الخميس، 18 يوليو 2013

All in Accord

The imminent departure of Mitsubishi's 380 could prove a blessing in disguise for competitor Honda.
That’s because Honda’s new, larger Accord, released this week (not the Euro), is a stronger, more convincing offering than the previous model – one that could well fill the void left by 380 in the large car segment.
In V6 form, at least, it offers something the others don’t – fuel-saving, cylinder shutdown technology that allows the car to run on as little as three cylinders when full power is not required.
There’s also a gutsy four-cylinder model that promises even more fuel savings.
It’s no secret the large car segment has shrunk significantly in the last couple of years as buyers drift towards smaller more economical vehicles.
According to sales figures for 2007, Holden’s Commodore dominated the segment with 57,000 sales, followed by the Ford Falcon (34,000) and Toyota Aurion (22,000).
Despite a string of awards, the poor old 380 trailed a poor fourth with just under 11,000 sales for the year followed by the Accord (7200).
As sales of the 380 trickle to a stop and eventually dry up, those sales have to go somewhere and Honda is quietly confident of picking up a fair chunk of them, as much as 10 per cent of the segment total over time.
And, after driving the new Accord in Victoria last week, we reckon Honda is in with a big chance.
Four Accords are offered – a 3.5-litre V6 and a 2.4-litre in-line four, with standard and luxury versions of each.
All of them get a revised, five-speed auto with wheel mounted change paddles.
With 202kW of power, the V6 trumps the lot (but not by much) – producing more power than all of its competitors _ even the yet to be released new Falcon.
The 2.4-litre also eclipses its competitors with 133kW, way ahead of the Ford Mondeo with 118kW.
In the “mine’s bigger than yours” stakes, that counts for a lot!
The four cylinder model’s entry level price of $29,990 should also turn a few heads, particularly as it includes an auto, climate air, electronic stability control and four airbags _ not to mention six stacker CD sound and full-size alloy spare wheel.
We were able to drive the base model 2.4-litre Accord and top of the line V6 Luxury at the launch of the car outside Melbourne.
With a larger more prominent front grille, the car has a much a stronger road presence than its predecessor and feels bigger inside, bigger in fact than Honda’s flagship Legend.
The four with 222Nm of torque available from 4300rpm pulls strongly and the car feels lighter and more agile than the V6, nothing like the floaty model that it replaces.
We pushed it hard through some demanding mountain roads with pleasing results.
The stability control system, called Vehicle Stability assist in Honda-speak, intrudes only when absolutely necessary and that wasn’t very often.
The engine is a little harsh under hard acceleration and the Michelin tyres generate some noticeable road noise, but apart from that it’s all good.
Fuel economy for the four using standard unleaded is rated at 8.8 litres/100km.
The V6 with 339Nm of torque available from 5000rpm feels softer and cruisier than the four.
The VSA works noticeably harder to keep the car on the road, but still lets the driver have plenty of fun.
V6 and Luxury models add curtain airbags and the top of the line V6 Luxury also gets a reversing camera.
Unfortunately, the camera is not available even as an option on other models _ something that we believe is an oversight.
Fuel economy for the V6 using standard unleaded 10.0 litres/100km on the knocker, but it is able to achieve four cylinder-like economy on longer runs.
The change from six, to four or three cylinders is imperceptible.
The car measures 4945mm and rear legroom is generous even for taller passengers, with a back seat that folds down to accommodate longer loads.
The luggage area itself is good without being remarkable, compromised by the addition of the full-size spare that required the boot floor to be raised several centimetres.
You can’t have everything.
The tow rating of the car is 1200kg.
All in all, the Accord looks every inch the winner, particularly the four-cylinder model at $29,990 with its generous equipment list.
The lineup could do with the addition of a sports model, but there’s plenty of add-ons to get you there.

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