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By
EWAN KENNEDY
8 August 2005
These days Honda sells two distinctly different
Accords in Australia. The first of these is tagged the Accord Euro and
is the subject of this week’s major road test. Though it’s only been
on our market since June 2003 the Euro has already garnered strong
praise from owners and critics alike. Indeed, many regard it as a
benchmark car for its class. One that can take on the might of the
European prestige machines and hold its head high in this rarefied
company.
Accord Euro, as the name suggests, is very much
aimed at the enthusiast driver. It is powered by a big 2.4-litre
powerplant that manages a handy 140 kilowatts. Four-cylinder
engines aren't necessarily the norm in this price class, but Honda
has done a nice job of smoothing it out to almost six-cylinder
standards. It’s not quite are refined as a six, but comes closer
than you might expect.
In any case, Honda Australia also imports a
slightly larger version of the Accord and it does come with the
option of a V6 engine. However it’s a softer car than the Accord
Euro and doesn’t appeal to the keen driver to nearly the same
extent.
The four-cylinder engine in the Euro has its
peak torque of 223 Nm at a pretty high 4500 rpm. However, it uses
complex electronic valve and combustion-management techniques to
give it reasonable pulling power from about 2000 rpm. In the
important aspect of torque it’s significantly better than
previous high-revving Honda engines.
Our test Accord Euro had a nicely-weighted
six-speed manual gearbox, which means it’s easy to find the
right gear ratio to keep the engine on song. First gear is perhaps
on the low side and you’re often into second gear only moments
after getting the car moving. This can be a pain in stop-start
traffic jams, but the low gear is handy if you need to move off on
a steep hill with a decent load on board. Sixth gear is an
excellent over-driven cruising ratio and the engine is only
pulling at around 2500 rpm at Australian legal limits.
There’s also the option of a five-speed
automatic with sequential overrides to give the driver a decent
amount of control.
Fuel consumption in the Accord was a very low
6.8 litres per hundred kilometres during gentle country running.
Suburban running saw it rise to a still very reasonable nine to
eleven litres per hundred.
Honda Accord Euro has precise, responsive
steering and well-balanced road grip that makes it a real pleasure
to drive. The car has a feeling of body and suspension strength
that remains even when you do drive it hard on poor quality
Australian roads. Comfort in the Honda suffers a little on these
rough roads more than it does in European cars, but is generally
acceptable.
The latest Honda Accord, though not quite a BMW
or Mercedes in the way it drives, is a lot closer than you might
expect.
The interior of the Euro is reasonably spacious,
with cockpit-type styling for the driver. There’s plenty of rear
headroom, but legroom in the back will sometimes depend on the
front occupants sliding their seats forward to make space for
their mates behind them.
The boot is deep, has plenty of volume and is
generally easy to load, though, as is the way in some current
cars, there’s a fair sort of stretch to get to the front of the
boot.
Accord Euro is definitely recommended to those
driving enthusiasts who enjoy a good drive in a precise, stable
vehicle that’s a real pleasure to punt along hard and fast. Yet
it can also be used as a family car and is easy to live with on a
daily commuting basis.
As well as our test drive in Australia we have
also had the pleasure of using one in the UK recently on a
combined business/holiday trip. This time around it was a station
wagon, or rather an Accord ‘Touring’ to give it its European
name. A good-sized wagon with plenty of load space, it’s got a
real European wagon look in its sloping roofline. A roofline
developed for stability in high-speed running on European
motorways.
Unusually for a European-type station wagon, the
Honda has a near-vertical rear end to let you carry large boxes
and suchlike. Too many of the Euro wagons sacrifice practicality
in the interests of sleek looks, something that doesn’t endear
them to Aussie owners.
Honda's PR chief, Mark Higgins, says there are
no definite plans to bring the Accord Touring to Australia, but
there was a certain wistful note in his voice that said that
perhaps he really would like to see it coming here. Let's hope it
does get the nod because Accord wagons have been reasonably
popular here in the past, and this one is by far the best we have
ever seen.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Accord Euro 2.4-litre four-door sedan - $33,500
Accord Euro Luxury 2.4-litre four-door sedan - $40,500
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard on both models
Air Conditioning: Standard on both models
Automatic Transmission: $2000 option on both models
CD Player: Standard on both models
Central Locking: Standard on both models
Cruise Control: Standard on both models
Driver Airbag: Standard on both models
Passenger Airbag: Standard on both models
Front Side Airbags: Standard on both models
SPECIFICATIONS (Honda Accord Euro 2.4-litre
four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 2.354 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.5:1
Bore/Stroke: 87.0 x 99.0mm
Maximum Power: 140kW @ 5800rpm
Maximum Torque: 223Nm @ 4500rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Five-speed
Final Drive Ratio: 4.388:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4665mm
Wheelbase: 2670mm
Width: 1760mm
Height: 1445mm
Turning Circle: 10.8 metres
Kerb Mass: 1435kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 65 litres
Towing Ability: 500kg (1200kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, double wishbone, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Five-link double wishbone, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 8.7 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 16.4 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
City Cycle: 9.8 L/100km
Highway Cycle: 6.8 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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