2014 Honda Accord is North America's highest rated midsize

The Accord is rated highest in brand loyalty,over-all quality of construction,best overall value in a car priced under $25,000 and the”greenest” midsize sedan in North America. The number of awards afforded the Accord is noteworthy and commendable.

Thursday found the Accord Hybrid being honored with MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice Award for “Best” Eco-Friendly vehicle. An opinion to be sure; but a well qualified one.

The bottom line for us is that Accord offers the best of all worlds. World tested technology wrapped in an aesthetically pleasing automobile that by all accounts performs beyond expectation. Case in point: rather one options for the Accord Coupe, Sedan or Hybrid; offered in several variants, record shows the car to be an exceptional value for the dollar spent.

Digressing to the latest KBB.Com award, the Accord was rated the highest in its sector based on a 5 year term of ownership. In calculating the long term cost of ownership, automotive trade- in value benchmark Kelley Blue Book looks to initial purchase price (average $20,100,) insurance, loan costs, maintenance, average fuel costs and miles driven. These statistics apply to gasoline powered 4 and 6 cylinder, automatic transmission driven Accord Lx, Sport and Ex trim variants.

We don’t believe that the 2013 Hybrid was included in the statistics, but haven't verified the test parameters with KBB.Com. Although the Accord Hybrid states exceptional average mpg, we believe that taking into account the initial purchase price of the car and an unknown trade-in resale value would result in a higher long term cost of ownership. For this reason, we believe that the Accord Hybrid fits nicely in a exclusive Hybrid midsize sedan class.

Looking to the gasoline powered models, the Accord holds the highest trade- in, resale value in its sector. This plays a disproportionate role in determining the winner of the KBB 5-Year Cost To Own Award.

By the way, according to KBB’s calculations, your Accord will run you no less than $34,816 over 5 years. Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata rated a very close second and third respectively.

While we do find a handful of consumer complaints drifting throughout cyberspace, the vast majority of our readers and acquaintances that have owned the Honda Accord for the long term, are very satisfied as the fit, finish, handling characteristics and general performance. As with any mass produced automobile, a handful may fall under the “ lemon” category. We will follow up with an article specific to the downside of Accord ownership. If, we can find enough information to fill a Torque News page.