2013 Honda Accord Coupe

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.