The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid is all-new.

Honda fully redesigned the Accord last year, improving the sedan's interior, adding the latest technology features and increasing fuel economy on four-cylinder models. But the real tweet-tastic gain in fuel economy comes out this year. Here we have the new 2014 Accord Hybrid model, and it's promising a nice, round 50 mpg in the city. You can bet the Toyota Prius just did a spit-take.

Unlike Honda`s other hybrids such as the Civic Hybrid or Insight, the Accord Hybrid has an all-new hybrid system that's capable of accelerating the car using pure electric power. The new model is also very much unlike the original 2005-'07 Accord Hybrid, which accelerated quickly but had such down-to-earth fuel economy numbers that few people bought it.

You can expect the new hybrid to be much more popular. The key is the new powertrain that pairs a 2.0-liter gasoline engine with two electric motors (one for motivation and one for recharging) and stores its electrons in a trunk-mounted lithium-ion battery pack. The combination is good for a combined 196 horsepower and an EPA-combined city and highway estimate of 47 mpg. Edmunds' own testing more or less confirmed that figure, including a whopping 55.4 mpg during our 100-mile suburban driving testing loop.

More than just the numbers, though, we've been impressed with the way the Accord Hybrid drives. Just as you'd expect from any Accord, acceleration, refinement and handling are all very good. Hills or aggressive acceleration cause the engine to make more noises than some other hybrid sedans, but in most cases, the Accord Hybrid is notably serene.