2020 Honda Accord Hybrid vs 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback

Half a decade ago, Honda redesigned the Civic, which was its rival to the Subaru Impreza and Toyota Corolla, among others. For 2020, Honda tweaked the styling a little bit. The huge fake air intakes got body-color crossbars that dialed them down, the grille was new, and the headlights took on a smoked appearance. New wheel designs also debuted. The test car, dressed in top-of-the-line Sport Touring trim, had Platinum White Pearl paint, delivering maximum contrast against the car’s glossy black detailing. Inside, the Sport Touring included stitched leather on the steering wheel, soft surfaces, and quality materials. The test car also had a six-speed manual gearbox, formerly reserved for Sport trim but now available with Sport Touring trim for 2020.

The 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid looked almost identical to the other models in the Accord lineup, with only “Hybrid” badges and aerodynamic 17-inch aluminum wheel designs setting it apart. Honda’s approach avoided the odd design cues often seen in hybrid versions of mainstream vehicles. Four trim levels were available: Hybrid, Hybrid EX, Hybrid EX-L, and Hybrid Touring. Prices started at $25,620, with the hybrid powertrain being a $1,600 upgrade over the standard Accord LX, EX, and EX-L. The Hybrid Touring test car’s price came to $36,070, including destination charges. The Hybrid EX at $29,520 was recommended for its driver-assistance and infotainment technologies, plus a 12-way power driver’s seat, heated front seats, and heated side mirrors.

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback, equipped with a turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder powertrain, made 174 horsepower with LX, EX, and EX-L trim and 180 horsepower with Sport and Sport Touring trim. Torque measured 162 pound-feet from 1,700 rpm to 5,500 rpm with the CVT and 177 lb-ft from 1,900 rpm to 5,000 rpm with the 6-speed manual transmission. The engine was quiet, refined, and well-mannered at all times. The transmission’s clutch travel and gearbox throws were unexpectedly long, marking a difference in the driving experience between the Sport Touring Hatchback and a Civic Si. The Civic Hatchback Sport and Sport Touring were easier to live with on a daily basis, offering a softer and more compliant ride, wider seats, a quieter cabin, and hushed exhaust. The EPA rated the test car at 32 mpg in combined driving, and it achieved 32.7 mpg on the testing loop.

The 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, driven in its default Economy mode, achieved 42.6 mpg during a week of driving. On the testing loop, it returned 44.1 mpg during the city and suburban portion of the route. The car averaged 41.2 mpg after using Sport mode for a drive across the Santa Monica Mountains. The Accord Hybrid’s 2.0-liter 4-cylinder and two-motor hybrid powertrain supplied 212 combined horsepower and 232 lb-ft of instantaneous electric-motor torque. The Accord Hybrid was speedy, especially in Sport mode, but the eCVT produced a loud and steady drone under heavy acceleration. The Accord Hybrid’s extra weight revealed itself on undulating pavement, but Honda’s engineers tuned it to provide predictable ride motions, a flat-cornering attitude, faultless steering, and faithful regenerative brakes. The car lacked grace in certain situations but was generally enjoyable to drive.

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback offered 25.2 cubic feet of cargo space, slightly more than the Honda HR-V Touring. The Civic Hatchback’s driver’s seat was low, but once settled into the Sport Touring’s heated leather front seats, the driver would be comfortable. The front passenger, however, lacked a height adjuster. The center console storage area was long and deep, with a sliding armrest, sliding interior tray, and sliding cupholders. Rear seat comfort and legroom were good, but without air-conditioning vents and dark tinted rear glass, passengers could swelter on the black leather bench.

The 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid had the same full-size interior and trunk as the standard Accord. The backseat offered exceptional thigh support, rear air-conditioning vents, and available USB charging ports. The front seats lacked height adjustment for the passenger side, but the seat cushions were comfortable. The Touring trim included front heating and ventilation and rear heating. The trunk, at 16.7 cubic feet, was larger than the competition and could hold four full-size suitcases on their sides. The Accord Hybrid also had a 60/40 split-folding rear seatback for longer items.

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback featured a stylish dashboard with digital instrumentation and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system display in all but LX trim. The Sport Touring trim included Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, satellite radio, text-messaging support, a navigation system, a quick-charging USB port, and a 12-speaker premium sound system. Automatic climate control was standard, and most versions of the car came with Smart Entry with Walk Away Auto Lock.

The 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, with EX trim or higher, had a robust Display Audio infotainment system with a big power and volume knob, a big tuning and scrolling knob, and shortcut buttons on either side of a flush-mounted display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were standard, along with satellite radio, HD Radio, basic HondaLink services, and quick-charge USB ports. The EX-L trim added a premium sound system, while the Touring trim included navigation, HD digital traffic data, a wireless smartphone charger, NFC technology, a WiFi hotspot, and expanded HondaLink service plans. The Touring trim also featured a head-up display (HUD).

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback included the Honda Sensing suite as standard equipment, featuring forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, automatic high-beam headlights, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and a Road Departure Mitigation system. Adaptive cruise control was also standard. The Civic Hatchback did not have a blind-spot monitoring system or rear cross-traffic alert system, but it did have LaneWatch for the right-side blind spot. The 2020 Civic Hatchback did not earn a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS due to a Poor performance in the headlight category, but it received top marks for crash-test performance.

The 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid included Honda Sensing, featuring adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, traffic-sign-recognition technology, and a road-departure-mitigation system. The Accord Hybrid also had automatic high-beam headlights, a multi-angle reversing camera, and SmartVent front side airbags. The EX trim or higher included a blind-spot-warning system with rear cross-traffic alert. The Accord received the highest possible ratings in crash tests conducted by the IIHS and 5-star crash-test ratings from the NHTSA.