NOW in its 11th generation, Honda's Accord sedan has won many friends over the years, and with good reason, it has been an outstanding car, that delivers on Honda's promises.
With the new version offering the first hybrid drive option in the car's storied history, there were some who wondered how well the medium-sized luxury performance sedan would adapt to the brave new world of mixed motivation.
In the interest of fair reporting, I will admit, I am a fan, the mid-2000s Accord Euro remains one of my favourite cars, and also had one of the best TV commercials ever but that just means this one has some big shoes to fill...
IF LOOKS could kill, the Accord would already be in prison, it is a beauty to behold, from its predatorial headlights to the squared-off rear, and everything in between.
Honda says the Accord design is aimed to make the driver appear 'accomplished and appealing' as part of its 'Creative Black Tie' concept, although in my case, they may have bitten off more than they can chew...still, one can but dream!
Like most cars, the Accord has evolved and grown over time, although there are still definite similarities maintaining a connection to previous versions, it is just longer, wider and lower-looking.
Despite the growth spurt, the Accord has matured into a lithe version of its earlier self, Honda designers avoided making it bloated and overdone, it has maintained an air of sporting capability, while giving off a feeling of understated refinement.
I think this is one of my attractions to the Accord, it has remained true to its heritage, that is not to say it has ignored the passing years, more that it has cherrypicked the attributes it wants to retain, and ignored the passing fads.
Everything about the exterior looks in proportion, there are no outsized wheels, or bulging arches, the windscreen is just 'right', there are swooping curves, but they are offset by just enough sharp edges to keep everything balanced.
The bonnet is long and wide, but you know where the corners are, it is not an infinity pool stretching away into the distance, you are not left guessing how close those parking bollards are, you always know your boundaries.
The doors curve in, from the top down, with a slight concavity, while the sills have that Group 5 ('widebody', in the youthspeak of today) squared-off look, bringing the car back to full width, while the guards, front and rear, are wide, without being bulbous, there is a chiselled look to them, completing the Accord's side view.
The roof is a flowing curve that rolls up and over the cabin, complete with panoramic sunroofs, before swooping down in a continuous line to the short tail bootlid.
As part of Honda's quest for efficiency without sacrificing form for function, the Accord is smooth, with no drag-creating protuberances bulging out into the airflow.
One clever piece of 'hidden' design is a shutter system - like the radiator shutters in the days of old - behind the grille which automatically adjusts to restrict airflow, while keeping a flow of air across the radiator, closing off completely when the car is parked.
In keeping with the understated nature of the design, Honda has kept the chrome package to a minimum, restricting it to the front grille surround and wrapping the door windows, culminating in a subtle 'C' piece behind the rear door.
Avoiding the urge to oversize the rims, the new Accord rides on 18" machined aluminium rims, there is just enough sidewall to maintain ride comfort, while allowing for maximum fun when the road gets twisty.
Our test car was the RS Hybrid variant, which adds some discreet red 'RS' badges front and rear, just enough to catch the eye, but not enough to be gaudy, very much in line with the rest of the car.
Fit and finish is typical Honda, the panel gaps are minimalist, while the paint - our car was painted in Platinum White Pearlescent - was deep, and picked up enough reflected light, especially at night, to create a faint glow around the car.
INSIDE, the Accord is pure Honda, what I call dynamic efficiency, a magical blend of form and function, practicality and style, without sacrificing comfort.
My partner feels it is a long way down, and then back up again, but I love that about it, every time you drive it, you become part of the car.
The Accord, is after all, what the Europeans call a 'sporting saloon', a four-door, five-seat passenger car that just happens to be able to out perform the majority of the cars around it, without needing to be a race car with licence plates.
Growing up, I was never a massive Honda fan, but this job certainly helps to change perspectives, I thought they were a sort of upmarket Toyota (not a criticism of eighter brand!), but more of a 'Dad's Car' than something I lusted after.
As I said, that changed when I drove my first Accord in the 00s, and I have been a fan ever since, and continue to be one now.
The Accord interior is more of the outside on the inside, what I call 'sporting refinement'.
This means you still get all the latest tech, with a rectangular 12.3" screen dominating the centre stack, including Apple CarPlay, multi-zone airconditioning, heating and cooled power-adjustable seats, and a lot more.
