2018 Honda Accord Turbo Next Generation REVIEW
Channel: Premium Cars
Date: 2018-01-08

The Honda Accord is a nameplate that needs no introduction. Honda's family sedan has been on sale in the U.S. since the days of eight-track tapes more than 41 years ago, and dealers sell an average of one Accord about every two minutes. The question now is whether the Accord can hang on to its status as one of the two most popular and sensible choices in the world of family sedans, the other being the Toyota Camry, at a time when compact crossovers are rapidly becoming the bread-and-butter "family sedans" of the 2010s.

If our time in the 2018 Accord is any indication, Honda has no reason to worry.

What's new in the 10th-generation Accord? When it comes to engines, there are three main flavors to choose from: The range kicks off with a 1.5-liter DOHC direct-injected turbo four-cylinder pumping out an even 192 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque, paired with a choice of a six-speed manual or a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). That's a boost of 7 hp and 11 lb-ft of torque over the outgoing naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder. Above that sits the new 2.0-liter direct-injected turbocharged four-cylinder, good for 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. This engine is a close sibling of the firecracker found under the hood of the 2017 Civic Type R, and it's paired with a choice of a six-speed manual transmission (a different one than in the 1.5-liter, we should note) or a new 10-speed automatic. That's right: 10-speed is the new six-speed, but it's actually 22 pounds lighter than the outgoing six-speed automatic.

The third option is a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine paired with two electric motors producing 143 hp and 129 lb-ft of torque in the new Accord Hybrid. One engine you won't find on the menu anymore is a V6; the new 2.0-liter turbo is close enough to the departed 3.5-liter's output to not be worth the weight and fuel-economy hit.

The Accord has grown on the inside, thanks to a stretch of the wheelbase and a more rakish rear window and C-pillars. Photo by Autoweek

The trend nowadays is that people are buying more SUVs and fewer sedans, making it increasingly less relevant which sedan is the best-selling one in America. For the record, it’s been the Toyota ...

The all-new sedan, contrary to industry trends, is actually just a bit shorter in length than the model it replaces, but it offers a longer wheelbase, a wider stance and a shorter height. The most noticeable change on the outside is the near-fastback body style; Honda stretched out the greenhouse to buy an extra 2.5 cubic feet of interior room, with the 2.16-inch stretch of the wheelbase improving rear seat legroom and headroom. Honda also moved the seats inward for more hip and elbow room while angling the profile of the side windows more sharply from the windowsills to the roof. The redesigned front fascia now sports a more aggressive look with a larger grille that stretches almost all the way down to the front spoiler, giving the front fascia a V-shaped outline. Out back, Honda opted for horseshoe-shaped taillights, similar to the ones now worn by the Civic -- which also morphed into a fastback with its latest redesign.

High-strength steel makes up 54.9 percent of the new Accord's body, and Honda uses structural adhesives to increase structure rigidity and shave a few pounds off its weight. In fact, depending on trim level, the new sedan is 110 to 176 pounds lighter than the outgoing models, while being 32 percent stiffer in terms of torsional rigidity. The chassis itself is 6 percent lighter compared to the outgoing model, in addition to benefiting from a new MacPherson strut front suspension and a new and more compact multilink rear suspension.

On the inside, the Accord offers an available 8-inch touchscreen, in addition to a 6-inch head-up display standard on the Touring trim, which also offers wireless device charging and Bluetooth nearfield phone pairing tech. All Accords also get the new Honda Sensing Suite of safety and driver assistance systems for 2018, which includes collision mitigation braking, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow and even traffic sign recognition.