According to Honda, it’s the first production car in the US to meet California’s new, more stringent LEV3/SULEV20 emissions standard.

The fuel-economy war is escalating and, as the saying goes, consumers stand to be the winners. Only a few days after Ford trumpeted the news that its new Fusion and C-MAX Energi models’ MPGe ratings edged out Toyota’s Prius Plug-in, the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid has gone on sale (at select New York and California dealers) with an MPGe figure that puts them all in the shade.

The 2014 Accord Plug-in Hybrid sports a 2.0 liter i-VTEC Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder gas engine, a 124 kW electric motor, a 6.7 kWh Li-Ion battery pack, and a new electric-servo regenerative braking system. According to Honda, it’s the first production car in the US to meet California’s new, more stringent LEV3/SULEV20 emissions standard. It has a MSRP of $39,780 and a monthly lease price of $429.

Honda provided us with a handy chart that highlights the Accord Plug-ins advantages over the competition. We’ve made the chart even handier by adding ranges and MSRPs:

That 115 MPGe is impressive, but before crowning Honda’s new offering the king of plug-ins, note that other specs may be more important, depending on your personal driving habits. Those who drive longer distances may prefer the Prius Plug-In, which still has the highest combined overall fuel economy rating of this quartet. Drivers with shorter commutes are likely to value the Volt, which has by far the longest electric range, meaning (as Chevy loves to point out) that you may seldom need the gas engine at all.

Source: Honda