Tag: 2018 Honda Accord

2018 Honda Accord Sport 1.5L a well equipped performance value

2018_Honda_Accord_Sport
2018 Honda Accord Turbo lineup captivates.

This week Your Honda News drops in on our local Honda dealership to revisit the new from the tires up 10th generation Honda Accord. Now exclusively turbo engine powered, several key features make 2018 Accord Sport a well equipped performance value.

With the majority of new car buyers opting for compact crossovers and SUVs these days, Honda, Toyota, and other mainstream auto brands, present the most evolved, user friendly, and safe compact and midsize sedans to ever come to market. In the spotlight is Honda’s award winning 10th generation 2018 Honda Accord; but it has some competition, all of it good.

46% of all new cars sold in 2018 will be sedans. Honda Accord and Toyota Camry lead the segment

Once again Accord leads the midsize sedan segment with several tech-rich features, including Honda SENSING, in my opinion the best working near autonomous active safety suite on the market today. While 2018 Honda Accord won’t drive itself (yet) it can keep you out of harm’s way with driver assist technologies.

2 new turbocharged engine options for 2018 Honda Accord

Featured under the hood of what Honda engineering proudly refers to as the most refined feature-rich Accord ever, Your Honda News finds a manufactured in Ohio. Earth Dreams engine series. Our subject for this article is the 2018 Honda Accord Sport 1.5L turbo. It’s the value ‘Sport’ package in Accord’s lineup. Yet Accord Sport is far from stripped when it comes to standard and optional features.

At the heart of every 10th generation Accord sits a low friction 4-cylinder marvel

We can’t say enough good things about Honda’s 1.5l and 2.0L turbocharged, direct fuel injected four cylinder VTEC engines. They’re both instant-on, no turbo-lag noted, mid-range torque monsters. “Seamless’ is an understatement. After driving the very formidable import and domestic car competition in the mid-car segment, I find Accord to not only be fuel efficient, but responsive and vibration free. The fact that a low displacement 4-cylinder engine motivates this nearly two ton car is inconsequential as to available torque and passing sprint speed.

The honda Accord V6 and Coupe is no more

Every Accord trim offering for 2018 is turbocharged. While there remains more than a bit of skepticism in the car buying public when it comes to small displacement turbo charged engine reliability, turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engines are now the engine of choice with all major auto manufacturers. You won’t find a V6 option for Honda Accord in 2018.

2018 Honda Accord turbo presents exceptional low to mid-range torque, sprint speed, and fuel economy

Thanks to quick heat dissipating aluminium heads, integrated exhaust manifold head casting, low friction internal engine components, direct multiple-port fuel injection, and relatively cooler running temperatures — today’s turbocharged engines burn cleaner and live longer. Honda, the biggest gasoline engine manufacturer in the world, builds a darn fine engine.

Honda’s 1.5 Liter single scroll, direct injected turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engine claims a stated 192 horsepower at 5500 RPM, and 192 lb-ft torque from 1600 to 5,000 RPM. The reinvented 2018 Honda Accord is the most responsive and powerful Accord presented to date at any trim level. That’s cool. There’s more.

Civic_Type_R_Redwoods
2017 Civic Type_R takes on Redwood Country

Retrospective: We first experienced the 1.5L engine in the Honda 2016 Civic lineup, and then the 2017 CR-V SUV. We also took a turn or two on the track in Civic Type-R, and then made an epic run to the Redwoods. Yes, you can opt for a down-tuned version of Type-R’s engine in Accord Touring. I’ll get back to that application later in the article.

The closer one scrutinizes 2018 Honda Accord, the greater value they’ll discover

Honda’s uptrim near premium 5-passenger Accord sedan comes to market with a ground-up redesign, and a comprehensive standard feature and options package that rivals sedans sporting premium car price tags. The first thing we notice when sitting behind the wheel of Accord touring is how comfortable the power adjusted leather and fabric driver’s seat is. Infinitely adjustable, heated and cooled (Touring) our drivers claimed Accord’s driving position to be pleasingly spacious.

For greater specification detail: Your Honda News reported on the press reveal of the reinvented 2018 Accord from New Hampshire. So, let’s cut the chase. How does Honda’s 10th generation Accord compare to 2018 Toyota Camry? 3 weeks ago, Your Honda News spent some quality seat time behind the wheel of 2018 Toyota Camry XLE V6, a good car by any measure. However, when weighing the sometimes subtle differences of two segment front runners, the Devil is often lost in the details.

Visually, both Accord and Camry present a pleasing body architecture, run close to the pavement, are wide-tracked and sweeping of roof to trunk line. Truthfully, Camry may lead the segment in interior design appeal. Yet 2018 Honda Accord nails it in functionality, an exceptional tablet-like command touch screen size and placement. And yes, from what I could see, Accord’s 2nd row is just a tad roomier and seat-comfortable than Camry. However, neither sedan offers copious amounts of headroom in the second row — tall rider beware.

Regardless: The majority of daily commuters in the U.S. and beyond drive solo to work. So for me, what truly measures a good commuter car is seat comfort, ride refinement, maneuverability, and over all drive dynamics. 2018 Honda Accord thanks to a redesigned suspension, improved frame rigidity, active noise cancellation, and stabilitrak, is mind-blowingly float-like-smooth when transitioning on and off of traffic worn surface streets and highways. 2018 Honda Accord Sport is absolutely the best car for the money in its segment — bar none.