But it also means there is a sporty edge, minimal use of shiny garnish, with almost no 'piano black' in evidence - looks gorgeous, but shows up every fingerprint and needs lots of cleaning to keep it smudge-free.
What there is more of that delightfully retro honecomb vent facing from the CR-V, and those brilliant 'stick' controls for the vents themselves - retro? Hell yeah, but just so fun!
Another personal fave is the digital analog clock, in other cars, it might be a bit out of place, but here, it just looks right, and fits the character of the Accord.
And Honda proves there are grey interiors, and there are Accord grey interiors, with red stitching on the seats and centre console, creating a cabin you just want to climb into and shut out the rest of the world, because you are home...
As previously mentioned, I am on the bigger side of medium - my partner says more to cuddle - but my generous proportions, height and circumference, did not touch the sides, and those afore-mentioned sports seats wrap around you, reinforcing the 'sporting refinement' feel of the car.
Even my size 11 shoes had their own space, and there were no arguments between left and right as to which pedal they were on, with a well-placed left side footrest putting a full stop on the conversation.
Like most hybrids, because of no engine noise in EV mode, sound proofing is critical on the Accord, and very well done, once the doors are closed and the windows are up, there is a definite barrier between you and the outside world.
You aren't totally isolated, but there is enough of a separation you can choose what you hear, rather than being overwhelmed by road noise or other distractions.
While the passengers aren't forgotten, the Accord is very much a driver's car, once you are behind the wheel, it feels like you are the focus of Honda's attention.
The relationship between the controls is close to perfect, it is one of those cars where you think of what you want to do, and the button or switch is right where you expect it to be.
Not surprisingly, the fit, finish and materials are all high end, stitchings line up perfectly, seat facings were taut, but accommodating, yes, I am a fan, but for a reason - Honda puts in a lot of effort to make it right.
DRIVING the Accord is a delight, it goes hard when asked, handles like a dream, and the ride is taut, but not hard, allowing it to cope with the worst, as well as the best, of southeast Queensland's road network.
The Accord uses the same two-motor hybrid system as the new CR-V, with one motor generating the electric power for the battery system, while a second motor provides the motive power.
The internal combustion engine is a 2-litre four cylinder, producing 108 kilowatts, while the combined powertrain provides 152 kilowatts and 335 Newton-metres, with peak torque available from rest.
People have questioned why the peak figure is lower than the combined outputs of both power sources, when you could have a tuly firebreathing dragon, and perhaps that is part of the answer.
Instead it is more to with the power delivery, they would actually be competing with each other as the ICE begins to catch up with the electric motor, by capping the power, it then allows the computers to blend the delivery to the preset maximum.
Like most modern hybrids, the system defaults to EV mode on startup, demonstrating the excellent soundproofing of the cabin, with no external noise intruding on the passenger space.
Whether it is just going for a quick run to the shops, sitting in traffic or enjoying a leisurely cruise, the Accord takes it all in its stride.
Like most EVs and hybrid cars, the Accord uses regenerative braking to generate electric power on the move, this also serves as a range extender, by allowing the car to run further on electric power, it reduces the fuel burn in the ICE.
Apologies for the acronyms, by the way, but it makes it easier than typing out the full title each time you go to mention it!
Not unexpectedly, giving the amount of power available from rest fom the electric motor, as well as in-gear acceleration for overtaking, the Accord launches like a bullet, and with no warning, you push the pedal, and you are away.
Yes, there are big power ICEs than can do similar, but they need time, think watching a dragster staging up at the christmas tree, but they signal their intention, between the building revs and the driveline 'loading up'.
In EV mode, other than the driver being polite enough to suggest you hang on, there is no warning, one moment you are sipping your tumeric latte (thanks Abs at Coffee On Wembley, they are delicious!), the next you are desperately trying not wear it down the front of your shirt, and watching the digital speedo blur as the speed builds.
It is as simple, and as complex, as that.
The Accord RS has a 'one pedal' option for driving, it can be driven like a 'normal' car, or you can turn the accelerator into a rheostat, you want to go, you push, you want to stop, you lift.
Using the regenerative braking in maximum mode - there are six driver-selectable levels from 'skim' to 'stop now!' - as soon as you lift, the generator motor kicks in, using spinning magnets to slow the car while also generating electricity to top up the drive battery.
