2023 Honda Accord
(Images: Honda)

Honda’s model revamp continues with the all-new, eleventh-generation 2023 Accord.

The 2023 Honda Accord splits the range between two powertrain options, with the automaker figuring half of you will go for the revamped hybrid model. Naturally, there’s far more to this update, including sleeker styling and technological upgrades, as you’d expect with a full-on overhaul of a long-running model. In the video below, Honda brought Roman and Kase out to Los Angeles to take a look at what the brand-new Accord is all about.

On the styling front, the 2023 Honda Accord brings the brand’s flagship sedan into line with its new design ethos started by the eleventh-gen Civic. That is a more prominent grille and fewer overall lines, with a bold character line down the flanks that your eyes follow to a clean and relatively simple rear end design.

As for numbers, Honda’s latest generation midsizer is only marginally bigger than the outgoing model. It rides on the same 111.4-inch wheelbase, and sits 57.1 inches tall and 73.3 inches wide. This car is 195.7 inches, though — 2.7 inches longer than the old car. In line with the car’s overall design, it seems, Honda did widen the Accord’s front track by about 0.6 inches, spacing the front wheels farther apart. It narrowed the rear track by about 0.8 inches, though.

There are still distinctive elements in both the front and back, but the recurring theme among Honda’s newest models looks to be dialing back the busier styling of the last-gen models. Less can certainly be more, and I think the 2023 Honda Accord is a good case in point for that lesson.

2023 Honda Accord

One question you’ll still have to ask: Turbo or hybrid?

Where you don’t get less is under the hood, at least if you go for the hybrid. Now, there’s no 2.0-liter, de-tuned Type R engine for the 2023 Honda Accord. For the sake of efficiency, the automaker is emphasizing its 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle-backed hybrid system for folks wanting a little more shove than the base 1.5-liter turbo.

On the entry-level side of the Accord range, you do at least still get that 1.5T unit. It still mates up exclusively to a continuously variable transmission, and puts out 192 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque. This will be the standard engine on the base LX, EX and EX-L trims. While this Accord is slightly larger and official fuel economy figures aren’t out yet, the 2023 Honda Accord 1.5T should land relatively near the old car’s 30 City / 38 Highway / 33 Combined mpg figure with the CVT.

The story with the Accord Hybrid broadly follows that of the new CR-V crossover. It’s an all-new engine, the automaker says, but the on-paper specs take a bit of fleshing out. At first glance, it looks like the Accord Hybrid is less potent than before. Honda notes the total system output at 204 horsepower (rather than 212 hp in the old car). Due to a new method in actually measuring the horsepower figures, the company says this new powertrain actually gains 3 horsepower from the last version.

Torque output, on the other hand, is more straightforward: You get a 15 lb-ft bump in this generation, up to 247 lb-ft. Given the car’s dimensional changes and the new powertrain, I won’t speculate on how different this Accord Hybrid’s EPA ratings will be from the tenth-gen model.

2023 Honda Accord

As ever, the 2023 Honda Accord brings more (and fresh) technology

Inside, the 2023 Honda Accord adopts the brand’s most modern design language as you’ll see in both the Civic and the brand’s SUVs. This car boasts the largest touchscreen of the bunch though, with a 12.3-inch unit. It’s running the latest version of Honda’s infotainment system, while drivers also get a standard 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster. Keep in mind, you will have to step up to at least the Sport to get that larger screen. LX and EX models still get a 7-inch display, though Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability is present across the range. If you do get the larger screen, both options can be used wirelessly.

The top-spec Touring trim gets a few extra goodies that aren’t available on any other Accord model. Wireless charging is one, while you also get Google features integrated into the infotainment system itself. That includes built-in Google Maps, Google Assistant and access to the Google Play Store, though Honda notes even its own navigation system is better and easier to use this time around. Touring models also exclusively get a 6-inch head-up display and a 12-speaker Bose premium audio system.

As you’d expect, the 2023 Honda Accord gets the Honda Sensing suite as standard equipment. In addition to the now-usual features (automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring, for example), the new car also brings in “Low-Speed Braking Control”, traffic sign recognition and a new Traffic Jam Assist. The latest-gen model also carries over-the-air software update capability across the range to push any improvements, or as is the way with modern software these days, hopefully fix any bugs.

Pricing and availability?

Standard practice with a reveal is to omit pricing information, and the 2023 Honda Accord is no exception. We don’t have those specific numbers yet, but should get them in the coming months.

The updated 2023 Honda Accord will go on sale early next year.