By Tim Plouff

Hybrid powered vehicles are this year’s media darlings. Embraced by academia, Hollywood and green-intentioned politicos alike, hybrid powered cars are starting to proliferate as more and more manufacturers hedge their bets on future automotive powerplants by remaining in the public eye long enough to gain some positive recognition. Woe to the automaker who doesn’t have a hybrid-powered vehicle in production, in the pipeline or on the fast-track drawing boards.

Our current crop of hybrids all feature gasoline fueled, low-emission, internal combustion engines of various sizes and configurations augmented by an electric motor or motors, fed by nickel-metal hydride battery packs that recharge by regenerative braking. None of the current vehicles need to be plugged in, ever. Some hybrid electric motors can power their vehicles at low speeds; most do not. Many industry observers believe that diesel hybrids will soon enter the market and make more sense for trucks, SUVs and commercial applications.

Toyota’s Prius, the world’s best-selling hybrid powered car, went on sale in Japan late in 1998, just months before Honda’s tiny two-seat Insight hybrid hit these shores in 1999 to become the first hybrid sold in America. The diminutive Insight still achieves the industry’s highest fuel economy numbers.

As this is written, Honda leads the hybrid category with three distinct cars for sale here in the states: the two-seat Insight, the compact Civic sedan and the new mid-size Accord Hybrid, the first V-6 powered hybrid. This is the most powerful, most fuel efficient Accord ever.

More power, less gas — haven’t heard that sales pitch for a hybrid car before have you?

For many drivers and manufacturers, there is still the nagging question of whether this specialized and expensive powertrain makes good business sense. Sure, we all want better fuel economy, but are hybrids a temporary solution to the quandary of continued internal combustion engine use or a long-term answer? After you get by the lofty EPA mileage ratings, which have turned out to be overly optimistic and largely irrelevant when compared to real world use, all you are left with is a novelty car that shouts: “Look at me, I’m pretending to save the earth!” Never mind that you paid thousands of dollars more than a comparably equipped regular gas engine car.

Okay, that may be a bit harsh for all of you George Jetson-styled Prius and Insight owners, but please, someone make the math case for me that a $21,000 Prius will save you enough gas over five years of customary use to off-set the extra $5,000 you paid over a comparable Toyota Corolla that produces equally impressive fuel economy. See, I knew you couldn’t.

Honda has approached this hybrid phenomenon from a different tack with the new Accord V-6 Hybrid.

The Accord Hybrid looks no different from a regular Accord sedan. Except for unique five-spoke alloy wheels, wearing one-size larger 16-inch tires and a single tiny badge affixed to the rear trunk lid, this Accord looks, drives and coddles passengers just like an everyday Accord sedan.

But the performance is dramatically different.

A base 160-hp four-cylinder Accord with a stick shift is EPA rated for 26 mpg in the city, 34 mpg on the highway. Pretty good numbers for a sporty mid-size sedan.

An Accord V-6 with 240-hp on tap and mated to a five-speed automatic achieves 21 and 30 mpg respectively on the EPA cycle. Not too shabby either, I’d say.

The Accord Hybrid carries 255 horsepower under the hood and teamed with a similar five-speed automatic has earned 29-mpg city and 37-mpg highway ratings from the EPA testing. These appear to be real world numbers. I easily coaxed 36.5 mpg out of the Accord on several trips and still traveled faster than the prevailing traffic. Driven with the enthusiasm that 255-hp fosters, I averaged more than 32 mpg in combined highway and city driving, all on regular grade gas, too.

The Accord Hybrid accelerates from 0-60 mph in less than seven seconds, handily beating numerous other family sedans not to mention every other hybrid vehicle by a significant amount. It tops out at speeds you’ll likely never travel at on the ground.

Is all of this too good to be true: a family car that is socially responsible, fun to drive, and it’s a Honda, too? Well, yes and no.

First, you slip into the Accord and it fits like your favorite jeans. The seats are nicely proportioned, the controls reside where they should, and Honda’s high levels of fit, finish and quality are evident throughout.

Sensitive drivers will notice that the steering feels different. No longer drawing power from a pump that uses the gas engine for power, the new electric power steering is a little vague with its driver feedback over certain surfaces. The majority of drivers will never notice the variance and will probably appreciate the light feel. So why do I mention it you ask? The guy who has owned five or six previous Hondas will note the difference and shouldn’t be annoyed.

Next, your eyes will be drawn to two small horizontal light bars and a battery graph at the base of the speedometer dial. If the blue lights are illuminated, then the battery pack is providing additional power for passing, climbing hills, merging into traffic, etc. If the green bar is lit, then regenerative braking is recharging the battery pack (tucked behind the rear seat, which no longer folds), and you are storing power for future use. Above these two bars rests a green “ECO” light. When shining, you are operating on just three cylinders of the Accord’s V-6, using no battery power and maximizing your fuel mileage. Surprisingly, the Accord works very well in this mode and even holds elevated highway-cruising speeds. I checked in the interest of science only, of course.

Astute drivers will sometimes note a slight vibration, a tiny shudder as the engine deftly moves from three-cylinder to six-cylinder operation. You’ll feel a larger shudder in city driving as each time you approach a stop, the hybrid computer senses prolonged braking and lowering speeds so it turns the gas engine off to save fuel. Another green light signals ‘Auto Stop.’ Remove your foot from the brake and the engine re-starts automatically before you can move your right foot to the throttle. I tried, but you can’t beat the computer’s quick action.

So robust is the Accord Hybrid’s combined gas engine and electric motor torque, you must not turn off the car’s traction control button. Failure to heed this advice will result in lengthy, tire squealing launches, long roadside meetings with young men wearing crisp blue uniforms, and decidedly lower tire life.

Excepting the light steering (occasionally) and the small vibrations as the engine changes operation (occasionally), the Accord Hybrid drives, rides and otherwise operates and looks like a regular Accord V-6 EX.

So what is there is to complain about? The rear view mirror could automatically dim; it’s such a chore to reach up and flick that lever at night. And I wish the automakers, not just Honda, could get over the lawyer-up sequence necessary to operate their optional navigation systems every time you start the car. Everyone agrees to play by the rules, but no one ever does so let’s skip this “Big Brother” exercise. And Honda, could you make this hybrid with a ragtop? That would push some “greenies” over the edge, the ones who think that hybrids should be so “squares Ville.”

Honda knows that building small, fuel-efficient cars just isn’t enough anymore in today’s overheated marketplace. Buyers have demonstrated with their wallets that power sells, and Honda knows quite a bit about making powerful engines. By marrying the enhanced power of a super-low-emissions V-6 with the improved fuel economy that a hybrid power-pack offers, Honda has made the Accord Hybrid one of the more significant new cars on the market.

This is a hybrid that really makes sense. Expect upcoming hybrids from other makers to carry a similar performance theme.

Get in line now. The wait could be long.