Honda Accord EX
In a move that almost every automotive writer I know found
difficult to explain, Honda, back in 1994, bucked the trend to grow
their midsized entry, the Accord, and actually downsized it from the
fourth-generation model. A misstep, probably, as the Accord dropped
off the top of the sales charts, vacating its spot to the bigger Ford
Taurus, and later on, the bigger Toyota Camry.
So they went whole hog on the sixth generation, out-upsizing
everybody. Accord Six is bigger, much bigger, than the Accord before,
and seemingly bigger&emdash;at least inside&emdash;than most of its
competitors. It's longer and wider, as the car is now based on a
flexible platform that allows it to be stretched in either direction
to fit the intended market. (Europe's Accord is longer and narrower;
Japan's is smaller in all directions.)
What this means, at least in the North American version, is a
tangible increase in interior space&emdash;the Accord now feels
positively huge inside, with plenty of leg and knee room both front
and back, a lot of sideways stretch-out space, and, even with my EX
test car's power moonroof, gargantuan headroom.
More impressive than the interior's sheer size, however, is how
intelligently it is designed. The seats, though they don't look like
much, are very comfortable and supportive; the controls are all big,
logical, and in the right places. Moreover, the passenger compartment
is filled with useful storage spaces, from a great big hole in which
you can toss all sorts of detritus at the front of the center
console, to map pockets in all doors, to a two-level box under the
armrest, to a coin drawer by the driver's window. Even the trunk has
been given this treatment: there's a closet that holds the jack on
the right side, and two trays in the floor hold tools and other
stuff; hooks let you hang your grocery bags so they won't fall down.
All of this design intelligence deserves a better wrapper, though.
While the exterior of the car is tasteful&emdash;and sometimes even
interesting in details such as the thin orange line beneath the
headlights&emdash;it's hardly groundbreaking, and at night, with its
lights on, bears an eerie resemblance to my fourth-generation Accord.
It also looks fat: because of all of the space that's been stuffed
into it, the roofline is a little bit too high, the trunk just a
little bit too chunky. Form, I guess, follows function.
Driving Accord Six, you're constantly reminded of how the car has
grown. It feels like a much bigger car, which can be both a good
thing and a bad thing. Good things: better stability at speed,
excellent ride quality, a hushed cabin even at extralegal velocities.
Bad things: it's a lot harder to park, because you can't see the
corners of the car, especially at the back; it takes up more room
sideways, so aiming it through apexes is less fun; and while you can
hustle it a lot faster than the old car, it doesn't respond as
quickly to driver inputs. There's a lot more stuff there that needs
to respond, and it shows.
Still, I'm considering trading in my 1992 model for one of these
things. It's really an excellent car, and the 150-horsepower VTEC
engine is a free-revving gem. $22,000 is enough to get you into a
base Accord DX, which already includes amenities like air
conditioning and power windows; the toplevel EX I tested stickered at
$26,800.
V-6 models can top $30,000, but after having driven the
4-cylinder, I can't imagine why anyone would need the 3.0-liter,
200-horsepower mill. But I'll find out in August, when I spend a week
with a V-6 Accord coupe.