Honda Accord

The Honda Accord is probably not the first car that springs to mind if you’re considering family saloons. Since its launch in 2008, the Accord has struggled to prove that it’s worth the premium price Honda charges for a capable but ordinary package. Honda’s answer has been to upgrade the entire range with improved engines in order to make it more attractive to the company car buyers who will make up the majority of prospective Accord owners.

The Accord has been a Honda staple for more than three decades. Launched in 1976 and arriving in the UK a year later, it is now in its eighth generation and, although its star is fading somewhat in the UK, it remains as much a stalwart of the Honda line-up as the Civic. In that time it has been seen with two, three, four and five doors (not to mention a much-missed Type R).

The outgoing car may have been five years old when it was replaced in 2008, but even by modern standards that’s a short model cycle, and the car has aged so well that not even the market has shown any sign of losing patience with it. Indeed, 2007 was one of its best sales years ever.

But replaced it was – not with the subtly facelifted model that its maker could so easily have got away with but, with typical Honda thoroughness, an entirely new car.

As seems the way of all flesh these days, it’s bigger in almost every significant dimension (although the old car was an inconsequential 5mm taller). It’s heavier, too, although model for model the weight gain has been restricted to a few dozen kilos.

DESIGN

This latest Honda Accord may be all new, but the philosophy behind it is anything but. Its design is determinedly evolutionary, a fact that is testament to the clarity of the vision for the outgoing generation of Accord.

Whether it has been successful in this regard is down to personal choice. But for what it’s worth, while we admire the fact that the Accord looks more grown up and expensive, we also lament slightly and subjectively that a lot of the cleanness of the original has been lost.

In 2011, the Accord range was given new headlights, a new ‘sportier’ grille, reprofiled cooling ducts and foglights and a new bumper at the front, while the rear also received a new bumper, a new finish for the lights and chrome trim above the number plate for saloon models. New 17-inch alloy wheels were offered on ES and ES-GT models, while three new colours – Alabaster Silver, Graphite Lustre metallic and Celestrial Blue Pearl – were added to the options list.

As before, the Accord comes in two shapes – this saloon and an estate (still called Tourer) – but no longer will they sit on two different wheelbases. Although this means that the Tourer no longer looks like a flying coffin, you can also expect its carrying capacity to be somewhat abbreviated.

Under the skin, the Accord could not hope for a more pukka specification, with double wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear end ensuring a vice-like control over both axles.

It goes almost without saying that all the electronic primary safety systems you might expect on a car such as this are included. 

INTERIOR

Ergonomically, the interior of the new Accord is a mess and a disappointingly backward step from the more cohesive design chosen for the outgoing model. Climb behind the wheel, let your eyes stray towards the indecipherable infestation of controls that dominate the centre console and one thought will appear in your head: “How am I ever going to make sense of it all?”

We’ve often been critics of single controllers, as pioneered by BMW’s iDrive system, but the truth is that even that kind of arrangement works better than this. It’s a shame because the Accord has an excellent driving position, the instruments are attractive and easy to read, and the quality of the dashboard and upholstery are more than good enough for the car’s positioning.

Honda sought to address some of these problems in 2010 by giving the interior a bit of a lift alongside the exterior tweaks. Although interior changes – including new dark silver panels and a bright silver finish for the door handles and handbrake – may sound fancy, they don’t really address the fundamental problems. 

But there’s another problem here ,aside from the fundamental design and layout. Given the car’s considerable size, there’s startlingly little room in the back, both for your legs and head. Four adults will think twice before heading off for hundreds of miles. The boot is fairly small, too, and poorly arranged because of the considerable encroachment of the new rear suspension.

Things do improve in the Accord Tourer. It’s replete with the sort of touches that make living with a wagon pleasurable: under-floor stowage, lashing hooks and large side panniers for a start. It also has a low loading floor and a wide tailgate. So if you don’t want the ultimate in carrying capacity, it makes a lot of sense. 

PERFORMANCE

Just about good enough’ sums up the new Accord’s performance when equipped with the staple 2.2-litre diesel engine. The engine produces 148bhp – up 10bhp from the old Accord – yet retains its commendably smooth running. And although overall weight has risen, it’s not by enough to blow a big hole in what was already fairly leisurely acceleration. Honda’s own numbers suggest a 0-62mph time of 9.5sec, a time we matched to 60mph in testing.

Of more importance is the quietness of the engine at a steady cruise and the fact that it has the nicest transmission in the class, even taking the German quality brands into account. Six speeds are standard and the change quality is light yet deliciously precise. Refinement levels are exceptional for this class of car, with wind, road and engine noise kept to a bare minimum.

in the ranks of modern diesels, the more powerful 177bhp version of the 2.2-litre four-pot is much more commendable. Its 280lb ft torque maximum is on offer between 2000 and 2750rpm, although there is a decent spread of grunt throughout the rev range. The well-judged gear ratios, combined with that fantastic shift quality, ensure swift progress can always be maintained, not something that can always be said about the lower-powered model. Ask the diesel flagship for all it's got and it will carry you to 62mph in 8.8sec and to a top speed of 136mph.

In the ranks of modern diesels, the more powerful 177bhp version of the 2.2-litre four-pot is much more commendable, with a good spread of torque.

The base 154bhp 2.0-litre petrol Accord feels surprisingly sluggish. The effortless mid-range urge of modern turbodiesels that we're used to means that a revvy petrol engine like this one feels overwhelmed when asked to lug a large family car. Performance has to be extracted from the Accord by revving it surprisingly hard, and even shallow motorway gradients are enough to defeat this car’s tall sixth gear.

The range-topping Accord – the model that middle-managers countrywide should surely aspire to own if the outfit’s premium-brand ambitions are to be taken seriously – has a noisy 198bhp 2.4-litre four-pot, which drives the front wheels through a five-speed automatic gearbox that is often slow to kick down and guilty of transmission slip. The Power of Dreams? This is anything but.