2013 Honda Accord Reviews

Graham Smith reviews the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Honda Accord as a used buy. It's one of Honda's most reliable and classy sedans and it has plenty of fans New They carried the same Accord badge, but the cars, one simply called the Accord, the other the Euro, were quite different. The Euro was mid-sized

Two substantially different Honda Accords were sold in Australia from 2003 onwards; one mid-sized, the other large and almost in the same size class as our home grown Commodores and Falcons.  It's not only the size of these Accords that are different, their dynamics mean they attract buyers with significantly

Honda Accord has come a long way since it first arrived in Australia as a 1.6-litre three-door hatchback in 1977.

We turn the spotlight on the car world's newest and brightest stars as we ask the questions to which you want the answers.

The Honda Accord VTi marks the entry point to the larger Accord lineup, with its $31,490 list price sitting more than twenty thousand dollars under the top-spec $51,990 V6L.Not to be confused with the slightly smaller and more dynamic Accord Euro, the Accord VTi promises a bit more comfort to go with its more sedate styling.The big Accord’s boot is slightly smaller than the Euro’s because of its full-size spare wheel, which is accessed through a cleverly designed boot floor that holds itself in position – just when you need it to.The VTi’s relatively low price does come at some cost – if you will – as the VTi is the only Accord that doesn’t come with a leather steering wheel, and it misses out on many features available further up the range like LED headlights, adaptive cruise, and a suite of collision avoidance technologies.It still gets a few modern must haves like dual-zone climate control, LED running lights, Bluetooth phone and audio, and two big multimedia screens in the dash.Without satnav, Honda has spread the functions of these screens across both of them, which can be confusing, but their generous size makes them easy to read.One surprise feature is the three-mode reversing camera, offering the choice between normal, wide, and top down views, but if you want parking sensors, you’ll have to go for one of the dearer variants. Despite sharing its capacity with the 2.4 litre engine in the smaller and lighter Accord Euro, the Accord VTi’s 129kW/225Nm engine is a new Earth Dreams design, with reduced internal friction helping to deliver a combined fuel figure of 7.9L/100km – a full litre better than the Euro.Despite the Accord Euro being rated at five stars since 2008, the big Accord only scored a four star ANCAP rating when it launched in mid-2013.Nonetheless, it comes with dual front, side and full-length curtain airbags, ABS, EBD and stability control as standard.The 2.4-litre has no trouble moving the 1510kg VTi, and it’s only with a full boot and five aboard that you notice the lack of a V6.Despite being one ratio short of the norm, the five speed auto does a great job, delivering smooth and refined shifting, and making the most of the engine.The Accord’s drive experience is perhaps its greatest strength, delivering refinement and comfort levels to rival far more expensive models.The VTi spreads soft cloth fabric across many of its touch points, and the cabin uses noise cancelling technology to neutralise ambient sounds.It really is quiet to drive, and the ride comfort is also excellent, thanks in part to the tall sidewalls of the 16 inch tyres.The Honda Accord VTi is a sensible, good value sedan, that offers a surprising level of comfort for all aboard.

