Larger Accord more powerful for new year
It doesn't drive like a big car, and it doesn't look like a large car.
But the 2008 Honda Accord sedan has an interior so roomy it puts the Accord into the federal government's "large" category for the first time.
The expressive, 2008 Accord looks so upscale, its rear-end styling reminds me of a BMW's. And the new Accord has more features, improved safety and more powerful four- and six-cylinder engines than any previous Accord.
Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price for a five-passenger Accord sedan with four-cylinder engine and manual transmission is $20,995.
A 2008 Accord sedan with V-6 starts at $26,595. Prices for the 2008 Accord coupe start at $22,495.
All 2008 Accords come with standard steering-wheel mounted controls for the audio system and cruise control. New Accords also have anti-whiplash, front-seat head restraints and electronic stability control, among other things.
The new head restraints weren't in the previous Accord, and stability control and steering wheel controls used to be available only on upper-trim models.
The Accord's standard curtain air bags also are more sophisticated than before and can stay deployed longer during crashes.
Closing in on 10 million cumulative sales in the United States since its introduction in 1976, the Accord has racked up more sales than the Toyota Camry and Ford's Taurus.
Indeed, according to Honda, half of Accord sales go to previous Accord owners — a noteworthy statistic for a more than 30-year-old nameplate. With 82 percent of Accord owners telling researchers their car is "just right" in size, I question whether a bigger Accord was needed.
But that didn't stop me from enjoying the comfortable, wide front seats in the test Accord sedan. Front passengers have more space between them, thanks to a wider, nicely padded center console, and they get 2 more inches of hiproom than in the previous Accord sedan.
A low, sweeping cowl — the dashboard area in front of the front passenger — adds an airy feel. And back-seat passengers enjoy 37.2 inches of legroom — the most ever in an Accord — while trunk room remained unchanged at 14 cubic feet.
Honda engineers widened the sedan by an inch and lengthened it by 3 inches, so the 2008 Accord is nearly 5 inches longer than a Camry.
Note the new Accord sedan just barely tips into the government's "large car" class with 106 cubic feet of passenger volume. This compares with the 101.4 cubic feet in the Camry, which, like most Accord sedan competitors, is classified as a mid-size car.
Meantime, the Accord coupe, with a slightly smaller interior, has 104.1 cubic feet of measurable passenger volume, up only 0.1 cubic foot from its 2007 predecessor.
Even with the new size, the front-wheel-drive Accord has an easy-to-drive, agile personality, though the turning circle that has grown from 36.1 feet to 37 feet.
A double-wishbone suspension remains up front in the Accord, but the rear double wishbone is replaced by a new, multilink suspension. Together, they provide a ride that feels connected to the road but not harsh or busy.
Steering feels more confident than before, and a noticeably quiet interior adds to the sense of a quality ride in the Accord sedan.
Honda boosted horsepower to 177 in the base, 2.4-liter, double-overhead cam engine with four cylinders and i-VTEC variable valve timing. This engine produces a well-managed 166 foot-pounds of torque at 4,500 rpm for performance that will satisfy most drivers.
Honda touts this engine's 22-mpg government rating in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway for the 2008 sedan with manual transmission; it's scarcely changed from the lower-powered four cylinder of last year. And that's after the federal government imposed more stringent fuel economy calculations for the 2008 model year.
