Item: Honda Accord 2008-2015
Rating: 3.5
Author: Vicky Parrott

19 April 2012

The Honda Accord is probably not the first car that springs to mind if you’re considering family saloons. Since its launch in 2008, the Accord has struggled to prove that it’s worth the premium price Honda charges for a capable but ordinary package. Honda’s answer has been to upgrade the entire range with improved engines in order to make it more attractive to the company car buyers who will make up the majority of prospective Accord owners.

The Accord has been a Honda staple for more than three decades. Launched in 1976 and arriving in the UK a year later, it is now in its eighth generation and, although its star is fading somewhat in the UK, it remains as much a stalwart of the Honda line-up as the Civic. In that time it has been seen with two, three, four and five doors (not to mention a much-missed Type R).

There’s an ‘up/down’ gear indicator inset into the rev-counter, which is all very well in theory but is annoyingly bright.
Vicky Parrott
Deputy reviews editor

The outgoing car may have been five years old when it was replaced in 2008, but even by modern standards that’s a short model cycle, and the car has aged so well that not even the market has shown any sign of losing patience with it. Indeed, 2007 was one of its best sales years ever.

But replaced it was – not with the subtly facelifted model that its maker could so easily have got away with but, with typical Honda thoroughness, an entirely new car.

As seems the way of all flesh these days, it’s bigger in almost every significant dimension (although the old car was an inconsequential 5mm taller). It’s heavier, too, although model for model the weight gain has been restricted to a few dozen kilos.

As before, there are 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre petrol engines, which have been mildly modified, but most sales will head in the direction of the 2.2-litre diesel. It’s superficially similar to the outgoing oil-burner but, Honda’s engineers assure us, has received such comprehensive attention that it deserves to be thought of as new. There’s again an estate version this time around.

Verdict

Model tested:

Rating: 7

Honda Accord 2008-2015

Good

Outstanding refinement

Excellent ride quality

Construction quality

Bad

Poor room in the rear and boot

Messy ergonomics

Limited performance

DESIGN & STYLING

This latest Honda Accord may be all new, but the philosophy behind it is anything but. Its design is determinedly evolutionary, a fact that is testament to the clarity of the vision for the outgoing generation of Accord.

Whether it has been successful in this regard is down to personal choice. But for what it’s worth, while we admire the fact that the Accord looks more grown up and expensive, we also lament slightly and subjectively that a lot of the cleanness of the original has been lost.

Thin A-pillars make for excellent forward visibility
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

In 2011, the Accord range was given new headlights, a new ‘sportier’ grille, reprofiled cooling ducts and foglights and a new bumper at the front, while the rear also received a new bumper, a new finish for the lights and chrome trim above the number plate for saloon models. New 17-inch alloy wheels were offered on ES and ES-GT models, while three new colours – Alabaster Silver, Graphite Lustre metallic and Celestrial Blue Pearl – were added to the options list.

As before, the Accord comes in two shapes – this saloon and an estate (still called Tourer) – but no longer will they sit on two different wheelbases. Although this means that the Tourer no longer looks like a flying coffin, you can also expect its carrying capacity to be somewhat abbreviated.

Under the skin, the Accord could not hope for a more pukka specification, with double wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear end ensuring a vice-like control over both axles.

It goes almost without saying that all the electronic primary safety systems you might expect on a car such as this are included.

INTERIOR

Ergonomically, the interior of the new Accord is a mess and a disappointingly backward step from the more cohesive design chosen for the outgoing model. Climb behind the wheel, let your eyes stray towards the indecipherable infestation of controls that dominate the centre console and one thought will appear in your head: “How am I ever going to make sense of it all?”

We’ve often been critics of single controllers, as pioneered by BMW’s iDrive system, but the truth is that even that kind of arrangement works better than this. It’s a shame because the Accord has an excellent driving position, the instruments are attractive and easy to read, and the quality of the dashboard and upholstery are more than good enough for the car’s positioning.

