By Derek Ogden, Marque Motoring
Few vehicles can match the Honda Accord for longevity.
On the road in Australia since 1977, the award-winning sedan, now in its 11th generation, shows no sign of going away anytime soon.
Surprisingly, despite it being one of the maker’s most important nameplates, the latest Accord, a petrol-electric hybrid, stands alone in its bid to keep the opposition at bay. In doing so the Accord e:HEV RS – touted as the best Honda Accord ever – claims to deliver an unbeatable combination of style, efficiency, performance and connectivity.
But does it?
Honda has turned to twee type of philosophy to describe the essence of the new Accord, saying the development team wanted to create a vehicle that allowed the ‘passionate achiever’ to express their status and help them change their mindset as they headed to their next destination.
However, when it comes to choice of models and pricing the sedan comes down to brass tacks: a single model with an eyewatering sticker price of $64,990, far above most of the opposition. The Accord e:HEV RS is covered by Honda’s five-year unlimited kilometre warranty with eight years for the battery.
STYLING
Honda is at it again, opining that a ‘creative black tie’ concept combines individuality with the basics of formal wear at a high level, making the driver appear accomplished and appealing. Sorry, Honda, the look is just bland.
Today’s Accord is so yesterday in appearance, even with its ‘long, clean body lines and a strong powerful front end, blacked out headlights, and wide upright grille flanked by air curtain inlets routing cooling air through the bumper and around the front wheels’.
Longer than its predecessor, a fact emphasised by a ‘sharp upper character line’ and swoopy roof culminating in a fastback rear with distinctive LED flush tail lamps highlighting a wide stance. Machined matte black 18-inch wheels aim for a sporty appearance but fail to elevate it to the ‘black tie’ level.
The most modern feature up front is out of sight. The active shutter system behind the upper grille, commonplace on EVs these days, opens and shuts to control the amount of air flowing through the engine radiator and air-con condenser. Keeping shutters closed cuts aerodynamic drag, hence energy consumption.
INTERIOR
While reasons for the Accord’s exterior is obscure, the cabin, happily, comes down to reality with up-to-date design using premium materials, highlighted by a honeycomb metal mesh strip across the dashboard separating audio and information displays and climate controls, while concealing the air vents.
Front seats are designed to stabilise the body, especially in spirited driving, enhance comfort and reduce fatigue on long journeys. Bigger exterior dimensions than before ensure more rear leg room and make space for 570 litres of luggage with the single rear seatback (no 60:40 split) up.
However, head room is limited by the sunroof and steeply sloping rear, and because of the hybrid set-up, there’s only room out back for a tyre repair kit.
INFOTAINMENT
The driver is the focus of the 10.2-inch instrument display with a new interface, which includes an energy flow meter in place of the tacho. The updated Honda Sensing is one of the user-selectable features.
A 12.3-inch touchscreen gives access to a revamped range of menus including audio and air-con. Honda says fewer embedded menus are easier to access. There’s still room for improvement here.
One nice touch, however, is the ‘Experience Selection Dial’, which has a circular display defaulting to a digital clock, providing quick controls of air-conditioning and driver profiles.
The new Accord features Honda’s first application of Google built-in, which includes Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play, plus satellite navigation and live traffic updates at the spoken request ‘Hey, Google’.
New-generation Honda Connect features a refreshed app interface, improved response time and other new features. Over The Air software updates are a feature of the audio/connectivity ECU.
An 11.5-inch windscreen head-up display incorporates speedo, navigation and driver assist features. A dial under the screen allows the driver to call up pre-selected mood profiles while driving.
Quality sound comes from the standard Bose 12-speaker audio system developed by engineers working closely with Honda from early in the design process, while Dynamic Speed Compensation automatically adjusts volume and tone based on vehicle speed.
ENGINES/TRANSMISSIONS
A fourth-generation dual-motor hybrid system is made up of a refined two-litre Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine developing 108kW of power mated with a pair of more powerful electric motors mounted side by side. The E-CVT traction motor puts out 135kW of power and 335Nm of torque, while the generator motor charges the battery pack. Total power output is 152kW. The E-CVT features high and low speed lock-up for direct drive, a help on steep inclines.
Fuel consumption is claimed by the maker to be 4.3 litres per hundred kilometres on the combined urban/highway cycle. The test car recorded five litres per 100 kilometres in city and suburbs and 3.9 litres per 100 kilometres on the motorway. With a 48 litre fuel tank this adds up to around 1000 kilometres range, depending on driving style.
SAFETY
The Accord features the latest iteration of Honda’s ACE body structure through the use of high-strength steel and structure designed to dissipate crash energy efficiently around the cabin.
Honda Sensing safety and driver assistance has been made possible by updated front camera and radar. Four-wheel disc brakes incorporate a four-channel anti-lock system, electronic brake distribution and brake assist.
Eight airbags include driver and front seat passenger, driver and front passenger knee airbag, front side airbag and side curtain airbags. An outer lap belt pretensioner is used on front seats, with a load limiter to prevent chest injuries. In the rear, outboard pretensioners are used, along with load limiters.
DRIVING
The hybrid system features a shift control which apes the gear shifting on a conventional drivetrain when the accelerator is fully pressed. Half a dozen levels of slowing are available through the shift paddles on the steering column.
The vehicle automatically switches seamlessly between EV, Hybrid and Engine drive modes optimising performance and efficiency. An ‘e’ button has the driver switching between Auto from to EV mode for pure electric driving and Charge mode which keeps the engine running longer to keep the battery fully charged.
New drive modes include Normal for balanced fuel efficiency and performance; Econ, which shifts to lower fuel consumption; Sport, for sharper throttle response with additional sporty sound; and Individual, driver choosing the settings.
The new petrol-electric hybrid system has pushed the Accord top speed up to 200km/h. There’s no doubt much work has been done on the suspension and steering, combining a more engaging, yet comfortably smooth and quiet drive, while NVH is complemented by a quietened exhaust note.
New soundproofing and active noise control keep out intrusive cabin noise and construct ideal surroundings for the audio and passenger conversation.
SUMMARY
There’s no denying the new Accord has a laundry list of the latest automotive technology, driver aids and safety systems but do they add up to the $65K asking price? I’ll leave the potential buyer to make that decision.
RATINGS
Looks – 6
Performance – 7
Safety – 6
Thirst – 8
Practicality – 6
Comfort – 7
Tech – 8
Value – 4