2018_Honda_Accord_North_American_Car_of_The_Year
Henio Arcangeli, Senior Vice President of the Automobile Division of American Honda Motor Co., accepts the award for 2018 North American Car of the Year at the 2018 North American International Auto Show on 1/15/18.

Featuring 2 new engines and transmissions, including the only 10-speed automatic in the segment, Honda takes Accord to aclass topping level of sophisticated ride refinement and ease of operation. 2018 Honda Accord Sport 1.5L Turbo is a perfect daily commuter.

I was reminded while driving on the streets of Eugene, Oregon in the rain how good Honda’s not so entry-level 1.5L Accord Sport tully is. It just goes to show that one needn’t spend upwards of $40K to purchase an impressive ride. * priced from MSRP $23,570 plus delivery, dealership prep, taxes, etc.. Price as tested: Sport CVT $26,580.. MPG realized in mixed driving: 26.9 MPG.

What we like: Price point, new styling, toque-rich, fuel efficient engines, ride dynamics

What we’d change: More headroom in row two, a little less “cooler” plastic trim on the interior.

All or part of this article was first published in Honda-Torque News

Photo and content attributions: Parks R.. McCants 2018. Thanks for reading.

2018 Honda Accord is North American Car of the Year : Or, how did Honda Accord beat Toyota Camry to the trophy case

2018_Honda_Accord_North_American_Car_of_The_Year
Henio Arcangeli, Senior Vice President of the Automobile Division of American Honda Motor Co., accepts the award for 2018 North American Car of the Year at the 2018 North American International Auto Show on 1/15/18.

2018 marks the third year running that a Honda brand car or truck wins a North American Auto of the year award. This award is in effect the Oscar or Emmy for the auto industry. The selection process is arduous, long-winded and political. North American Car, Truck, or Utility of the Year is vetted by, reduced to finalist, and and then chosen by the majority consensus of a panel composed of active automotive journalists, editors, and lifestyle bloggers — a few of them good friends and associates.

This year, 2018 Honda Accord finds itself in good company with the reinvented 2018 Volvo XC60 midsize SUV, and the flagship Lincoln Navigator. An interesting cross-section of automotive engineering to be sure. Yet each winner is a standout in its respective segment. And like 2018 Honda Accord, the best at its intended application. Here’s where my Accord, Camry comparison reference comes into play. I have driven both, and find each car to be an extraordinary redo of what was in the not too distant past, a bread and butter appliance car.

With a hat off to Toyota engineering, the 2018 Toyota in any variant, is a pleasure to drive. You may read my initial drive impression of 2018 Camry hybrid here. With newfound cutting-edge good looks, premium cabin refinement, a much-improved driver to car connectivity, and very impressive normally aspirated pedal power, Camry is a winner. Yet, according to a jury of 60 professional automotive jurors, Honda Accord takes the nod for, and here I quote; “2018 Accord honored for bold “new from the ground up” approach to remaking America’s best-selling car over the past 41 years.” says American Honda Motors.

Enough already. Here’s what I like about the reinvented from the ground up 2018 Honda Accord

Looking to Accord’s newfound design directive, one would be hard-pressed to find a more dynamic, eye-catching body design, available in today’s subpremium midsize auto segment. Playing off of the well-received 10th generation Honda Civic design, 2018 Accord, regardless of trim level, runs with Civic’s European inspired body language, and takes it to the next level in refinement and understated elegance. From its short-overhang trunk line to its classic touring car inspired long hood and pronounced 3D grill design, Accord breaches the limitations of an affordable midsize family car segment with exceptional standard featured connectivity and advanced active safety features. On the performance side, we find a new lineup of dynamic, fuel-efficient, turbocharged engines, and 2 new proprietary transmissions.

For 2018, Accords suspension is re-engineered for not only improved handling dynamics, but a quiet and comfortable drive and ride experience. 2018 Honda Accord is the quietest midsize sedan in the sub-premium midsize sedan segment — thanks to the strategic placement of acoustic deadened auto glass, carpet batting, and active electronic noise cancelation, Accord is at times, eerily quiet — something one doesn’t anticipate from a sedan sporting a beginning MSRP well below $30,000. read my initial 2018 Honda Accord drive review here.

Not wishing to read too much like An Accord Ad

Honda engineering presents an Accord variant for every sedan driver. From the entry-level 1.5 Liter Accord Basic to the 2.0 Liter Turbocharged VTEC, 10-speed Accord Touring, 2018 Accord presents the greatest bang for your buck found today in a mainstream 4 door sedan. For the “Green” among us, 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid should arrive at dealerships sometime in the late Spring. I drove Accord Hybrid in New Hampshire last Fall. As with the current Accord Hybrid, the 2018 Accord Hybrid sits at the top of the Accord lineup, with sophistication, and fuel efficiency befitting a hybrid mainstay. Me, I like driving Accord. And will miss the V6 powered, manually shifted Accord Sports Coupe featured in this article. This too shall pass.