We couldn’t wait to get our hands on the new 2018 Honda Accord and last week, we finally got the chance to review it, courtesy of Honda and few good friends in the right places. Right off the bat, the car is everything and more you can expect from an Accord. Its spacious, powerful, and economical.
What sets it apart, however, is the premium feel of the car. As far as premium sedans go, the 2018 Accord easily falls in the upper end of the spectrum – at least in terms of luxury. As we’d mentioned in our earlier cover of the launch, the Accord has a bit of American muscle thrown in along with the traditional Japanese sleekness. Up close however, we noticed that the design also incorporates elements of German design, creating something that would appeal to anyone.
The new Accord comes in two engine configurations, 1.5 and 2L. They both host turbocharged 4 cylinder configurations, a huge change from last year’s V4 and V6 engine options. This is a rising trend among car manufacturers lately, and for good reason – the turbocharged engine offers much better acceleration than its predecessor. There are a few differences between the two, apart from the engine capacity resulting in a lot more torque in the 2.0 L. The 2.0L version has 2 driving modes, eco and sport. The eco mode, although they don’t explicitly call it so, is just the default mode of the vehicle. You can easily switch to sport mode with the press of a button, which we were guilty of doing more than a few times. The car is a joy to drive in sport mode (adding a bit of fun to an already complete driving experience), which provides instant acceleration – something that would be much more useful while driving in crowded cities than higher speeds.
We would classify it as a family car, as it is incredibly spacious with ample legroom and a large trunk, but the sheer power of the turbocharged engine makes us feel otherwise. It has a slight roar which is quite rare for a family car. The car is very easy to control, considering the large torque it produces – even in the 1.5L. This is especially evident during turns, which the Accord handles beautifully – almost gripping the road while it does so. The interiors are very calm even during high speeds. Not once did we feel like we were losing control.
Honda has added a lot more safety features to the new Accord, such as a collision mitigation system which is becoming more common in modern upper end sedans. It offers lane assistance and a blind spot detection system which can be turned on while driving regularly, or can be activated automatically when you flick the indicator. The rear camera has a triple view system whereby you can see the top, zoomed in, and zoomed out view of the area you are reversing into.
The interiors are what impressed us the most about the Accord. The one we got was furnished with beautiful white leather, something you’d be hard pressed to find in a sedan of its range. Luxurious is the word that immediately came to our minds once we sat inside. Don’t let the compact exterior fool you; the cabin space has been increased considerably from the 2017 Accord, with an added 48mm of rear legroom, an additional 70 litres of interior volume, and 25 litres of trunk space. To quote the Accord spec sheet, Honda has applied the “man-maximum, machine- minimum” design philosophy, and quite well so. The interface system also supports Android/Apple play, and the touch screen is rather simple to use. So far, the Accord is available in Red and Blue colour options in the UAE, and we hope they add more to their colour range.
However, nothing in life is perfect, and the same can be said of the 2018 Accord. We felt the spaces in the front grill were rather large, which would leave the radiator rather vulnerable to any debris that may come in its path. Moreover, the front sensor seems rather loose and fragile, which we expect Honda to fix in the upcoming versions. The price is a little steep for a sedan in this range, with the 1.5L version starting at 98,000 AED and the 2.0L at 140,000 AED. We do expect a few more options for this price range, such as hydraulic trunk and hood covers, and a few more interior lights. We also feel like Honda could have added a better engine cover as the existing one feels rather rudimentary.
These few flaws did not stop us from loving the car one bit, as the power and premium interiors more than make up for them. It offers a truly wonderful driving experience, to say the least.
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Editor : Rohit, Driveaholic
Photography: Zulfikhar Ahmed & Shameem Sha , Driveaholic
