First Time in a Honda … and it was a 2022 Accord via a 1 week rental

[trinacriabob]

I had never driven any Honda.  I had rented a full size car for a week in a Southern California suburb.  I saw some Chevy Malibus and Toyota Camrys on the lot, but was assigned an Accord.  I would have preferred to remain in something I was familiar with, but was open to this experience.  I’m glad I was.

The Honda Accord was of the last model year before the current refresh.  It’s a comfortable car with an easy to live in cabin.  Both the front and rear seating areas are spacious enough, and the trunk is also generous. The seats have a nicer shape, even though the fabric was weird, with an unusual sheen.  (In the refreshed Accord, the seating upholstery has reverted to being more conventional.)  The biggest plus for the Honda’s interior was its attractive and symmetrical dashboard.  With this, I’m referring to the lack of something like that unusual angled wedge where the Toyota Camry’s dash and console meet.  In the Accord, the device cubby hole, console surfaces, gear selector, cup holes, and console box are nicely placed.  Setting the Bluetooth and other metrics was not too difficult.  The instrument pod graphics were pleasing and simple.  I always opt for the digital speed readout, which I find highly superior to the analog speedometer many of us teethed on!  The only negative aspect of the interior was the power seat adjustment.  I like to sit up higher and did not like the range of settings available to get me up higher, thus it felt a little more go-kart like.

The Accord handles nimbly and it’s really amazing how far these once very basic cars have come.  With a great feel from its leather wrapped steering wheel, the car also felt very centered on the road.  Since the term Camcord is now ubiquitous and understood, the Accord is more nimble and less isolated than the Camry, though the Camry does convey enough of what’s going on through its front wheels.  However, being more go-kart like and “appearing” to be a little smaller, the Accord isn’t as hushed as the slightly more isolated Camry.   Of the Camcord, the Accord is more fun and at home in either city traffic or two lane roads, even those offering up a good dose of curves while the Camry is more serene and at home on the interstate.

The Camry has that shovelnose grille that Toyota-Lexus seem to share and which has been criticized enough.  The more conventional Accord grille is easier on the eyes, and has become even more appealing in the recently released model.  On the other hand, the Camry greenhouse is a little more conventional and upright while the Accords is more raked, with large C-pillars.  The Accord has that rearmost side window between the rear door and the C-pillar which hearkens to the Cadillac C5 via its shape and the overly thick chrome applique.  I wasn’t a big fan of this.  The Accord, however, has a pleasing rear fascia with light assemblies that minimally resemble the boomerang shape of the last-gen Buick LaCrosse.  The difference is that the LaCrosse has a bigger canvas in its rump and did an excellent job with the boomerang design of the taillamps set into a more oval shape.  As with the front grille, the taillamps and rear fascia of the Accord are also improved in the subsequent and current refresh.  With all this said, in terms of styling, it’s probably a wash between the Accord and its Asian competitors.  However, if adding Europeans such as  VW’s Passat and Jetta to the equation, those would be the best styled standard sized sedans through their being more understated and timeless.

Like the Malibu, the Accord uses a 1.5 liter 4 cylinder with a turbocharger.  These “90 cubic inches of engine” are now up to the task of moving cars of this size and weight.  They handle most situations well, but are not overachievers.  The transmission is a CVT, which Honda has had for a good while and is incrementally becoming a more reliable type of transmission.  There wasn’t that much of a launch gear effect with this car, and, thankfully, it didn’t spool up in rpms as much as in earlier CVT equipped cars I’ve driven.  Mostly, it’s well behaved and the power is transferred fairly seamlessly.  The Camry is the only one of this size and configuration continuing with an 8 speed automatic transmission, which I prefer.  However, I can’t drive what the market offers. 

The fuel mileage was respectable, but I thought it would be a little better.  Perhaps is that there was too much stop and go driving in Los Angeles and on Southland freeways.  If a person finds it annoying, the automatic stop-start at idle feature can be deactivated.

In summary, I wouldn’t say I was impressed, but rather surprised and pleased with a week in last year’s Honda Accord.  It’s the kind of car a person gets used to very quickly and feels like they’ve owned for a long time.   The car enjoys an excellent reputation for longevity and buyers in this segment are largely practical consumers.  I’d pick the Accord over its competitors, edging out the Toyota Camry and the Chevy Malibu by a slim margin, but feel it’s a good bit ahead of the Nissan Altima and Hyundai Sonata, which I haven’t liked as much as of late.  These days, the available choices for a full size sedan are a lot slimmer, even though all of these cars would have been considered midsizes, or even big compacts, when American boulevardiers ruled the road.

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Photos forthcoming

[trinacriabob]

EXTERIOR PHOTOS

Parked along PCH in Pacific Palisades with Santa Monica's buildings in the distance

On an isolated road near my friend's house in the desert

The front grille looks better than that of the Camry, and it looks even better for 2023

The rear light bar is sort of interesting with these boomerang styled lamps, though not as nicely done as in the last-gen LaCrosse

I don't care for this last side window, the same way I don't care for it on the Cadillac CT5

[trinacriabob]

INTERIOR PHOTOS

This is what I saw upon first opening the door:  nice dash and cabin with good front leg room

This shows the shape of the seats, the stitching, and headrests that don't intrude

This fabric - if that's what it was - was sort of weird

This is what the rear of the passenger cabin looks like:  has power connections and decent leg room

The headrests don't intrude too much, but the backlite is raked and the pillar is thick ... as you can see "it never rains in Southern California"

An overall view of the dashboard with medal accents on the pedals and auto stop-start, parking brake, hill hold, and more on the console.  The front cubby has a closing down that opens up in "slow motion."

Very sensible instrument cluster with temp at the left and fuel at the right.  Everything you'd need is in the middle:  speed, speed limit, drive mode, gear, temperature, and mileage.  For the time, look to the infotainment screen.

This is the infotainment screen.  I wasn't going to "let you down."  Climate control panel is instinctive in its operation.

Trunk remote, hood latch, and trip odometer reset are all easy to find

Trunk space is very good for this size of car

[trinacriabob]

MECHANICAL PHOTOS

An overall view of the engine bay

The shape of the prop rod for the hood is sort of unusual

It indeed says 1.5 liters and says what emissions benchmarks it conforms to

You should heed this sort of label for your transmission fluid on the Honda Accord (for its CVT) and, realistically, for any car you own or drive

There's quite a bit here and they don't do it as tidily as some automakers:  direct injection/ignition for the 4 cylinder engine, the turbocharger, an easy to service battery and fuse box, and clearly marked fluid checkpoints

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End of photos

Edited May 24, 2023 by trinacriabob