Honda Accord 2008 Review

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That original Accord was basically a long-wheelbase Civic, but since the 1980s, it has become very much a model in its own right.

From the early years of the 21st Century, the Accord in Australia has split into two streams, the larger American-designed car and the narrower Accord Euro, which is due for replacement shortly.

Back in 2003, the American design was introduced to Australia as a model distinct from our previous Accord models (which were Japanese in design).

At the time, Honda Australia promoted the new car as an alternative to the large, locally manufactured models from Ford, Holden, Mitsubishi and Toyota. It's probably fair to say that strategy has not played out as well as Honda would have liked. The American Accord has not inspired the same level of loyalty enjoyed by the more dynamically adept Accord Euro (introduced in the same year).

With this new model, Honda aims to finally achieve what the previous model set out to do. Honda has re-packaged the car with more room, improved value, impressive new technology and up-to-date styling.

Starting price for the Accord is $29,990. That's the VTi model with the four-cylinder engine and five-speed automatic. At that price, buyers can't help but take a closer look at the big Honda, undercutting the superseded model as it does and also matching the cheapest of auto-equipped locally-made Camrys.

For that price, the VTi comes equipped with: Paddle-shift transmission controls, drive-by-wire throttle system, remote central locking, electric mirrors, 12-Volt auxiliary power outlet (inside the storage receptacle under the centre armrest), dual-zone climate control, cruise control, rear-seat headrests, external temperature display, electric windows, illuminated vanity mirrors, dual front airbags, side-impact airbags, ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, Active headrests (front seats), alarm, Vehicle Stability Assist (stability control), traction control, six-disc in-dash CD audio system with MP3 facility and six speakers.

In light of that specification, $29,990 for the VTi is a good price to be sure -- to the extent of palpable surprise from the assembled journalists at the media launch when the pricing was announced. That said, it's a full $6500 step up from that base model to the luxury VTi variant.

That difference in price is offset by the following additional features in the VTi-Luxury ($36,490): Auto on/off headlights, electric sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, front fog lights, electric adjustment (including lumbar support) for driver's seat, heated front seats, leather-bound steering wheel and leather gear knob, leather seat trim and side curtain airbags.

The grade above the VTi-Luxury is the base V6 model, barely $2000 more expensive ($38,490) than the luxury four, but also doing without some of the features in the lower-priced car. It drops the auto headlights, sunroof, standard front fog lights (available as an option), heated front seats, leather gear knob, leather seat trim and leather-bound steering wheel from the specification, but does pick up twin exhaust outlets and indicators integrated in the exterior mirrors.

A cool $8500 on top of the V6 price will put you in the V6-Luxury ($46,990). For that sort of dosh, the flagship offers four-way electric adjustment for the front passenger seat, three-position memory for the electrically adjustable driver's seat, satellite navigation, trip computer, reversing camera and a premium audio system with a sub-woofer over the base V6's trim level.

Honda offers an extensive range of options for the Accord, including front fog lights for the basic four and V6 models and additional options of Bluetooth connectivity, dust/pollen filter and rear parking sensors right across the range.

Mechanically, the new Accord offers both four-cylinder and V6 powerplants. Where the previous model developed 125kW of power and 218Nm of torque from its four-cylinder engine, the new base Accord develops 133kW of power and 222Nm of torque from its 2.4-litre DOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder engine.

The four-cylinder engine with five-speed automatic transmission combination is fitted to the basic VTi and the up-market VTi-Luxury model.

The V6 displaces 3.5 litres -- compared with 3.0 litres for the previous V6 Accord -- and balances power and torque with fuel economy through Honda's Variable Cylinder Management system.

Automatically changing mode from six-cylinder operation to four-cylinder operation (by disabling one cylinder in each bank) or to three-cylinder operation for cruising (disabling the hind bank of three cylinders), the 3.5-litre V6 is more fuel efficient than the smaller 3.0-litre V6 of the superseded car, as per an ADR81/01-compliant combined cycle test.

