A perfect Accord?

At one end of the spectrum, cars keep getting smaller, more efficient and cheaper. On the other side of a heavily skewed spectrum, cars keep getting bigger—get bigger engines and more space, are heavier and also more powerful. But not at the cost of fuel efficiency though, because these cars keep getting more efficient engines that drink less fuel to deliver better performance— to propel a heavier and larger car quicker.

The Accord has been moving up the evolutionary ladder as well, with each successive generation. With more powerful if not larger engines, with more space and luxury features, it has slowly been inching up the luxury scale and the latest Accord is another step in its upward journey.

While there are enough changes to the exteriors of the car to show that this is the next generation, the path-breaking changes are under the skin and cannot be seen by the naked eye. With the wheels being moved further apart, both in terms of distance between the left and right wheels (track) as well as the front and back wheels (wheelbase), there is definitely more space in the cabin and the rear knee room has grown appreciably.

The engine although retaining the same displacement (2.4 litres) now delivers more power and more torque. The gearbox is the standard 5-speed, both automatic and manual. While the entire effort in the redesign of the car has been to make it more luxurious, these days luxury has to come with driving dynamics. Honda has done all it can to retain and in fact even enhance the dynamics of this car and has added a strut brace for a crisper steering. The centre of gravity has been pushed down by lowering the engine and the fuel tank, while the ride height has been increased to take care of bad roads and speed-breakers in India.

The steering wheel has most of the controls mounted on it and there is also a jog dial to control, essentially your iPod. The music system has a USB slot as well as the 6 CD changer and other features seen before on the CR-V. Rear passengers have finally been indulged in the design of a car of this level (because it is self-driven in most markets it is sold in) and in addition to the music system controls in the rear arm-rest, there are also two AC vents for the rear passengers.

But the most important addition has been that of safety, whereby instead of two air bags in the previous Accord, there are now six, including curtain airbags to prevent head injuries to occupants. The Accord is now available in three variants, including a top of the line Inspire, which gets a complete body kit, but there is little to choose between the variants. The best thing is that the 8th generation Accord despite the addition of equipment and bulk, is just a little more expensive than the older Accord with prices starting at Rs 16.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Yogendra Pratap is Editor, Auto Bild India