Sharp New Look
A glance at the new Accord could lead one to think that Honda has executed yet another conservative redesign. That wouldn’t be a good thing: The outgoing Accord managed a paradoxical look of both blandness and over-stylization. Allow your eyes to linger, though, and you can see that major cosmetic work has been performed.
The new Accord’s nose is more rounded and more aggressive than before, with sculpted lines in the hood and a chrome-ier grille lending an upscale look. If you’re a hard-core Honda disciple, you may even pick out a resemblance to a few older European- and Japanese-market Accords. As for the side and rear of the car, you may as well set up a Bingo board for similarities to other vehicles. We see Hyundai Genesis sedan in the taillights and BMW 3-series in the side profile, but you’ll have no shortage of comparisons.
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The end result—at least in photos—is an exterior that’s stylish and sophisticated, where the outgoing Accord was a commoditized brick.
It’s a no-debate improvement inside the new car, though. The dripping glob of buttons that was the last Accord’s center stack is gone, replaced by a stylish and apparently user-friendlier setup. A new touch-screen audio system sits at eye level, with a mezzanine of controls below for the standard dual-zone climate control. Lowest on the stack sits a rotary knob for the optional navigation system.
There are plenty of parts either carried over or just designed with the same ol’ Honda style, like the glove-box door that could be straight from a 2004 Accord or a swage of pewter-colored plastic that stars in every Acura. These don’t take away from the fact that this is a modern, simpler-looking, and frankly more attractive interior than before.
Engines, Transmissions, and Weight Loss
Most Accords will be powered by a new four-cylinder engine, replete with its own unmarketable marketing name meant to emphasize efficiency. Honda calls it EarthDreams—even-more wishy-washy than Mazda’s Skyactiv line of engine and chassis tech—and we’ll call it a direct-injected 2.4-liter inline-four. In standard tune, it makes 185 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque, topping the outgoing Accord’s base engine by 8 hp and 20 lb-ft of torque. As it did with the last Accord, Honda again will offer a version of the four-cylinder sedan with a bit more power: The new Accord Sport’s 2.4-liter four uses a higher-flow exhaust system to score a rating of 189 hp and 182 lb-ft of torque.
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With the four-cylinder engine, shoppers can choose from a continuously variable transmission or a six-speed manual, both of which Honda says are more efficient than the old car’s five-speed automatic and stick-shift transmissions. The company’s provisional EPA ratings put the CVT-equipped sedan at 27 mpg city and 36 highway.
Honda still will offer a V-6 in the Accord, which the brand says has been significantly upgraded from past iterations. It’s rated at 278 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque, which is a slight increase in power from last year while losing a couple of pound-feet in peak twist, but low-end torque has been improved. In the sedan, this engine is offered only with a six-speed automatic gearbox—with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters—and Honda is expecting a 21 mpg city/34 highway rating from the EPA. A six-speed manual will be available with the V-6 in the coupe.
On balance—or on a balance scale—the new Accord is said to weigh about the same as the last generation. Honda claims it has cut 24 pounds from the previous stick-shifted four-cylinder sedan, but adds two on the coupe. That means that the new car is a little more dense, as it’s shrunk by 3.5 inches in overall length, 0.4 inch in height, and 0.9 inch between the wheels. Despite the decrease in overall dimensions, rear-seat occupants receive an extra 1.3 inches in legroom, and better use of interior space adds 0.3 inch to rear-seat headroom and ups shoulder room for all passengers.
Trim Levels and Features
Be careful here if you’re prone to dizzy spells. Honda has a total of seven trim levels between the Accord sedan and coupe, and they’re mostly just confusing alphanumeric titles. At the bottom of the lineup sit the LX sedan and LX-S coupe. The sedan adds a Sport trim above that before rejoining the coupe in EX land. From there, shoppers can upgrade to a leather-lined EX-L. The V-6 is offered in the coupe only as the EX-L, while sedan buyers can get an EX-L V-6 or, above that, a Touring.
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Fortunately, the list of standard equipment is so ample that customers may not need to wade into the confusing world of Xs and hyphens to get the features they want. Dual-zone climate control is included on every Accord, as are a touch screen audio system with Pandora radio and Bluetooth, a rearview camera, a tilting-and-telescoping steering wheel with audio controls, automatic headlights, and active noise canceling. Most of this stuff is offered only on competitive sedans as high-priced options, and we think Honda not only will score major sales by bundling them into every Accord, but will force competitors to lower prices and add features in their cars.
In addition to nudging up the power ratings, the Accord Sport adds an eight-way power driver’s seat and a few smaller features. The next major jump in equipment comes with the EX trim level, where cars are packed with a sunroof, keyless entry and ignition, and in sedans, a blind-spot monitoring system. Even more gadgets are included in the EX-L, which adds heated, power-adjustable, leather-trimmed seats, plus a premium audio system, satellite radio, a multi-angle rearview camera, and collision and lane-departure warnings. The six-cylinder cars include everything listed so far and add a navigation system, LED running and brake lights and, on the Touring, radar-based adaptive cruise control.
Accord Hybrid Is Back!
Honda’s new hybrid Accord is shooting directly for the gasoline-electric versions of the Camry and Fusion. Although a conventional variant will be offered next summer, we’ll first see a plug-in model. Honda claims the latter can run for 10 to 15 miles in pure-electric mode, and that it’ll get an EPA rating of better than 100 MPGe, matching the plug-in hybrid Fusion. (We’ve already driven a prototype Accord hybrid that uses this system.)
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The new hybrid uses a scaled-down version of the four-cylinder engine from the regular Accord, here displacing 2.0 liters and making 137 hp. It runs on the Atkinson cycle, a combustion setup that trades some power for improved fuel efficiency. A 124-kW electric motor provides the rest of the power, and Honda estimates that the combined power output is 196 hp. Recharge time is claimed at three hours on a normal 120-volt outlet and under an hour on a 240-volt charger.
All of the Accord PHEVs will be fully loaded, and feature a substantial amount of aluminum in the body to save weight. Unlike the nonhybrid Accords, which are built in Ohio, the PHEV will be built in Japan and shipped to the U.S.
How Much, and When?
Sales of the sedan begin later this month, and coupes will arrive at dealers in mid-October. The plug-in hybrid should start sales in early 2013, and we’ll see a conventional hybrid next summer. Honda will release pricing information soon.
Courtesy of caranddriver.com
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