The new V6 develops 202kW of power at 6200rpm and peak torque of 339Nm, occurring at 5000rpm.

Both the four and the V6 drive through a five-speed automatic transmission with grade logic control and shift-hold control, which prevents 'hunting'. Drive goes to the front wheels via a double-wishbone independent suspension system. Rear suspension is a multi-link IRS system.

Hydraulically-assisted rack and pinion steering provides the Accord with a turning circle of 11.5m. Brakes are ventilated discs up front and solid discs at the rear.

16x6.5J alloy wheels are fitted to the VTi and 17x7.5J alloys are specified for all other variants. The VTi's wheels take a 215/60 R16 tyre and the 17-inch wheels of the other variants are shod with 225/50 R17 tyres. Honda supplies full-size spares for all Australian-spec Accords.

PACKAGING
As already mentioned above, the new Accord marks a significant shift in market position, by virtue of its greater dimensions. The Accord measures 4945mm in length, 1845mm in width and has a wheelbase of 2800mm.

It is longer than its principal volume-selling large car competitors (Falcon, Commodore and Aurion), plus of course, it's longer than the Aurion-sized Camry in the medium segment.

Whilst it's wider than the Camry and Aurion siblings, the Accord is not as wide as Falcon or Commodore. Honda has, however, ensured passenger comfort by expanding the hip-point gap between driver and front-seat passenger. Combining that with a lowered floor, the Accord feels more spacious than even its larger external dimensions would suggest.

There's plenty of rear-seat legroom and headroom also, even with the front seats slid back to the farthest extent. At a pinch, three average to large-sized adults of a typical Australian stature may find the rear seat a bit squeezy in width.

The boot space was somewhat disappointing; a shallow floor apparently being the downside of specifying a full-size spare wheel for Australian buyers of the Accord.

Both front seatbelts provide pretensioners and load limiters.

The Accord's front airbags are of the dual-stage type (for a phased deployment, depending on the weight of the seat occupant) and the side-impact airbags feature dual chambers with an occupant position detection system to facilitate appropriate deployment for energy absorption.

Side curtain airbags are fitted as standard to all Accord variants other than the entry-level VTi.

COMPETITORS
Honda has marketed the Accord in Australia for the past 30 or more years, the original Civic-based model going on sale in 1977. During that time, the Accord has grown substantially and where it once competed against other small cars, this latest American-designed car is beginning to shape up against cars of Commodore and Falcon ilk.

That's the theory, at least. In practice, the latest Accord is more likely to be placed on a shopping list that also features the Toyota Camry and Aurion.

High-end Accords could conceivably be placed in a lucky dip selection along with the Peugeot 407 and the Volkswagen Passat. One obvious competitor -- the Ford Mondeo -- is dynamically superior and, its size notwithstanding, is more likely comparable to the Accord Euro replacement which is due in coming months. Similar comments apply to the new Mazda6.

ON THE ROAD
For the launch, Honda laid on the previous model Accord to whisk us up to Melbourne's Yarra Valley. This was quite a good tactic to refresh our memory of the older car and prepare us for the new car.

Since the older car driven from Honda's Tullamarine HQ was a V6 model, the tester was able to make a direct comparison of the old with the new V6 model. In this light, the new Accord V6 is a substantial improvement.

The new V6 is reasonably grunty for the weight of the car and the engine capacity. It prefers to rev rather than slog, which means it should be up to the challenge posed by Aurion and Commodore, but might suffer when pitched against Ford's Falcon six, especially in upcoming FG guise.

Compared with the superseded Accord, Honda has ironed out much of the impact harshness in the suspension -- as far as we can tell from driving it on quite smooth roads selected for the launch -- but one bump under brakes on the way home from the launch did show that the suspension perhaps has some way to go before being called properly sorted for Australian roads.

Overall though, the ride was less wallowy than the old car's and the new model also felt more 'proactive' in the way the engine responded to driver input. There was certainly more power from the V6 in the new car, but it also shone by virtue of the transmission's readiness to kick-down and the lack of 'squidginess' in the accelerator pedal that was a symptom of the old Accord's somewhat listless performance.