You don’t get a spare wheel or run-flat tyres as standard. A space saver is available, but you’ll have to pay for it. Cheeky.
Andrew Frankel
Senior contributing writer

Honda sought to address some of these problems in 2010 by giving the interior a bit of a lift alongside the exterior tweaks. Although interior changes – including new dark silver panels and a bright silver finish for the door handles and handbrake – may sound fancy, they don’t really address the fundamental problems.

But there’s another problem here ,aside from the fundamental design and layout. Given the car’s considerable size, there’s startlingly little room in the back, both for your legs and head. Four adults will think twice before heading off for hundreds of miles. The boot is fairly small, too, and poorly arranged because of the considerable encroachment of the new rear suspension.

Things do improve in the Accord Tourer. It’s replete with the sort of touches that make living with a wagon pleasurable: under-floor stowage, lashing hooks and large side panniers for a start. It also has a low loading floor and a wide tailgate. So if you don’t want the ultimate in carrying capacity, it makes a lot of sense.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

‘Just about good enough’ sums up the new Accord’s performance when equipped with the staple 2.2-litre diesel engine. The engine produces 148bhp – up 10bhp from the old Accord – yet retains its commendably smooth running. And although overall weight has risen, it’s not by enough to blow a big hole in what was already fairly leisurely acceleration. Honda’s own numbers suggest a 0-62mph time of 9.5sec, a time we matched to 60mph in testing.

Of more importance is the quietness of the engine at a steady cruise and the fact that it has the nicest transmission in the class, even taking the German quality brands into account. Six speeds are standard and the change quality is light yet deliciously precise. Refinement levels are exceptional for this class of car, with wind, road and engine noise kept to a bare minimum.

Although we experienced only marginal brake fade, the Accord’s front pads were smoking after five laps.
Matt Prior
Editor-at-large

In the ranks of modern diesels, the more powerful 177bhp version of the 2.2-litre four-pot is much more commendable. Its 280lb ft torque maximum is on offer between 2000 and 2750rpm, although there is a decent spread of grunt throughout the rev range. The well-judged gear ratios, combined with that fantastic shift quality, ensure swift progress can always be maintained, not something that can always be said about the lower-powered model. Ask the diesel flagship for all it's got and it will carry you to 62mph in 8.8sec and to a top speed of 136mph.

In the ranks of modern diesels, the more powerful 177bhp version of the 2.2-litre four-pot is much more commendable, with a good spread of torque.

The base 154bhp 2.0-litre petrol Accord feels surprisingly sluggish. The effortless mid-range urge of modern turbodiesels that we're used to means that a revvy petrol engine like this one feels overwhelmed when asked to lug a large family car. Performance has to be extracted from the Accord by revving it surprisingly hard, and even shallow motorway gradients are enough to defeat this car’s tall sixth gear.

The range-topping Accord – the model that middle-managers countrywide should surely aspire to own if the outfit’s premium-brand ambitions are to be taken seriously – has a noisy 198bhp 2.4-litre four-pot, which drives the front wheels through a five-speed automatic gearbox that is often slow to kick down and guilty of transmission slip. The Power of Dreams? This is anything but.

RIDE & HANDLING

It’s always more difficult to make a front-wheel-drive car ride and handle properly, because not only do the front wheels need to drive and steer, but they also carry a disproportionate amount of the car’s weight. Yet in this class, the only similarly configured car to reach standards as high as those set by the Honda Accord is the Ford Mondeo.

Indeed, Honda would like you to believe that the Accord’s chassis compares favourably with that of the BMW 3 Series. Although that’s not a contention we’d support ourselves, when you consider ride and handling as a whole, it is not quite the implausible flight of fancy it might at first seem. Certainly, the Honda’s ride quality reaches far beyond that of any Accord we can recall and probably any Honda, Legend included.