The ninth generation Honda Accord has been introduced at a special event in Auckland, New Zealand. Our Kiwi neighbours received the car a month ahead of Australia and Honda was keen to let us test the new car on some of the world’s best driving roads. NZ and Oz Accords have identical specifications.Honda Accord’s high grade models have levels of equipment that rival that of the much more expensive Honda Legend, and there’s a big push on refinement and sophistication.Prices are sharp, with the four-cylinder range starting at just $31,490. The topline V6 Accord L comes with a host of standard features and has a recommended retail of $51,990. On-road costs can be obtained by contacting your local Honda dealer.The new Accord has a conservative body shape. It works well to our eyes and some may feel it makes the shapes of the latest crop of upmarket German sedans look rather over-styled in comparison.The interior of the Accord has two large, easy to read, screens for the driving and infotainment systems. Seating is comfortable and there’s good legroom in the rear even when a tall person is driving. Headroom is reduced when a sunroof is installed, but remains acceptable.There’s a strong emphasis on luxury, even in the rear compartment, and this big Honda could be regarded as a limo, a role it performs in many Asian countries.An impressive feature is the use of noise cancelling technology. Small microphones ‘listen’ to the interior noise and generate sound waves to cancel out, or at least minimise, unwanted sounds. This results in a very quiet cabin that’s most pleasant to ride in. However, interior stowage space could be better; the door pockets are small and we have seen significantly larger centre console boxes. Boot space is good, but has lost depth due to it being modified to take a full-size spare wheel/tyre for the Australian market.There’s a strong emphasis on the safety provided by crash avoidance and/or mitigation features, with many of the items in the Accord normally being seen only in upmarket European cars.These include radar cruise control, lane keeping assistance, automatic braking, blind spot warning and reversing cameras. Not all items are standard in every model, so check with your dealer or Honda’s head office for details.It almost goes without saying that the all-new Honda Accord has received maximum star ratings in crash testing.As before, Accord engine options are a four-cylinder 2.4-litre and a V6 displacing 3.5 litres. The four is an all-new powerplant and puts out 129 kW of power and 225 Nm of torque. The six (206 kW, 339 Nm) is based on the previous V6 unit but has been extensively updated.There’s a strong emphasis on torque in the V6 and, while it’s slightly down on peak power than previously it proved very willing on the scenic mountain roads that are such a feature of driving in NZ.Interestingly, Honda Australia will continue to import the ‘other’ Accord. The Accord Euro, a smaller car aimed at the sporting driver and very European in its driving dynamics has won a lot of applause from keen drivers in Australia. Though it’s getting on in years, the Euro has recently been facelifted and updated in its drivetrain.New Accord is a large car, almost Commodore and Falcon in length but is aimed more at tackling Mazda6, Toyota Camry and VW Passat rather than the big Aussie sixes.The Honda is softer in its suspension and steering than its competitors, but this is a deliberate move to push comfort ahead of other aspects. If you want a sporty sedan look elsewhere, but if smoothness, luxury and near silence inside a car is your thing then the new Honda Accord should sit high on your short list.The automatic transmission beside the four-cylinder engine has five forward ratios; there are six gears with the six-cylinder powerplant. We found the 2.4-litre four was working fairly hard at times on steep, twisting hill climbs, the V6 was effortless in the way it handled everything we threw at it.This all-new Honda Accord is an impressive piece of automotive engineering and will appeal to smart buyers who realise it gives them as much quality as the big German marques, but without their inflated price tags.

