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he Accord has a mixed reputation
in the trade. On the one hand it’s a
competent machine but on the other hand it doesn’t have the same image as just
about everything else in the class. Now
by this I don’t mean that the badge is lowly, more that people recognise the Mondeo whereas the Accord, yeah it’s arguably handsome shape but it’s
also instantly forgettable. There are
quite a few around but most people don’t notice them. There’s also a strong family resemblance
between the Civic, especially the four door saloon, and the Accord.
Ultimately, Honda’s Accord is a
“sensible” choice. I was of a mind to
get something conventional but different and but with a real world, “wheels on
the ground” feel about it too. The Ka
managed that. I’m not sure if the Accord
manages this just yet but nobody else I know has one, including all of my
business contacts and this alone makes it just a little bit different.
Of course, it may be that the Accord just isn’t a nice
enough car for my peers <grins>.
Perhaps. I have to
report that it drives well, so far. The ride
is supple and smooth if not class leading.
I can’t really comment on the handling just yet. The 1·8 litre
single overhead camshaft VTEC engine is a strength. About the city the engine is docile,
tractable and quiet. The Accord is
almost as flexible as the Ka despite weighing over 400 kg more and having
similar gearing. At a motorway cruise it’s very hushed even with the short gearing of 20 mph /
1,000 rpm.
Once the tachometer needle sweeps
through somewhere between 4,500 and 5,000 rpm the VTEC gubbins
adjusts the camshaft profile so as to use the higher lift settings. There’s a change in the engine note and an
increase in performance. In the lower
three gears the car would benefit from a shift light, such is the willingness
to pile on the revs.
To date the Accord is most
impressive on the motorway simply because the low down torque (over at least
2,500 rpm) mated with short gearing means I don’t have to change down to
maintain progress up a gradient and the cruise control system doesn’t labour the engine.
One of my current commutes takes me through a long section of
fifty-limited roadworks and I appreciate being able
to leave it in top even with the odd section of slower moving traffic. Fifth is good down to forty five miles per
hour indicated. That’s just like the Ka
then.
As I write I’ve yet to refill the
tank so I cannot comment on fuel consumption other than to report that I’m
expecting to return something between thirty and thirty five miles per
gallon. The car’s official combined
cycle fuel consumption figure is thirty three, which puts it as being one of
the thirstier cars of its class. I will
report back in due course.
Writing of the cruise control system, we picked the car up on Tuesday
evening then on the following Monday, disappeared to