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The 2014 Honda Accord hybrid’s powertrain has three ways of moving the car: EV drive, engine drive, and hybrid drive. In EV drive, the electric drive motor powers the front wheels via energy stored in the lithium-ion battery. In engine drive, such as when cruising or accelerating lightly on a flat road at higher speeds, the 2.0-liter four helps drive the wheels through a clutch. And in hybrid drive, the engine powers a generator, which supplements the current drawn from the battery. In this mode, there is no physical connection between the engine and the drive wheels.

Hybrid mode is where this Accord spends most of its time, and here engine speed will “flare” to what the hybrid system’s brain thinks is the most efficient rpm for any given road load and throttle position. There is a prominent wail when the car accelerates briskly or climbs a grade. We were also mildly annoyed by a whirring electric-motor sound at low speeds and a slight, momentary sag when the electric motor/generator spools up the engine prior to clutch engagement as it switches from EV mode to engine-drive mode.

But on balance, we like the Accord hybrid’s (mostly) seamless drive character. Compared with its arch rival, the Camry hybrid, Honda’s planet-saver doesn’t sacrifice the driving experience on the altar of eco frugality. The Accord hybrid’s electrically boosted steering mirrors the gas-engine Accord’s steering ratio and effort, and it gives the fine-grained response we’ve come to appreciate in the nonhybrid car.

Speaking of numbers, our Accord hybrid test car went from rest to 30 mph in 2.9 seconds and reached 60 in 7.2, both 0.2 second quicker than the nonhybrid Accord CVT. Not exactly warp speed, but the hybrid gains those tenths thanks to its 11-hp combined gas/electric power advantage and the electric motor’s 226 pound-feet of maximum torque just off throttle. It does this despite being 202 pounds more affected by gravity than the nonhybrid Accord.