Honda Accord Review

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Honda Accord Review

With the rising petrol prices, it is not a very practical option to opt for a luxury petrol sedan. This option becomes even more delusional with premium luxury sedans. With higher performance the quench for petrol also increases and thus the petrol premium sedans are written off due to their poor drive economy.

This is a common perception and arguably holds true in most cases. However, we decided to still find out if the above is a generic stance about premium gasoline sedans or is there a sedan which can bend the odds and offer both economy as well as performance.

It should also be a sedan which does not burn your pocket off. A sedan, which can bring all the core joys of premiumness, luxury and performance together without being priced parallel to clouds. We chose the Honda Accord 2.4 MT as it is a reasonably priced premium sedan at Rs. 20 lakhs. But then does it break the myth is what we find in our review.

Appearance Exterior

The Honda Accord is grand on dimensions but then it does not come out as a lazy looking sedan. In fact, it fairs well with its crisp and sharp styling. It does not boast of deliberate overhangs and flows on the body instead the Accord endorses clean lines on its body.

The long bonnet in the front gives it a strong character. Chrome treated two storey radiator grille is a bold design feature. Dual barrel headlamps look very fierce. The lines of the headlamps too sweep all the way to the side. A lot of muscle can be seen on the front bumper with the flowing contours. It has a much chiseled but not sharp jaw line with the fog lamps hidden in extreme corners.

On the silhouette, it looks long and stretched. The length also translate to a good legroom with a wheelbase of 2800mm. The Honda Accord is dimensionally bigger than the Skoda Superb so the cabin space is more in the Honda. A sharp wedge line flows all across on the side profile and also there is a strong line on the running board as well. The ORVMs come with integrated indicators. Door handles and the window lines have been done in chrome. The long hood line is pulled across on the side with the sharp flowing lines on the side all the way to the rear.

It has got a chunk of a rear section with a raised boot line. Sharp crystal lens tail lamps flow from the side to the rear. There is a chrome line flowing on the boot gate. The lip of the rear bumper protrudes out and it ends with single chrome tipped exhaust.

Even though this is a 2011 Honda Accord but even then the looks are not dated. After being there for quite some time the Accord still stands strong with its sporty and premium looks and thus gets the justified attention.

Appearance Interior

The Honda Accord may look fierce in appearance but then inside the luxury won’t spoil you. Instead it just barely elevates you to the premium class. The Honda Accord 2.4 MT is the base line version and justifiably comfortable.

It does not have a feature rich cabin to begin with and also the luxury element is not over board. However, the seating is comfortable with the electrically adjustable driver seat. The front legroom is decent and so is the rear legroom. When seated in the rear the comfort level is better than the C-Class which appears too edgy and cramped as compared to this Japanese sedan.

There is a generous flow of leather vinyled plastics all over the cabin. Central console has an array of buttons and switches. The finishing of the switches and buttons is decent. Hidden above the central console is the display screen which displays the track being played along with other entertainment options. It has a multi CD play option along with a USB/AUX-in option.

Instrument cluster in this vehicle is too much educative as it just basic information. Even cars half of its price display more information. The speedometer and tachometer arrangement is done neatly. It does not display any intelligent information but just the basic trip and odo reading. We hope with the new Accord all this changes.

Storage options are numerous. The glove boxes, an intermediate recess in the central console are some of them. A multi story utility box under the front row armrest is another generous storage option. This utility box also provides provision to connect the USB device. There is a sunglass holder descending from the roof. This one also has a moon roof. There are separate audio controls for the rear occupants which is a nice touch. The front and rear door trim provide small provisions for storing parking tickets and miscellaneous articles.

Performance Drive

The Honda Accord has a 16 valve 2354cc DOHC i-VTEC engine. This unit produces a peak power of 180 PS at 6500 rpm and a torque of 222 Nm at 4300 rpm. There is an option of a 5-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift as well which is some Rs.83,000 more than the manual option.

The i-VTEC unit is no doubt a very smooth unit. It misses on the fun element. The engine can be interpreted as a very comfortable commuter. The transmission is too smooth to be realized and shifts without any error. The only drawback is the engine has to be pushed hard to squeeze out the potential of all the horses powering the engine.

Even though, this one is dimensionally a lot longer than a normal every day sedan steering it around the corners is not a task at all. The Honda Accord surprised me with its turning potential and encouraged me to take on the tight corners with great ease. With the traction control off, the tryes made some awesome screeching sounds on the tight ghat sections.

The leather seats are very comfortable on both rows. Even on long journeys the seats promise to be of great comfort without any fatigue. The cushioning and the stitch quality in them is very premium. Also, the theme of beige meets wood works just fine without being extravagant.

With good comes the bad as a package and this one is no exception to that. On the darkside, the steering wheel has no audio controls and the cruise control buttons take good time to get used to as they have to operated in certain sequence which I failed to learn throughout the review. Even with all the windows rolled up and at low speeds, there are squeaky noises around the dashboard which in the beginning seem immaterial but then on highways these sounds get very irritating.

It offers a very basic ride quality. Even at fully loaded conditions the car does not feel the uneven surface under. The coil springs equipped for rear suspensions serve decent. It does not offer a stuff suspension setup which really works wonders for a car of this dimension. There is a Multilateral Disc brake setup for the front and a Solid Disc brake setup for the rear section.

Tech Specs

Features

Competition All Specs

Conclusion

The Honda Accord serving in India is indeed an old one. It has been getting tit bit of improvements and changes but then the competition has got far more intense. Not just cars in the same segment, premium luxury brands like Mercedes Benz, Audi and BMW are bringing down their entry points.

If the Accord does not re-evolve itself it will be lost as a good car it was. The stumbling block is Honda’s decision of still not bringing the diesel engine for this sedan. Also, in the international markets, the Accord comes across as a very feature rich sedan with a great number of options to choose from. If Honda can get the 2013 Accord on Indian turf, things may get sizzled at this Japanese major’s end and the Accord reclaim its strong position.

Honda Accord ₹ N/A Onwards

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