BY AARON ROBINSON
There were low points in the past few years when we doubted Honda, but Big H might be on its way back. The new, ninth-generation Accord
is a convincing reminder of the company’s core values and—considering
all Honda has been through, including an earthquake that smashed its
Tochigi R&D center and floods in Thailand that crimped production—a
triumphant return to form.
This latest
Accord is 3.5 inches shorter bumper to bumper and 0.9 inch tighter at
the wheelbase than its fleshy predecessor. Yet once again, Honda
conducts a master class in packaging. Against its porcine predecessor,
the 2013 car’s cabin dimensions vary hardly at all. The Accord still
feels like one of the biggest cars in the segment, with two roomy and
extra-comfortable front buckets and a back bench you and two friends can
stretch out on. Moreover, the capacious trunk is even larger, maximum
volume having increased by over one cubic foot.
The overhauled DOHC 2.4-liter four
falls under the somewhat nonsensical Earth Dreams marketing slogan;
more important, however, is that it represents Honda’s first whack at
gasoline direct injection for the North American market. Your only
automatic alternative to the six-speed manual with this engine is a
Honda-built continuously variable transmission (CVT) called the G-Design
Shift (Honda’s committee for cutesy names has been working overtime).
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The 2.4-liter is quieter at idle than some
other direct-injection engines with their clattering high-pressure
injectors, particularly Hyundai’s. And the Honda likes to rev, sounding
healthy and full throated at its 6400-rpm power peak. But it’s the CVT’s
tuning that makes the Accord feel fleet. The typical rubber-band delay
has been minimized, and the throttle responds curtly when you ask for
acceleration (although sometimes with some audible transmission whine at
high revs). In mountain snakers as well as on city streets, the CVT
works so efficiently that it all but disappears, and you never notice
the lack of a manual control. Of course, we’d prefer the optional
six-speed stick, with its tightly spaced gates and short throws—but,
finally, a belt-and-pulley transmission we can live with!
Somewhere
between 15 and 20 percent of Accord buyers opt for a V-6, and for them,
the 3.5-liter goes up slightly in horsepower to 278. But the news with
this engine is its lighter weight due to items such as plastic cam
covers and work on the Variable Cylinder Management system that
increases the time the engine runs on three cylinders. In motion, the
cylinder cutout is completely transparent, and the V-6 does what it’s
supposed to: provide more sophisticated and effortless propulsion.
Once again, only in the Accord coupe can you
pair the V-6 with a six-speed manual—a six-speed conventional auto is
the only box in six-cylinder sedans. Out of corners, the car is a
“one-tire fire” as the open differential sets the less-taxed wheel
spinning madly. But it’s a very hot setup in eight-tenths driving,
especially given that it’s front-wheel drive.
That’s
because the Accord drives as if it were constructed of old-fashioned
Honda “lightweightium.” It’s not the lightest car in its segment, but it
feels it. The steering, the brakes, and the suspension work in
harmonious balance to make the Accord seem agile and springy. Yes,
instead of control arms, it now has struts in the nose, but so does a
Porsche Cayman. The Accord hustles through turns with fog-free steering
and little complaint from the tires and never seems to be working very
hard. You wanted a mid-size family sedan that feels as if it were made
of recycled CRXs? Here’s your car.
Lessons from the distressed Civic
have been learned, and the Accord feels nicely appointed, with softer
materials and better sound insulation. The dash is done to Honda’s
familiar template of large, maxi-print gauges and many, many small
buttons. You can pile on navigation and the associated extra panel of
controls, which will be familiar to current-gen owners, or save your
money and make do with a deep drawer hidden behind a somewhat
clumsy-looking plastic door.
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Our favorite option is a clever blind-spot
camera that Honda calls LaneWatch. Mounted at the bottom of the
passenger mirror, the camera switches on whenever you activate the turn
signal or push the manual control button at the end of the turn-signal
stalk. Another techie option is LED headlamps, Honda’s first and
available on the top trim level. A regular hybrid model returns to the
lineup, but not until next summer, some months after its plug-in variant
arrives at dealerships. We’ve already driven a prototype of the latter.
With
a flat roof and highly conservative rake to its glass, the Accord
remains unapologetically a mid-size family car. You can complain about
the design’s lack of sizzle but not its practicality. The door openings
are wide, the step-over sills are narrow, and the beltline is kept
unfashionably low to create huge glass portals. If people don’t see you
because your vehicle is plain, at least you will see them.
There
are more Accord models than ever. To chase younger buyers, there’s a
2.4-liter Sport trim with larger, 18-inch rims; a dual-tip exhaust; a
rear spoiler; fog lights; and paddle shifters on cars equipped with the
CVT. At the top end is the new Touring, a V-6–only model that is sort of
a Honda Avalon with leather, adaptive cruise control, forward-collision
warning, a thumpy stereo, and so on.
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