2023 Honda Accord Touring Missing Features and Review.

I am a new 2023 Honda Accord owner and have had the vehicle for over 1000 miles now, and I am ready to express my thoughts on the vehicle. It is a fairly well built vehicle with some considerable upgrades over the previous generation, but also with some obvious cost-cutting decisions that caused some features to not only not be present, but taken away too.

First, here are all of the features that are “missing” from even the highest trim level, whether they were taken away, or never implemented in the first place.

Missing features:
- Panoramic sunroof
- Interior RGB LED lighting
- Auto power folding side mirrors
- Heated steering wheel (Canadian Civic has this)
- Horizontal HUD screen repositioning
- Alert when vehicle ahead starts moving
- Full screen google maps (outside of Android Auto)
- Auto up and down for all 4 windows
- 360 view backup camera
- Remote smart parking assist (Moving the vehicle forward and rearward with the fob)
- Front passenger seat height adjustment

Features that were present but taken away:
- Courtesy lights (previous gen had driver and front passenger door lights)
- Rear view mirror garage buttons (The Civic has this feature, but not the Accord)
- Door metal sill trim piece
- NFC reader for pairing
- 4 way lumbar adjustment (Downgraded to 2 way)
- Subwoofer control
- Spare tyre (for hybrid trims only)
- Fog lights

First and foremost, I find it absolutely thrilling to drive the new Accord, and not because of its speed. With 0–60 times of roughly 7.5 seconds, you are no longer driving a sleeper car. An attribute that was often mentioned with the previous generation 2.0T engine of 5.4 second 0–60 times. With this generation’s 2.0 4cyl hybrid powertrain that you find in the Sport, EX-L, Sport-L and Touring Hybrid trims, the mission statement is efficiency.

My favourite part about this vehicle is hands down the handling. The suspension has been stiffened more, providing a lot less body lean. You do feel a considerable more amount of the road underneath, but that is a trade I am happy to make over a mushy ride. Driving the 2020 Accord Touring that I am upgrading from, felt more relaxed, and not as fun to take sharp corners with. I suspect that a big reason for the lack of body lean is due to the hybrid batteries. They most certainly add a level of weight but also rigidity to the vehicle.

The steering has been fine tuned as well, providing a very unique experience in my opinion. The power steering works for you and with you when you want it, providing an ever so slight resistance at all times, even when it is helping you. That resistance is ready to take over when you start turning the wheel in the opposite direction. Taking turn after turn at moderate speeds has never felt better in a family commuter.

When I first got the vehicle, I did just over 50 combined MPG, taking me just 3 weeks to visit a gas pump, and I was thrilled. I should mention that I was driving as fast as you might imagine, not at all. Ever since, I have switched my driving habits, meeting the advertised 47 MPG rating that I expected. Still, it is good to know you can push the vehicle past the expectations of fuel economy if you so desire.

The new Accord is also respectably and adequately silent on the road. What is notably louder than highway speeds is the ventilated seat fan on the highest setting. That being said, the seat ventilation works a lot better than it did on my 2020 Accord, while being equally loud. Wind noise is also incredibly minimal. I can have a normal conversation with any passenger in the vehicle, regardless of the speed I am travelling at.

The punch that this new drivetrain packs is more than adequate. The CMV transmission will imitate gear shifts when pushed, but it is a big contributing factor to the fuel economy. The electric motor has enough punch to give you that instant electric power that you get with electric vehicles before the gasoline engine comes in to play. The engine is relatively normal sounding and does not sound like a drone. It is audible when pushed past the 25% power indicator, but it sounds like a normal engine.

Visibility is above average. The side pillars are cleverly constructed to be thick towards the driver and not sideways. That results in thin looking pillars that do not obstruct the view. The side mirrors are of adequate size and length and provide a great range of visibility and adjustment. The rear view mirror is on the adequate side. The roofline of the vehicle is lower than average, resulting in the rear view mirror having a difficult time showing you the lower parts of the vehicles behind you. This also results in taller drivers, and passengers, connecting with the roof with the top of their heads. The lack of height adjustment on the passenger seat results in shorter people not being able to even see the hood of the vehicle, let alone the road.

The sound system is disappointing. The rattling subwoofer from the previous generation’s Touring trim is still present, while the speaker amount and wattage was increased. Still, sadly, the audio in the vehicle lacks punch. Furthermore, despite the lack of being able to control the subwoofer, the rear speakers still rattle when the bass is increased in the settings. I find this oversight entirely too negligent.

Despite a lot of the features that are either lacking, or simply taken away from the previous generation, I find living with this vehicle pleasurable. The infotainment system is above average. (Disclosure: There is a TT06 error code related to updates plaguing a lot of Honda vehicles at the moment.) The leather feels great, the centre console is sizeable and the buttons are laid out in a very thoughtful way. Climate control, volume control, everything down to the final details of seat ventilation and warmth are very cleverly thought out. We also see the return of a knob shifter rather than the button layout. I am more of a fan of the buttons, but I can appreciate the analogue feel of a knob. The fog lights in the front are also missing, replaced with functioning ventilation for the brakes (note that vehicles like the Tucson Hybrid have both).

I will note that I noticed some straight lines running across the doors and the front of the vehicle that seem like it is a placeholder for a thin LED strip that should have been installed. I am not quite certain, but I suspect that in the next couple of years, if not next year, we might see Honda actually install an interior LED strip for ambient lighting control.

The back seats are comfy, with plenty of leg room. However, due to the sharp slope of the roofline, taller passengers in the rear will inevitably hit the top of the roof with their heads.

After all of the fees, I ended up purchasing my vehicle for roughly 43.000$ with an advertised MSRP of 38.985$ including destination fees. Depending on the state you live in, you might end up paying something that is a lot closer to the MSRP. I also purchased an additional all weather mat and cargo tray package that has already paid dividends.

In summary, the new Honda Accord Touring Hybrid is a very fun car to drive. It handles with grace, it has adequate gitty up, even for the highway, and it feels very well put together. The interior is very cleverly thought out with comfortable seats and great visibility. There are lot of missing features that other manufacturers provide, as well as features missing for presumably cost-cutting reasons that were present in previous generations.