2008 Honda Accord
Everything about the new model is larger or better, whether you’re looking at overall size and interior volume, power output and fuel economy or the list of standard features.
2008 HONDA ACCORD
ON SALE: September
BASE PRICE: $20,000 (est)
DRIVETRAIN: 2.4-liter, 177-hp, 161-lb-ft I4; fwd, five-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3213 lb
0 TO 60 MPH: N/A
FUEL ECONOMY (EPA city/highway): 25/34 mpg (mfr est)
By BOB GRITZINGER AutoWeek
After 32 years of success with the Accord, Honda folks could be forgiven if, in a moment of weakness, they took their eye off the ball and let the all-new 2008 model slide by with minimal changes.
Not a chance.
For example, you won’t find any odd bulges or frayed edges in the carpeting in the 2008 Accord. Every fit appears as if some tiny carpet installer got in there with his knee kickers and stretched the material taut around every bend and tight into each corner.
Honda sells about 400,000 Accords in the United States every year, representing about one-third of the company’s U.S. volume. So when it comes time to remake the Accord, everyone from the lowliest carpet installer to Gary Robinson, head of product planning for the eighth-generation Accord, knows what’s on the line.
“Our goal was to surpass everyone and become the new benchmark,” said Robinson.
It’d be easy to say “Mission accomplished” just by scanning the stats on the 2008 Accord. Everything about the new model is larger or better, whether you’re looking at overall size and interior volume, power output and fuel economy or the list of standard features.
Overall, the 2008 Accord sedan is 3.0 inches longer than the car it replaces and rides on a wheelbase that is 2.3 inches longer and a track more than an inch wider. Height grows by nearly an inch. The net effect: For the first time, the five-passenger Accord sedan jumps into the EPA large-sedan segment, with an interior volume up 3.3 cubic feet to 106.0 cubic feet. Compared with the midsize competition—Nissan Altima and Maxima, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata—the Accord’s interior is now the largest, and in overall length, the Accord is larger than all but the Maxima. To get an idea of how much the Accord has grown over the generations, here’s a factoid: The first-generation Accord sat on a 93.0-inch wheelbase—shorter than that of the current Honda Fit.
For 2008, Honda further differentiates the sporty coupe model, which is 2.3 inches shorter in wheelbase compared with the sedan and shares only its door mirrors and handles with the sedan. Standard coupe wheels grow by an inch to 17s, with 18s optional.
Under the hood, the flagship Accord gets the largest and most powerful engine ever offered in a Honda car, a 3.5-liter V6 producing 268 hp at 6200 rpm and 248 lb-ft of torque at 5000 rpm, up 24 hp from the 2007 model’s 3.0-liter V6. In all but the coupe with the V6 and six-speed manual transmission, the V6 Accord features an i-VTEC system with cylinder deactivation—but for 2008, there’s an extra twist. Unlike the previous V6, which saved fuel by shifting from six- to three-cylinder operation in low-load driving conditions, the new engine chooses from three-, four- and six-cylinder modes, depending on power demand. Honda engineers say the system allows them to garner that extra little bit of fuel economy in the in-between zone where the old engine typically jumped back to six-cylinder mode. Honda estimates that despite a 0.5-liter increase in displacement, the new V6 still will be more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, hitting an estimated fuel economy of 19 mpg city and 29 mpg highway. To help manage any low-frequency engine noise, Honda makes Active Noise Control sound cancellation standard on all V6 models with automatic transmission and on all 190-hp four-cylinder cars.
Other engine choices include a non-cylinder-deactivation V6 in the coupe equipped with a six-speed manual transmission and two 2.4-liter four-cylinder options. The base 2.4-liter produces 177 hp and 161 lb-ft of torque, while the more powerful 2.4-liter makes 190 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque, thanks to a reprogrammed engine-control module, higher combustion pressure and a higher-flow exhaust.
One powertrain option you won’t find for 2008 is the gas-electric hybrid. The current Accord hybrid features a powerful powertrain, but it hasn’t generated the sales Honda anticipated. Dan Bonawitz, Honda vice president of corporate planning, said hybrid buyers tend to value fuel economy over power, so Honda will focus on putting hybrid powertrains in Civic-sized vehicles. Larger cars and Honda’s trucks and sport/utility vehicles are good candidates for diesel power, he said.
“Unless gasoline is $4 per gallon or you drive a lot of miles, the cost of a hybrid doesn’t make sense,” said Bonawitz.
All Accords for 2008 come equipped with four-wheel antilock disc brakes and a new multilink rear suspension system. In addition, a simple yet effective variable-gear-ratio steering system maintains a solid on-center feel and responsiveness while providing low effort and rapid response in low-speed, sharp-turning situations. Standard sedan wheels are 16 inches, with 17s optional.
In our sampling of the full range of Accord sedans and coupes—V6 and I4, automatic and manual—we found the 2008 model stable, solid and quiet on the road, especially in models with the built-in noise cancellation. Steering and brakes are highly responsive on all models, and the car feels well planted on the road. We haven’t track-tested the car yet, but it was hard to find a condition on public roads that induced either under- or oversteer, and the new rear suspension did a great job of keeping the rubber in solid contact with the road.
Driving the multi-cylinder-deactivation V6, we did detect a slight hybridlike torque-on/torque-off feel when cruising at 60 or 70 mph under slight throttle (at about 2000 to 2500 rpm). Because the green “ECO” light was illuminated, indicating that the engine was running in fuel-saving economy mode, we were no doubt picking up the engine cycling between four- and three-cylinder modes. The transition from three- or four-cylinder mode to six-cylinder operation was undetectable.
The best of the crop—for enthusiasts, at least—is the V6 coupe with the six-speed manual gearbox. The coupe features a strong engine-and-transmission combination, with a slick short shifter that never missed a gear and a VTEC-induced engine scream that’s enough to make any driver smile. Clutch takeup comes a little late, but an everyday driver likely would grow accustomed to it. We tried to induce torque steer and found it negligible, even in a full-power, dump-the-clutch launch from a dead stop.
The 190-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine wasn’t as noisy as its 177-hp counterpart, but both felt plenty powerful. While the base model’s interior materials seemed inferior, if the base model is all your pocketbook will allow, there’s nothing about the base Accord that you can’t live with.
That said, all the Accord interiors are massively improved over the current practical yet pedestrian offerings. The center stack spreads out across more real estate, allowing for buttons that are larger and easy to read and punch, as well as logical controls for the ventilation and audio systems. A new single controller for the navigation system replaces the touch screen and allows Honda to move the nav screen into the driver’s line of sight.
The 2008 Accord goes on sale in September (Sept. 12 for sedan, Sept. 20 for coupe), priced between $20,000 and $30,000.
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Print | posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 5:34 PM