Exterior
With its most recent press release, Honda gave us a lot
of information about the Accord’s exterior. The first thing you’re going
to see as you approach this new Accord is the fact that its grille is
brand new. Gone is the old cross-bar grille and in comes a a plastic
honeycomb-style grille. The chrome accent on the grille moves from the
top to the bottom, drawing extra attention to the new open-mouth look in
the fascia.
The 2012 Accord’s hood was likely one of the most boring
hood design in 2012, but Honda addressed this for 2013. The 2013 Accord
coupe has four lines running its length that add some much-needed flare
to an otherwise flat hunk of metal.
The headlights
are virtually identical to the 2012 model year, as they are horizontally
mounted and wrap around the front fender. The headlights were one of
the good points to the 2012 Accord, so carrying them over into 2013 is a
great idea.
Down the side of the 2013 Accord is a
belt line that runs the length of the vehicle and flares upward on the
rear quarter panel. This makes the new Accord look fast just sitting in a
parking spot and breaks up the monotony of the car’s side profile. The
rocker panel on the rear quarter panel, just in front of the rear tire,
boasts a contour that adds some extra character that the 2012 model just
didn’t have, making this relatively large coupe look sportier.
On the back end, the rear window has a slightly
shallower rake, which allows the quarter panel to curve upward to meet
it. This gives the Accord a fastback-like look that adds to its curb
appeal. The taillights are completely redesigned in a style more similar
to the headlights, giving the car a sharper look from the rear. The
trunk lid boasts a nice curve that gives the back end a sweet finish.
Honda
also shortened the new Accord very slightly, making it easier to
handle. Also, the aerodynamic drag is reduced, when compared to last
year’s model, by making the windshield and its wipers flush mounted and
tailoring the under-body in a way to reduce resistance.
Overall, we like what Honda’s done with the outside of
the Accord. It gave this flagship coupe a sporty look while retaining
its classy appearance.
Interior
There is not too much information that Honda has offered
up on the 2013 Accord’s interior. Honda did not stray away from the
Accord’s main principle; offer the most room possible in a minimal
package. You’re going to get slightly more passenger room and cargo room
in the 2013 Accord Coupe, when compared to the 2012 Coupe.
You are also getting HondaLink
with Bluetooth connectivity, which is only about a decade late to the
infotainment party. For your listening pleasure, Honda has tossed in the
ability to stream Pandora internet radio through the Accord’s
HondaLink. You also get hands-free text messaging when you link a
smartphone to the HondaLink system. The optional Aha system allows you
to perform personalized restaurant searches, listen to Facebook audio
feeds and audio books, and much more.
We are still
uncertain about other interior options because Honda hasn’t officially
released the information. We’ll add more as it becomes available.
Engines and Transmissions
Honda hasn’t given us any ideas on what engines the
production Accord may boast, but we did receive some information on the
concept version’s engines. The base level unit in the Accord Concept is a
2.4-liter 4-cylinder that pumps out 181 horsepower and 177 pound-feet
of torque. A step up from that is Honda’s “Earth Dreams” Technology
engine, which is a 2.4-liter engine that gets 5 percent more mpg than
the base 4-cylinder and pumps out 10 percent more torque, increasing
that number to 195 pound-feet.
We all assume that the
3.5-liter V-6 will also come along for the party, but will be
re-engineered to boast “Earth Dreams” Technology, increasing its fuel
economy by 10 percent and output – horsepower and torque – by 5 percent.
That puts its horsepower near the 300-pony range and its fuel economy
at 18 mpg city and 27 mpg.
We anticipate the 2013
Accord coming with a 6-speed manual transmission standard. There should
be two optional engines, a 6-speed automatic and a CVT. Though we hate
CVTs, we have to respect the fact that they are more economical than
multi-speed units.
There are some whispers of a
hybrid-drive variant coming to the 2013 Accord lineup, but there is no
confirmation on that just yet.
We are still awaiting
confirmation that the 2013 Accord will boast the same engine lineup as
Honda proposed with the concept. We’ll update you with official numbers
once we find out.
Pricing
Honda has yet to release any pricing, but we anticipate only a mild increase on the 2012 Accord’s $23,080 base price.
Competition
Since the late-1970s, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord have been duking it out for supremacy, so why change now?
The recently redesigned Camry
is one that you either love or hate. In our opinion, Toyota seemed to
almost force the fact that the Camry competes with the Accord, by making
it slightly resemble the Accord from the front end. Add in the fact
that the rear three-quarters of the Camry is too square to match its
wedge-style front end and we have a major styling issue.
In
the go-go department, the Camry boasts a 2.5-liter 4-pot that punches
out an acceptable 170 pound-feet and 178 horsepower. This puts the base
level Camry at a 4-horsepower and 7 foot-pound deficit when compared to
the Accord’s base 4-cylinder. The optional V-6 on the Camry is a
3.5-liter that pumps out a slightly underwhelming 268 horsepower and 248
pound-feet of twist. We anticipate the Accord pumping out just about
300 horsepower from its 3.5-liter, giving it a leg up on the Camry.
The Camry finally does exceed the Accord in one thing:
fuel economy. The Camry’s 2.4-liter engine gets 25 mpg city and 35 mpg
highway, and its V-6 variant gets 21 mpg city and 35 mpg highway. Even
with the V-6’s increases, the Accord cannot touch the Camry’s mpg, while
the Camry just barely beats out the Accord when you compare the two
4-cylinder engines.
Conclusion
Ultimately, we need to hold out for more information. On
the surface, however, the Camry looks as if it is falling behind its
Honda competitor. Honda is simply offering more features, more power and
a better looking car than Toyota is. Now, if Toyota decides to bring
the Malaysian Camry to the States, we may have a different ballgame.
