2013 2014 and 2015 Honda Accord EX Road Test and Drive Review

Honda has long been known as a serious kind of car company. Press events are orderly, the Honda folks wear suits and their products are similarly starched. While we have a new corporate nose up front with a chrome "smiley" face and aggressive headlamps, the rest of the profile is buttoned up and professional. The large (and low) greenhouse says "I have kids," an image that Honda has been embracing with their latest commercials, essentially admitting they are leaving descriptives like "sexy" and "dramatic" to Hyundai and Ford. I have to admit I am quite torn, I love the Fusion's sexy sheetmetal making it my first pick in terms of looks, but oddly enough the "plain Jane" Accord is number two for me because it's simple clean. The new Kia Optima is a very, very close third thanks its nose job for 2014. I'm not convinced that the Camry's nose or the Sonata's dramatic character lines will age well, let me know what you think in the comment section. Something important to keep in mind is the Accord has bucked the growth trend and has shrunk on the outside compared to the previous generation making it among the smallest in this segment. Good if you live in the city, bad if you were hoping for a Honda land yacht.

Honda's interiors have long been known for their simple functionality rather than opulence or elegance and Honda is still singing the same tune. Despite being an all-new model for 2013, Honda hasn't radically changed the interior design, opting instead for incremental improvements and more standard features. All Accords now get standard dual-zone automatic climate control, Bluetooth phone integration, a backup cam and active noise cancellation. Honda seems to have listened to the complaints from reviewers and customers and took a methodical and dedicated approach to making the Accord quieter on the road. In addition to the fancy noise cancelling software, there's more foam, more carpet and a one-piece dash designed to prevent squeaks later in life.

Honda's seat engineers seem to be designing seats specifically for my back lately. The Accord and the refreshed Civic both sport supportive seats that coddled by back and backside on long journeys. There is a caution I must toss in however, the lumbar support in Sport, EX and LX models is fixed and pronounced. If you need some adjustibility in your back support, you'll need to step up to a leather model to get it. 2013 has brought a raft of materials improvements to the Accord cabin from improved seat fabrics to more squishy dash bits and the ever-so-popular stitched pleather. Thankfully Honda spares potential owners the shame of faux wood trim, instead opting for a modern brown pattern that I found attractive. The trim and the style are not as stylized or futuristic as eh competition, but controls are easy to locate, and consistent in their high quality feel.

What piqued my interest at the launch even was Honda's new 2.4L direct-injection four cylinder engine. The engine and the brand-new CVT turned my impression of the Accord on its head. The engine's 185HP still arrived at a very-Honda high RIM of 6,500, but thanks to the direct-injection sauce torque jumps to a [nearly] HP matching 181 lb-ft with a strong pull from idle and a peak at a decidedly un-Honda 3,900RPM. If you choose the 6-speed manual, this means you no longer have to rev the nuts off the engine to get the Accord in motion. Most shoppers however will find a Continuously Variable Transmission under their Accord's hood, although they may not even notice. Why? This is quite possibly the world's best CVT.


Music by Kevin MacLeod
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