Top Class: Honda Accord (2008)

June 03,2008

By the time you read this, the price of unleaded fuel would have increased by a peso per week in the past alone. This equates to a price penalty of almost 25 percent compared to the start of this year. This means, that for the first time, the regular consumer has begun to look beyond raw horsepower or fancy on-board entertainment when it comes to a new car purchase. Fuel mileage is, more often than not, the first thing asked; and everything equal, a buyer would opt for a less opulent, but more efficient vehicle. The burgeoning luxurious take on the compact car segment means that even executives have begun looking for smaller compact cars rather than their typical mid- or large-sized sedans of choice.

But what if we’d tell you that you can still have your cake and eat it too; that you can still have great taste without the calories? It sounds heaven-sent: having all the horsepower without sacrificing a bit to fuel economy. People call it a miracle, but car enthusiasts know it by another word: Accord. To be honest, I certainly had doubts before the drive. I’ve seen my share of fancy fuel efficiency technology used with varying success; and hybrid aside, there’s none that I would really rate as exemplary. All that’s about to change as we drove the all-new Honda Accord to the Summer Capital of the Philippines: Baguio.

The drive is approximately 350 kilometers one way and goes through varied terrain from international-grade four-lane super highways to haphazardly repaired provincial roads to hilly mountain passes. Recently, I’ve had my fair share of bringing up cars to Baguio, and from experience, anything with more than 2.0-liters of displacement will require a refill the moment I reach the city center. And even if a fuel stop wasn’t on the Accord drive’s itinerary, I was actually counting on that given the 2.4- and 3.5-liter displacements, even before we left Makati.

On the way up, a lottery dictated that we drive the ‘entry-level’ 2.4 S. With 180 horsepower and 225 Nm of torque from its 4-cylinder engine, it certainly isn’t a wuss. And with Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Aida Sevilla-Mendoza behind the wheel on the first leg, it certainly didn’t feel like it. Frankly asking where the speed radars are on the NLEX, she gunned the throttle at every opportunity, reaching speeds up to 160 km/h even without using the flappy paddles. It’s not her thing she adds. Her lead foot obliged the Accord to push almost endlessly, and the responsive automatic actually held up very well. As a passenger, it was indiscernible that the car was reaching break neck speeds. The interior’s hushed with impressive levels of NVH isolation. Whereas previous Accords were ‘famous’ for their high-speed wind and tire noise, the new Accord easily rectifies those weaknesses.

After we stopped for a hearty lunch, it was my turn to try giving Ms. Aida a white-knuckled ride. Sitting in the all-new Accord’s driver’s seat for the first time, it was actually a treat to see that Honda engineers managed to disguise the bulk really well. You sit higher in this Accord compared to the previous models, giving a good view of the road ahead. There are electric motors to adjust the driver’s seat (also the front passenger) in just about every direction and add a tilt/telescopic steering column and you have a very comfortable driving position. The new dash feels BMW perhaps because of the large LCD screen and i-Drive like controller, but the execution is way more intuitive and logical. Everything’s easy to understand with clearly marked buttons, which are thankfully in plain English, as opposed to indecipherable markings. The side mirrors deserve an honorable mention too for maximizing three-quarter visibility making this car a cake to maneuver around traffic despite its size.

Moving from the straight roads of the NLEX to the more unpredictable two-lane provincial roads, the difference between the 4- and 6-cylinder Accord became much more obvious. Down 100 horses and 120 Nm on the two V6 Accords in the group, our 2.4 S found it much harder to overtake trucks and buses. The i-VTEC engine needs to build much more momentum—relying on horsepower rather than torque to execute a passing move. Having ‘S’ or Sport mode as well as paddle shifters do help, but seeing the V6 pull away effortlessly makes me lust to drive one.

Using a double wishbone front suspension (the only one in its class to do so), the Accord exhibits a well-mannered ride though the sharpest broken pavement. It may not have the sharpest handling, but it balances the fine line between comfort and sportiness. In addition, the steering is responsive thanks to a variable gear system. It’s not fancy or convoluted as BMW’s electronic-based Active Steering system, but Honda’s system is much simpler and rewards with a much more linear feel. By being more controlled with corner speeds, our car managed to catch up at the tighter roads. As we ascended up Marcos Highway, fog and rain started to fall which pushed the Accord’s abilities even further. As expected, the V6 cars rocketed away, overtaking provincial buses as if they were standing still. It needs more work on the 4-cylinder, requiring a shift to manual mode to keep engine revs up. Still, the car remains extremely surefooted and tossable though the corners.

One pet peeve I have against the Accord is that that it isn’t equipped with any sort of trip computer. We had to discern the fuel economy with a less than scientific approach: the 2.4 S sipped approximately half of its 70 liter tank, or 35 liters. With a trip meter reading approximately 385 kilometers, it’s safe to assume the Accord did 10 km/L—a figure comparable to a 2.0-liter car.

The night’s respite was at the luxurious Camp John Hay Manor, which was well-deserved after a long day’s hard drive. As the lottery dictated, Ms. Aida and I had one of the 3.5 V6 Accord at our disposal on the way down the next day. As Ms. Aida opted to drive the first leg, so I enjoyed the opulent passenger seat once more. In terms of equipment level, the difference between the 4- and 6-cylinder Accords is fairly minimal. The V6 has a more traditional take on luxury though with its beige leather and brighter wood accents (the 2.4 has black leather and black Bird’s Eye maple accents). In addition, the 3.5 S-V, as the V6 is officially called, has a power moon roof, rain-sensing wipers, an additional speaker (a sub-woofer) and memory function on its driver’s seat. These are just icing on the cake, mind you. The real reason you’re plopping down for the additional dough is because of the engine.

By Ulysses Ang | Photos by Ulysses Ang

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