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Honda Accord – A Car to Get to Know
Cars are like people, often we judge them on first impressions, but it’s not until we get to know them that we either get to love them, like them, put up with them, or simply hate them. It’s often the case though, that we don’t take the time to get to know the person or (in this case) the car and we miss out on a potentially great relationship.
I kind of feel that way about the new Honda Accord. Ask yourself, have you ever test driven an accord when you were considering changing your car, or come to that, have you ever even sat in one?
Well pretty much all of us know the name Accord, but I if we were shown one, without the badges, chances are that we wouldn’t even know what it was and that’s become even more true of this new Accord. The car is sleeker, lower and sportier than any of it predecessors and has a premium look and feel about it, much more akin to cars like Lexus. The Accords muscular stance, huge chrome grille and angular headlights give it a purposeful look which really gives it presence on the road and in your rear view mirror.
In this industry, much of our time is spent in and around cars, but because of the sheer number of makes and models we drive, we often find we don’t have time to test everything and until very recently, this latest generation Honda Accord was one of those cars that we never got to say hello to. Well that’s changed, thanks to Honda, who has been brave enough to provide us with the opportunity to complete long term testing on almost every car in their range and we will be adding other Honda road tests to this site as we test the cars, but for the moment, it’s the Accord that we want to talk about.
The new Accord is the 8th generation Honda since 1976 to wear the Accord name, which Honda tell us the name was originally chosen to reflect Honda’s desire for “accord and harmony between people, society and the automobile”. Nice thought that, but maybe the harmony is a bit tarnished now days because of those that tell us we are killing the planet every time we pick the kids up from school and whilst I could go into reams about how our society has benefited from the car, I will do that somewhere else and concentrate on the job in hand.
As buyers we are becoming more discerning but the reality is that it’s, getting more difficult to be discerning, as the majority of modern cars are pretty good in terms of their reliability and usability and the job they will do for us. In many cases, after choosing the style of car you want, the ‘buying’ judgements simply come down to the budget and the badge. We know in our own minds that pretty much every car drives ok, so it’s bang for your buck.
Brand loyalty looms large when people are choosing their next car and I guess that means we want to have a car that we are used to and that most probably the car you’ve already got has given good service and all that is understandable, as our reluctance to take a chance, or a gamble on something we don’t personally have experience of, but as we are talking Honda, recent figures from JD Power (over in the states) showed that over 63% of Honda customers, changed for another Honda and I guess that’s pretty good, especially as Isuzu figured in the same survey, yet just 1.6% of current Isuzu customers opted to go for another one.
One thing for certain however is that every manufacturer seems to be raising the bar and taking their new products further upmarket, so that they just can’t be ignored, making the case that we should look at these vehicles, even if its for the first time.
The new Honda Accord is a good example of exactly that as it heads up the latest part of Honda’s relentless attack on the premium market place, where they aim to drag Audi and BMW drivers etc, into their showrooms by establishing Honda as a much more upmarket brand and by making it one of those brands we all simply have to consider.
That said, there are so many competitors for the new Accord and they don’t just come from the prestigious brands that Honda feel the car should be compared to, but from far more familiar cars such as Mondeo, Insignia, and Toyota’s much improved Avensis, and of course, Skoda’s excellent Superb, to mention just a few, as all of these cars are now really high quality and really well built alternatives.
The Accord’s we tested were both the 148bhp 2.2 Diesel versions, one was the 6 speed manual, the other the 5 speed automatic with paddle shift and both were in the EX specification.
Inside, the new Accord really does feel a classy quality product with a dash that wraps around the driver, really making you feel you are involved in the job in hand, although it’s much more conservative than the dash found in the Civic for example. Whilst it all looks pretty good, I did however find the buttons on the dashboard overly complicated and the layout a little irrational, so much so that after driving the car for close on 3 weeks, I still had to spend a few seconds looking, each time I wanted to do something that required the push of a button, but living with the car long term, its something that your going to get used to, but I somehow feel the car would have been better with a little more understated dash, like you would find on the BMW 3 Series. That said, at night, it looks great and there are lights everywhere!