This is what makes the Accord RS so much fun, you want to go, you press hard, but if you need to stop, or just lose some speed, you lift, and you go from being buried in those delightfully comfortable seats to hanging off the seatbelts and doing a passble impesonation of Scott and Virgil Tracy in the original Thunderbirds.
And because the power delivery is instantaneous, there is no delay while revs build o transmissions downshift, you just GO!
As much fun as all this is, and it is, trust me!, the Accord, with Honda's lengthy motorsport heritage behind it, knows how to ride, handle and corner, which means you can have an absolute blast tearing up your favourite twisty road.
There is body roll, but it is minimised and well-controlled, assisted by the battery pack sitting in the lower part of the car, creating a lower centre-of-gravity, which allows you to fling the Accord into corners with glee.
BUT! Always remember the laws of physics do still apply, they have not been overlooked, just stretched further than you may have experienced previously, and when they do bite, they can bite hard, and the unwary can be caught by surprise.
Honda has included the 'SENSING' safety system in the new Accord, after it debuted locally in the CR-V, and it is worth using, providing an extra layer of driver information for a safer driving experience.
Using both the forward facing wide-angle camera and radar units, SENSING can track multiple objects, including painted white lines on the road surface, to build a picture of what is happening around the car, which is then displayed in the instrument cluster as a moving three-dimensional image of what is around you, and where it is headed.
While nothing replaces an attentive driver watching the surroundings, this system is tracking multiple objects with updates in fractions of a second, allowing it to warn the driver (that's YOU!), of impending problems, allowing you to make better-informed decisions.
It also feeds into the Collision Mitigation Braking System, which not only alerts you to something crossing into your path, but can, faster and more accurately than a human, trigger the brakes to help avoid, or at least reduce, crashes.
Other systems to use SENSING inputs include Road Departure Mitigation (reading the lines, to stop you accidentally straying from your lane, or off the road altogether, and the Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Auto High Beam and Adaptive Driving Beam, among many other safety-related functions.
A common complaint is these systems try to 'drive' the car against the wishes of the human driver, to an extent this is true, but the driver can always take control back and override the computer, if necessary.
From personal experience, I can confirm these systems can react faster than a human, and deploy braking and the electronic power steering, with greater precision than I can, not because I am unskilled, but the computer can split brakeforce between wheels while steering, at the same time it is pretensioning seatbelts to reduce occupant injury if there is a crash.
Of these, the Adaptive Driving Beam is an absolute necessity, and should be mandatory on any car fitted with LED headlights, as it automatically redirects the headlights out of the path of oncoming vehicles, with no loss of vision for the driver.
While Honda has gone all-in on the safety front, they have managed to dial down the intrusiveness of the systems, making them use-friendly, while still providing high levels of overall safety, and have set the bar high for other manufacturers.
The Accord features another of my personal favourites, a driver Head-Up Display (HUD), something I think should be mandatory on all cars.
This is a floating display, projected onto the windscreen in front of the driver, it can be adjusted vertically and horizontally to suit different drivers, and eliminates the need to look away from the road to check basic information like road speed, posted speed limit and navigation.
Every person I have shown the system to agree it is a major advance, and some have even looked into fitting aftermarket versions into older model cars, one friend was even investigating how to fit it to his motorcycle helmet.
It might sound like a gimmick, but with driver distraction cameras becoming popular, tracking the driver's eyes to alert if they look away from the road, removing the need to look down to ensure your speed is appropriate is almost a necessity.
Overall, Honda's systems are useful, without being intrusive, and add to the driving experience, rather than making it tiring or onerous.
SO, would I have one? YES! In a hearbeat. Despite it being too close to the ground, in my partner's opinion, I absolutely love the Accord.
It has a sporting edge to its character, without being a hard-edged racer wannabe, and has a refined feel, plus I just love the interior.
While every car is a compromise, that is the nature of the beast, the new Accord ticks pretty much every box I am looking for in a road car, offering technology, luxury, and a feeling of 'completeness' that I find missing in many other cars.
Looking for a medium-large, luxury car with a sporting character, and plenty of cutting edge tech? Then put this one on your shopping list.
Comments