The '23 Honda Accord's New Engine Will Save Owners $18,000 In Lifetime Fuel Costs

Honda’s new top trims for the 2023 Accord all have a Hybrid engine. This is the new “step-up” powertrain in the Accord line, and it replaces the outgoing 2.0-liter turbo that Honda discontinued for this model year and the V6 Honda killed off back in 2017. We’ve tested the new 2023 top-trim hybrid-equipped Accord and give it two thumbs up. In part because the lifetime fuel savings compared to the prior step-up engines is a staggering $18,000.

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Where Did We Come Up With Our Numbers?
We turn to www.FuelEconomy.Gov for all of our fuel economy data. We test new cars every week, and for the better part of a decade, our real-world fuel economy of test vehicles has closely matched the EPA-Estimated Combined figure the EPA publishes. For our estimates, we have used the Combined figure.

Our family has a 2006 Accord now serving a third-generation driver. It seems to be in the prime of life at age 17, so we hope readers will agree that an Accord’s “lifetime” is 20 years. Truly, it can be much more than that, but let’s settle on 20 because it makes the math a lot easier.

Look closely at the information that the EPA supplies, and you will see an annualized fuel cost. For example, for the new 2023 Accord Hybrid, it is $1,100. That number is calculated by the EPA using a very simple formula. The EPA uses the average fuel cost in America and multiplies it by 15,000 miles per year. Easy peasy.

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We created this chart of the fuel costs for the Accord. Note that we have listed our all of the 2023 Accords along with the 2022 Accord with its 2.0T engine and the last V6 offered back in 2017. We have compared the new 2023 Hybrid’s fuel costs to the 2022 Accord 2.0T’s fuel costs to come up with our $18K difference.

It is a little-discussed fact that with many vehicles, the fuel cost over the vehicle’s lifetime is often more than the vehicle’s price new. Maintenance of an Accord is not exactly free either. Over 100,000 miles, we incurred a cost to maintain our Accord of $7,684. Over 20 years, we would expect that number to easily pass $10K.

As you can see, the new Accord Hybrid makes good sense economically. By replacing the old 2.0T with the Hybrid powertrain, Honda will save its owners the equivalent of $18,000 in today’s dollars, assuming fuel costs stay about the same as today’s prices. If fuel costs increase, the savings number only gets larger.

Tell us in the comments below if you think Honda’s move to drop both the V6 and the 2.0T is a wise decision.

Image of 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid engine courtesy of Honda.