The 2021 Honda Accord Doesn’t Fix What Isn’t Broken

New features include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as improved safety tech and wheel designs.
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Three years after it was introduced, Honda is giving the thick-eyebrowed, tenth-gen Accord its mid-cycle refresh. And as you can probably already tell, not much has changed, proving that whoever is in charge of the 2021 Honda Accord clearly believes in not fixing what isn’t broken. 

Despite the car you see in these photos looking pretty much like the current-gen mid-size Honda sedan we already know and admire, this facelifted version actually features a slightly wider front grille with chrome slats and a Honda Sensing radar that blends in a little better than before. Exterior changes are rounded out with new LED beams in the headlights and a restyled fog light cluster. 

On the inside, the bigger eight-inch infotainment screen loaded with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto previously reserved for trims EX and up is now standard across the board. Sweetening the deal for 2021 Accord EX-L, Touring, and Hybrid EX-and-above buyers, however, is the introduction of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

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Honda

On the safety side, there’s a new, standard rear seat reminder that aims to keep children or pets from being left in the back seat on hot days while a new rear seatbelt reminder notifies the driver if any rear seat occupants have yet to buckle up. Honda has also added a new Low Speed Braking Control feature to Touring-trim Accords that can automatically apply the brakes to prevent low-speed collisions while Honda Sensing has been further refined to apparently deliver smoother slow-downs and more natural lane-keep behavior.

Just like the previous model, the 2021 Honda Accord can be had with a 192-horsepower 1.5-liter turbo, a 252-hp 2.0-liter turbo, or as a 212-hp two-motor hybrid good for 48 mpg—as long as you stay away from the Touring, that is. 

Interestingly, while non-Touring Accord Hybrids maintain the headline-friendly 48-mpg combined rating, the top-of-the-line Hybrid Touring only gets 44 mpg combined, a discrepancy that did not exist last year. Turns out, it all has to do with added weight of those big, fancy 19-inch wheels that now come on the Hybrid Touring, a Honda spokesperson confirmed. Every other Accord Hybrid model, along with last year’s Touring, comes with admittedly frumpier-looking 17s. 

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Are these worth sacrificing 4 mpg? You decide., Honda

On a more positive note, Honda says the Accord’s throttle response has been made more immediate, linear, and direct regardless of engine-choice while the gas-saving stop-start feature on the 1.5-liter has been improved, apparently able to start the engine back up quicker than before when pulling away from a stop.

The gas-only 2021 Honda Accord will start at $25,725 while the Hybrid will cost at least $27,325. 

Tell us, do you think the Accord Hybrid Touring’s new 19-inch wheels worth the 4 mpg sacrifice?

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