Honda Accors Coupe Features
The Honda plan and has earned the company an excellent reputation. On hand for the car’s debut, American Honda Motor Co. Executive VP John Mendel pointed out the Accord’s unprecedented 26 times it has been named to Car & Driver’s Top 10 car of the year list. Looking like a slightly stylized version of the current Accord, the new model is smaller overall and with a lower roofline, although Honda claims it has achieved the same interior space. It’s also a lighter vehicle, although Honda isn’t getting into specifics at this point.
The Accord will be the first model to use Honda’s new power trains, featuring direct-injection among other technologies. Both a V6 and a new 2.4-liter 4-cylinder will be offered, with a newly developed CVT transmission for the 4-cylinder and a 6-speed automatic for the V6. Honda hasn’t announced specs but says it expects the Accord to deliver class leading fuel economy. Whether it can best the new Fusion’s 26/37-mpg rating will be, however, be tough.
Honda has given the world a preview of the next-generation Accord midsize sedan with the 2013 Accord Coupe Concept, revealed earlier this week at the Detroit Auto Show. This thinly veiled concept car is nearly production ready. Take away the concept car wheels, though a similar design may make production, and put an interior in this concept and you’ll have the new 2013 Accord. Honda may end up toning own the aggressive front and rear ends a bit with smaller air inlets in the front and possibly the removal of the integrated exhaust tips in the rear. Typically we would say the LED lights up front wouldn’t make it to production, but with the trend now being LED daytime running lights, we can’t be sure.
Honda is bringing back the hybrid model for this next-generation Accord, and is adding a plug-in hybrid to the model mix. The plug-in setup will consist of a four-cylinder engine and a 6-kilowatt-hour battery connected to a 120-kilowatt electric motor. Electric only range will be only 10 to 15 miles with a top speed of 62 mph. On a standard 110 volt plug, Honda says it will only take four hours to fully recharge the battery pack, and only 90 minutes when using a 240-volt charger.
As has been the case with past Accords, the newest model comes with either a four-cylinder or V6 engine. The base 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine makes 177 horsepower; an upgraded version of this engine available on the EX trim makes 190 hp. For more power, a 271-hp, 3.5-liter V6 is available. The four-cylinder engine has a five-speed manual transmission as standard and a five-speed automatic as optional. The V6 typically comes with a five-speed automatic, though V6-equipped coupes are available with a six-speed manual.
In reviews, we’ve found the latest Honda Accord continues to be a satisfying family sedan or midsize coupe, despite the fact that many rivals have caught up in recent years. The interior is very roomy and high in quality, though some might take issue with the car’s multitude of buttons on the dash, many other used Honda Accords you’ll encounter will be part of the vehicle’s seventh generation, which was sold for the 2003-’07 model years. As with the current model, it was available as a midsize coupe or sedan. Selecting a used Accord from this generation should be rather straightforward. Initially, there were three trim levels: DX, LX and EX. The DX was pretty frugal with features, so the better choice will be the LX or EX. Side and side-curtain airbags were typically optional on all trim levels.
Under the hood was a 160-hp 2.4 liter inline 4 or a 240 hp, 3.0-liter V6 engine. Four-cylinder engines could be had with either a five-speed manual or five speed automatic transmission. A six-speed manual was available on the V6-powered EX Coupe. 2013 Honda Accord will be unveiled at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, providing the first official glimpse of the athletic styling direction, as well as a host of Revealing new technologies for the all-new, ninth-generation 2013 model, set to go on-sale in the fall of 2012.