Not only was the new car's engine and transmission combination more responsive generally, it was more adaptive to the driving style adopted. The PCM (powertrain control module) and transmission did furnish a slightly sharp throttle response when pressing on.

With its VCM feature, the new Accord V6 can return a result of 10.0L/100km on the combined-cycle ADR81/01 test, but we actually achieved a fuel consumption figure as low as 8.9L/100km on a combination of straight, open roads, some bends, rolling hills and lower speeds through small towns. On freeways, that figure should be reduced further, but it will also rise once the Accord hits the big smoke.

Off the straight-and-narrow, the V6 was a respectable handler. Turning in, it proved quite adept and the car was relatively 'balanceable' in the corners, but there's a smidge too much slack in the steering at the straight-ahead. This is probably a symptom of the variable ratio steering, but was not present to the same degree in the four-cylinder VTi models driven.

Speaking of the VTi, the 2.4-litre engine sounds strained in the higher rev range. It's not a charming engine and doesn't have the necessary output to propel a Falcon-sized car at a reasonable pace. It's OK for dawdling in traffic or cruising on the freeways.

The V6 was certainly a better car in a straight line, but the VTi was nicer in the steering and handling. Right away, it's immediately apparent that the VTi's steering is lighter; there's less slack at the straight-ahead and it just plain feels lighter on its toes and easier to place in corners.

Both cars show an initial tendency to understeer, but both settle down once committed to the corner.

Paddle shifters change down (left of steering column) or up (right of steering column), but will not hold gears as other sequential-shift systems do. The distinction between automatic mode and manual shifting is far more blurred in this car than most others offering the same sort of feature. There is no sequential-shift plane in the gear shifter plinth, and that might be missed by those who don't really feel the need to emulate Michael Schumacher.

Under full throttle, it would kick-down two gears, but with light throttle openings uphill, it would hold on to higher gears, even in the four-cylinder variants.

On ONE occasion -- while driving for maximum economy -- there was a minor thump on a downhill section of road. This felt like the transmission shifting up a gear as the V6 engine changed mode to three-cylinder operation. Otherwise -- and assuming that this was even the nature of the problem -- the VCM system worked seamlessly. There was no low frequency vibration, which indicates the active engine mounts and the Active Noise Control do the trick in cancelling any out-of-phase vibration or harshness.

Inside the V6 Luxury Accord, the controls are easy to use and intuitive. After just a short study, the separate functions of satnav and trip computer are relatively easily mastered -- despite the Accord having a round toggle-cum-knob like BMW's iDrive controller, but the Honda's is mounted in the centre fascia below the HVAC and audio controls, whereas the BMW's is located under the driver's left forearm, in the centre console.

The seats have markedly improved over the old car's. It's a straight-forward matter to find a comfortable driving position.

Cruise control switches are located on the right spoke of the steering wheel, audio controls on the left spoke.

Two-way toggle switches can raise temperatures by flicking up, or reducing temperatures by flicking down. Ergonomically, they're a sensible design and the passenger can use the switch on the left of the fascia to set the temperature independently of the driver's setting.

Styling is in the eye of the beholder, but the new Accord is probably both more conservative and more modern than the car it replaces.

To our eyes, it adopts a distinctly Honda style around the front-- with a bit of Volkswagen Passat thrown in for good measure -- but the side sculpture line and the slightly truncated boot and the tail lights lend the Accord a look in keeping with the W204 Mercedes C-Class. Honda may have had a bet each way with subtle BMW hints at the rear also. There's the 'Bangle-like' boot lid and the continuation of the strip tail lights on the boot lid. Frankly, the Accord's styling is a little fussy in some of the details.

Is the Accord likely to be a goal-sneak for Honda? It has quietly kicked a few already. It's well priced, offers a very good balance of specification, technology and refinement. As an alternative to the medium and large car Toyotas in particular, the Accord is well worth consideration.

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