Plenty of space around the alloy pedals and left foot brace, which not only look good but are also ideally positioned for most
Andrew Frankel
Senior contributing writer

Yet instead of falling over in the corners as you might expect from a car with such an accommodating ride, the Accord feels precise and assured all the way from turn-in to exit. What it lacks, and where the BMW (or a Mercedes-Benz C-Class) scores so highly, is a degree of driver interaction that distinguishes a merely good-handling car from a real driving machine.

The Accord is happiest on the motorway, where its suspension delivers an impressively smooth high-speed ride and refinement levels are excellent. Body control on rougher road surfaces is less convincing, with the Accord’s ride quality taking on a jagged edge. The electric power steering is impressively accurate, but it lacks feedback or the ability to communicate any involvement to the driver.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

The Honda Accord is priced higher the models you’d naturally consider to be its rivals. The entry-level 154bhp 2.0 petrol is almost £3000 more than the 158bhp 1.6 Ecoboost petrol Mondeo. That price will only get you an Accord in the base trim, though standard kit does include climate control and 17-inch alloy wheels.

But for the same money as the 2.0 ES Accord, you’re less than £1000 away from an entry-level BMW 3-Series. Head up the trim level range and the lavishly equipped EX is pitched right into the heart of 3-Series territory. That’s tough talking, but Honda not only says the pricing is justified but also produces convincing evidence to show that it has the residual value of a BMW. Only time will tell whether Honda is right.

Collision Mitigation Braking System will tighten the seatbelt around you to prepare for impact and to jolt you from your reverie. If this doesn’t work, it will even slam on the brakes
Andrew Frankel
Senior contributing writer

On the road, the 148bhp diesel Accord is as frugal as you’d expect of a shape as aerodynamic as this, powered by a small-capacity diesel engine. Although Honda claims a combined consumption figure of more than 50mpg, in reality most owners are likely to achieve something between that and the 38.8mpg we managed during testing.

Still, it comes with impressively low CO2 emissions (138g/km, enough for it to sit in VED band E).

The recent changes to the Accord range also did wonders for the CO2 emissions for the rest of the model line-up. Aerodynamic revisions and improvements to the 2.0 i-VTEC petrol in the manual saloon helped it achieve a CO2 figure of 159g/km, down 9g/km from before. These changes drop it below the important 160g/km Write Down Allowance threshold for the first time.

Should you desire the extra performance of the 177bhp diesel, there is an inevitable price to pay in terms of efficiency, albeit small. Honda's official figures are 50.4mpg and 147g/km. However, the more powerful diesel option is only available as a Type S, meaning a list price of more than £30k. For this money, the Accord finds itself in competition with some very talented rivals.

VERDICT

Verdict

Model tested:

Rating: 7

Honda Accord 2008-2015

Good

Outstanding refinement

Excellent ride quality

Construction quality

Bad

Poor room in the rear and boot

Messy ergonomics

Limited performance

It is tempting to think that Honda miscalculated in replacing a car as fit and healthy as the old Accord with something that, although new, seems to advance the art to no great extent. Such is the brilliance of hindsight. The truth is that this car was on the drawing board soon after the birth of the previous one and few could have predicted then what staying power its forebear would possess.

Yes, it would have been better to let the old Accord live a little longer and spend the time making a new one with more than the ability merely to maintain the class pace, but we’re not going to condemn this Accord for that.

Brake or even lift sharply mid-corner on our wet circuit and the Accord will fall into oversteer, needing considerable corrective steering input.
Nic Cackett
Road tester

The Accord’s biggest problem is that it fails to excel in any one area. If you want a well-built, quiet and refined cruiser, there is much here that commends the Accord, yet nothing to lift it clear of the pack. It’s a more than competent all-rounder, but in this market and from this manufacturer, we were hoping for rather more.

Whether you are a private or company buyer, there are other options out there that equal or better the Accord’s running and purchase costs in a better-resolved package. In the end, the Honda ownership experience may convince you to commit, but you’d have to be very friendly with your dealer to pay the premium being asked here.