New Car Review: 2013 Honda Accord Touring V6
Mojo is a horrible thing to lose. And for much of the last decade or so, it appeared Honda had lost it. The products became too big, too plastic, too...boring. And the Accord became all those things. It was as though Honda decided to out-geezer the 1999 Avalon. I expected to find coupons for the Early Bird Special at Hometown Buffet in the glove box.
Well, forget all that. The company that won Boomers over 30 years ago by showing that jewel-like quality, advanced engineering and just plain fun could co-exist in an affordable automobile (four of them, actually...Accord, Prelude, Civic and CRX) is back with the 2013 Honda Accord.
First things first: They cleaned up the styling. While the Accord is still a large-ish sedan by contemporary standards, it is leaner than last time, and looks it. The stylists have worked in all the right lines and creases in all the right places to reduce the impression of mass. It looks lean, muscular (within the bounds of the segment) and purposeful.
We haven't had the four-cylinder yet. or the coupe (space available, Honda press fleet folks!), but the four-door V6 Touring model we drove was a revelation. The 276 horsepower engine gets up and runs. The six-speed automatic transmission makes sure it doesn't guzzle fuel while doing it (EPA estimates 21 city/34 highway), the smaller, better designed body means easier visibility, improved sightlines that give you more confidence behind the wheel...all the better to explore the handling that benefits from front and rear stabilizer bars. It's not tossable to the degree our favorite Acura, the TSX is, but that would be asking a lot from this bigger, more commodious family sedan.
