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As with previous Accords, Honda designers chose an animal to inspire their design. Looking at the front, there’s a little bit of the quoted cheetah in the fiendishly rakish lines; with a lot of squinting we deciphered the connection. The cheetah effect diminishes progressively as you scan your eyes along the sides until finally you reach the uninspired Buick-like rear end. Oh, well. Maybe when facelift time comes they'll make it look like the rear of the next NSX. The LED instrument panel lit up gradually as we inserted the key then fired up the engine: first the green and white scale markings, then the bright red needles. The dohc 2.0 under the hood is the same powerplant propelling CR-Vs. It combines VTEC variable lift and timing with infinitely variable timing control. Result is 149 bhp and 186 Nm of torque. That's not bad for a 2-liter, but given the car's 1475 kg mass, we thought that it'll be rather challenged. Indeed, launch is tame and subdued, even if you floor it. Press on, though, and as the engine spins past 3000 rpm there's enough grunt to keep even SiRs at bay. Blistering acceleration is not the strong suit of this car, but cruising is. It feels stable and quite comfortable at sustained speeds of 140 km/h. At 100 km/h, the engine spins lazily at barely past 2000 rpm, saving both liters and decibels. We recorded 7.81 km/L in mixed city-highway runs. That’s also due to the five-speed automatic, which its thing unobtrusively and efficiently. There's a bit of a tug from 1-2 and 2-3, giving up a little to its archrival Camry in the smooth-shifting department. That said, it's hard to tell just what gear it's in or what it's doing, and that is the point of an automatic. If like me, you're addicted to the VTEC soundtrack, then you will probably miss something here. The VTEC sound is like a hornets' nest—you have to stir it a bit but does it sound righteously angry when you finally get its attention. In contrast, this engine sounds like a smooth turbine all the way to redline. It's more 747 than the VTEC's F16. |
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