Our car came with what’s called ‘Advanced Navigation Pack’ which includes full 8” colour screen DVD satellite navigation, incorporating Bluetooth connection for the phone and rear facing reversing camera and a 6-CD Auto-changer. The sat-nav was so very easy to program, one of the easiest we have ever used in fact and could even be programmed on the move (by your passenger, of course!) and the display was pretty good and we quite liked that, although some of the side road names are missing, even when you zoom in to the maximum. The reverse parking camera also did a pretty accurate job. The cars audio system sounded fine, however we didn’t like the silly little monochromatic channel or frequency display and whilst I know you can also access the audio through the big colour display screen, it hardly seemed worth it, just to change a radio channel, so effectively; your point of reference was this silly little inadequate display.
We found the voice activation of the telephone functions really hit and miss, compared to the standard system fitted for example, on the Ford Focus and that was really annoying as we had to abort calls on so many occasions, because the lady that lives in the dash, failed to understand us, although, you did have the option to import all your phone contacts into the cars system which we didn’t do, but I guess that would avoid some of the conflict with “dashboard woman”.
The Accords seats are enormous and hugely comfortable and as our car was an EX, they were leather faced and both front seats were electrically operated (with memory) and I challenge anyone not to be able to find a position where they are absolutely comfortable, oh and they are heated to give you (how should I put this) that warm feeling! In the rear however, there isn’t as much room as you might expect or hope for a car of this size and this class and we found ourselves pulling the front seats forward a little to create some breathing space for the rear seat passengers and whilst that isn’t the end of the world, it doesn’t compare with say a Skoda Superb, which is absolutely huge and limousine like in the rear.
Driving the Accord, is it has to be said, a very pleasant experience. The old Accord was always an agile car, and the new Accord builds on that. The new cars wider track and lower centre of gravity give it excellent poise through corners and the more rigid body-shell makes the Accord feel very solid on the road without crashing and banging over bumps or rolling all over the place through the bends Arguably the Accord is a little softer than most of its rivals, but its handling isn’t compromised by this at all and it’s steering is pin sharp for such a big car, giving the driver stacks of confidence even when pushing the car hard through bends.
Our test cars were both the superb 2.2 i-DTEC diesels, which were impressive in terms of refinement, and offered more than enough power to do everything you would normally need, plus a little left in hand when you wanted to should I say, ‘drive more aggressively’. Honda has banged on for ages about this engine, even giving it its own TV commercials and whilst it isn’t as quiet as the advert infers, it is indeed very quiet when compared to many of its competitors. What is remarkable however is in the way this 148bhp engine delivers a combination of performance and economy, allowing 0-62mph in a touch over 9 seconds and potentially a top speed of over 130mph, yet it can in ‘sensible head’ mode deliver over 50mpg and for a big car like that the Accord, its mighty impressive. The manual six speed gearbox is all you would expect, whilst the automatic comes with the “flappy paddle” changers behind the steering wheel (which should keep you amused for about 3 minutes) but it’s a quiet box, with pretty seamless changes. The Accords CO2 is 148g/km with the 6 speed manual and 170g/km if you choose the 5 speed automatic.
The Accord is available in four different flavours, but prices vary depending on the engine and transmission you choose, but broadly, the ES ranges from £19,395 to £22,495, with EX GT going from £20,245 up to £23,345, the EX runs from £22,395 up to £24,695, whilst top of the range EX GT comes in at £25,045 up to £26,345. The Accord is also available as a Tourer (or estate as it used to be called) and costs, model for model, £1300 more than the saloon versions.
Honda has always made “proper” cars that are highly specified, built well and offer great value for money. Honda owners love them and those that know within the fleet industry rate and respect them. There is no doubt, that with this classy new Accord, Honda has definitely taken a massive step into the premium market. Build quality and design are right up there amongst the best and the specification on all of the new Accord models is excellent offering as standard options you would normally only find on high-end executive cars.
We were really surprised by how much we liked the car and how nice it was to live with but obviously the question is will this be enough to encourage the people that normally drive other ‘posh’ brands to get to know it? For me I am not sure, because the market place is full of really very good product, and in the past, I would happily admit, I probably wouldn’t have made the trip to my local Honda dealer to check it out, but that’s now exactly what I am suggesting that you do. Take a visit your local Honda dealer and don’t commit to any similar purchase until you’ve at least taken a look at the new model Honda Accord, as I think you will be impressed and probably, like me, be left wondering why this really strong competitor in its class has slid so far under the radar and been overlooked.
Finally, we have one test that any car has to pass and that’s simply, would we be happy living with the car for 3 years, and were it given to us as a company car the new Honda Accord would get “3 firm yeses”.
For a quotation on the New Honda Accord or on any other model in the Honda range, please contact us. |
