Autocar - First for car news and reviews

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 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). Honda hopes to sell around 10,000 new Accords a year once the estate version comes on stream in September.

The outgoing car might be five years old, but even by mod...Read the full article

I cannot believe what Honda have done to this car.  The present Accord is a genuinely handsome car... and they've gone and ruined it.

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time they've done that.  Look back at the Civic, CRX, Prelude... now I think about it, it wouldn't be Honda if they hadn't fouled up the styling!

 

I quite like the styling and from what Autocar has said it drives even better than the current ctdi which I own. I think one has to see and drive a car oneself to make better judgements.I have the current tourer and really like the syling and feel that the coffin remarks are more worthy of beano magazine than a journal like autocar. The new one looks good but has much less cargo space but hey Autocar doesnt like the current styling !

As far as performance is concerned is the idtec a lot slower than the ctdi then ? In what way was the performance already limited ? I have not heard this mentioned before. It appears to be similar to the mazda and the ford. It is a shame that the 180 bhp unit isnt ready yet to compete with the laguna and citroen for example. However they are nearly 7mpg worse off, have higher co2 and are in the 25% tax rate compared with 20 % for the Honda and Mazda.

The higher powered diesels (with the exception of BMW) are pointless as they are barely more economical than the much cheaper petrol versions especially now diesel is so much more per litre than diesel. I find the ctdi to be an excellent engine smooth quiet if not as economical as the govt ratings but what car is ?

Finally, I dont know why Autocar marks the new Accord down. You admit the engine smoothness and the motorway cruising ability are first rate and also state the ride is very good and handling excellent if not quite up to the Ford and the BMW but who really cares. These are to be driven on  the public road so I doubt for the majority of drivers that the extra little nuances of handling finesse really matter.

I will have to see the reduced rear room and boot space for myself. And finally bthe controls look easy enough to me. The top level of buttons are for the music functions which are dupliucated on the steering wheel. the lower row controls the heating and a/c and it is handy to have them there so you dont have to go through the menu which on mine prev generattion  is easy ! 

Oh and the stubby lever is the gearbox and the big round thing is the wheel   !!!! You may gather I like the look of the dash and even if there are a lot of buttons they are not the major functions. The graphics on the Audi look unreadable and you guys have always said you didnt like the BMW system. How can it be less distracting to go through a million menus just to turn the heat up rather then a simple button which you can get used to ? And where is the intuitive place for the heater controls then - if not in the middle of the console. I remeber the same comment on the second generation accord yet one could run your finger along to the right button easily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think they've messed the styling up of the new one, too, actually. The front lower air intakes seem as if they've been stuck in at the last minute, without a proper shape to them. Look at this on a Mazda6, Renault Laguna or Citroen C5, however, and they're all design elements in themselves. Overall it looks too much like a mildly facelifted version of the current model. The new Tourer isn't too bad, but they've lopped a load of cargo space out from that! And the PRICE!!!! Honda have got a bit of a nerve asking that sort of money considering you can get a Skoda Superb, Citroen C5, Mondeo, Laguna or Mazda6 for a lot less!! I think I'd rather go for a Civic than an Accord now - but then the Civic has always been my favourite Honda because I'm into something a bit different!

Here in the US where it is sold as the Acura TSX, it is a 2.4 gasoline (petrol) engine rated at 205 hp.  I have the manual 6 speed and it is one of the better cars on the road for the money; it only runs about half of what you blokes pay for it. I can run pretty well with the likes of Boxsters etc, and still carry 4 adults. And it is dead reliable, something I don't get on European cars i.e. VW, Volvo, Audi.  And I get about 28 mpg on my long ride to work.

 

CotoBob 

I'm glad price has been mentioned - I think Honda are going to isolate a lot of their previous buyers by sticking the price up £2k. Rather than filling their cars with technology they can cut the price and put a little bit of extra money into the development to make it a top rate car.

As for the dashboard it's an absolute joke. I own a 99 accord, used to own a 98 civic and have regularly driven an 03 civic - the dashboards couldn't be more simple, easy to use and don't look terrible. Toys don't sell a car, especially when you can't understand how to work them