honda accord
The family sedan, elevated.
Let us get this straight: The new Accord has ditched its control-arm
front suspension for struts; a CVT has displaced its four-cylinder's
step-gear automatic; and gasoline direct injection is new this year—but
only on the four—nine years after Audi first offered it in the U.S. So
why is this car back on this list for a record 27th time? It's not
because the Accord is a looker. What it has is inner beauty: Luxury-car
big inside and yet smaller outside than before, this ninth-gen version
fully delivers on Honda's "man-maximum, machine-minimum" philosophy. The
Accord's greatness has always derived from its ability to disappear
under its driver, but this new car verges on the ethereal—it is so easy
to see out of, so easy to point into a corner, so elegant and light and
forgiving in its responses that one big fluid loop develops between man
and machine. This is true whether you're talking about the base
four-cylinder sedan or the six-cylinder coupe with its clockwork manual.
Its playful and graceful spirit makes taking grandma to the doctor and
the kids to soccer and the boss to lunch no chore. You only think it's a
driving appliance until you drive it. Then you understand.
specifications
vehicle type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door coupe or 4-door sedan
base price: $22,470–$24,140
engines: DOHC 16-valve 2.4-liter inline-4, 185–189 hp, 181–182 lb-ft; SOHC 24-valve 3.5-liter V-6, 278 hp, 252 lb-ft
transmissions: 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
wheelbase: 107.3–109.3 in
length: 189.3–191.4 in
width: 72.8 in height: 56.5–57.7 in
curb weight: 3250–3450 lb
epa city/hwy fuel economy: 18–27/28–36 mpg
