2. 2012/2013 Honda Accord: 276,196 Cars Through October 2012
Seeing as the all-new 2013 Accord only began hitting dealerships in September, it’s safe to assume the majority of these 276,196 cars aren’t the 2013 model, but the outgoing 2012 model. Despite its age, the previous-generation Accord has remained popular with American car buyers – especially since dealers are cutting deals to clear space for the new model.
Regardless of the model year, the Accord delivers fairly impressive highway fuel economy in sedan form. 2012 Accord sedans equipped with the 2.4-liter I-4 –are rated at 23/34 mpg city/highway, regardless manual or an automatic transmission. V-6 models, fitted only with the automatic, still squeak by with a 20/30 rating. 2013 Accord models do even better: I-4 models with the manual are rated at 24/34; with a CVT, that rating grows to 27/36. Opt for the V-6, which is paired only with an automatic, and those numbers change to 21/34 mpg.
There is one break in this pattern: the 2012 Accord Coupe. Although four-cylinder models still surpass our 30-mpg metric, V-6 models with automatic and manual transmissions are rated at 29 and 26 mpg on the highway, respectively. That said, these cars are likely a small portion of total Accord volume. Intellichoice notes that coupes account for just 12 percent of Accord volume thus far in 2012. Furthermore, only 25 percent of all Accord buyers – both coupe and sedan – have opted for the V-6.
There’s a silver lining, lurking just around the corner: 2013 Accord Coupe V-6 models with the automatic transmission are now rated at 32 mpg on the highway, leaving the V-6 manual model the only one to come in below the magic 30-mpg mark.