So frenetic is the pace of car innovation that you needn't be a Luddite to feel in need of stepping off this blurring, down-sizing, max efficiency, small engine/high output/low emission fight to the finish of fossil fuel era juggernaut. It's all a bit bewildering. Fortunately there remains Honda.Though it has long since euthanised most aberrant devices in its range - those rorty Integras and hairdresser friendly Preludes - Honda can be relied upon to produce the stately and refined sedan that is the Accord.The very name says volumes. While most makes move into alpha-númeric monikers, this ninth generation Accord perpetuates the detente suggested by the badge on its bum.As we clamber into SUVs and smaller cars as though compelled at bayonet point, there's nothing quite so automotively comfy and reassuring as the four doors of your forefathers.Honda likes them so well that it's going to continue from June 2 with this slightly larger new Accord alongside the ageing so-called Accord Euro, a new one of which arrives they know not when.VALUEAssailed by the GFC, stricken by a tsunami and monstered by Hyundai, Honda has descended from the badge you bought in order to be a cut above the other Japanese (I wonder if they'd still do gold badges?) to a cut-priced one.The Accord's sticker prices are competitive with its main and probably only real rival, the Mazda6. A $31,490 spend gets you into the VTi, with reverse camera, LED running lights and what's called active noise containment. Another $2500 and you add an S to that badge plus the lane watch system, 17 inch alloys, fog lights and bigger audio.Then it starts to get a bit optimistic at $41,990 for the VTi-L, the top spec four cylinder, with its 17s, leather, sunroof and ADAS safety package at another $3K. "A premium package without the premium price tag," Honda says of its top line V6L - except that $51,990 gets you a quite a few premium cars these days.The V6 has a six speed auto over the four cylinder car's five, cylinder deactivation to save fuel, power seats and some juicier fruit. All get an 8-inch multimedia screen, the top variants including satellite navigation with SUNA traffic alerts.Like Mazda, Honda want you to pay for a service every six months or 10,000km while almost everyone else - including the premium brands - do it annually or every 15,000km. Honda and Mazda are also holding out on capped price servicing or warranty beyond three years.TECHNOLOGYWhile it's possibly unfair to suggest Honda has been in self-induced stasis, the Accord runs on engines that don't disconcert with innovation. Small capacity, over-achieving turbo engines are ever more prevalent. Fuel saving direct injection is common or garden. But not here. The 2.4-litre four is claimed to be new but like the V6 that's been carried over for yet another generation, it would be familiar to a Honda buyer of a decade ago.There's the usual marginal improvements to economy (the V6 can de-activate three cylinders now, rather than four) and attempts to bring maximum torque closer to the floor than the ceiling where high revvin' Honda has traditionally put it. Yet neither four nor six return especially good consumption figures against those of the competition, which also run on basic 91RON unleaded. Except those that run on diesel, to which the Accord has no answer.The three four cylinder variants make do with a five speed automatic when six is standard practice and eight is the benchmark. The V6 gets the gears to match its cylinders but can do no better than 9.2L/100km in combined condition testing. Even the new Commodore does better.Yet while not cutting edge, it is effective on the road. And reassuringly familiar.DESIGNThis is the Accord's single most successful aspect, an obvious continuance of its long line but nicely sleek and aerodynamic with it. It also serves to remind that while any bugger can draw an elevated wagon on a napkin after a long lunch and claim it to be an exciting new compact crossover SUV concept, it's quite hard to design a decently proportioned yet functional sedan.The eye-catching newish Mazda6 might well be the item to swing punters back to four doors, just as the first one did 11 years ago. The Accord is less stylised and altogether better for it.The upmarket ambience that once attracted those who couldn't quite crack it for a German car is maintained through the two up spec variants Honda brought to the launch in Auckland, though the cabin materials have been selected for durability rather than tactility. Neither of the affordable variants were on show.All round visibility is as good as it gets in a modern sedan with its necessarily swept stance for smoother running and thick pillars stuffed with airbags. The boot isn't quite so cavernous as a Falcon or Commodore, but it does house a full size alloy spare wheel where ever more comparable cars skimp with a space saver.The SUV devotee might miss the elevated seating position, but a remedy can be sought in learning to drive.SAFETYStandard reversing camera immediately puts the Accord at the head of its class. I was in a $70K BMW 3 Series last week which makes do with graphic display and beeping noises. One of these systems helps save kids. It's not the latter.Indeed safety is not optional in the Accord. No crash test results yet, but as Chinese driveaway/chuck away jobs close in on four stars, we can be assured that the Accord will win the maximum five.The blindspot warning camera is a first for locally available cars. Activated by the indicator stalk it switches onscreen the view of the camera mounted in the passenger’s side wing mirrors. Again you're left wondering why Honda can bring this to a relatively affordable car while no premium brands that preens itself on safety can offer the like even as an option.A safety package including collision anticipating braking and seat belt tensioning is $3K extra on the VTi-L and standard on the V6 - which makes that variant's price seem a whole lot more palatable.DRIVING"Wait until you drive the car.""It makes more sense when you drive the car."So is the slightly beseeching refrain at the briefing. Pleasant to discover this isn't merely code for "please stop asking questions". Pleasant indeed is the operative word for the accomplished and refined sedan.While unimpressed to find the two variants everyone will buy are nowhere to be seen, the V6 which we try first on a long B-road run out of Auckland does indeed do what it says on the tin. A lush grand tourer, the big V6 is mostly constrained but occasionally musical unit that steps up smartly to keep overtaking exposures to the minimum. A free breathing output of 206kW/339Nm is readily summoned but in the main it runs with discretion thanks to the clever cylinder deactivation.Light steering and a heavy nose do not lend themselves to hustling along with any vigour, but again that's not the Accord remit. Crushing open road kilometres at a relaxed and comfortable pace is its thing.Stepping down 10 grand, two cylinders and whole lot of output, the VTi-S is bound to suffer by comparison, but not in the salient departments. All of V6's tactile stuff and most of the safety kit is to be found here and the lesser spend also means milder fuel consumption. It rides more absorbingly than the V6, but just don't try to get where you're going in a tearing hurry. The apparently new engine is even more about unhurried progress.VERDICTA good size comfortable sedan surely has its place, so if you think you need an SUV, try an Accord first. Be interesting to try the more affordable variants.