Introduction

The Honda Accord may be the best midsize car sold in America today. That's in spite of fierce competition and the introduction of several all-new models for 2005. The Accord simply does everything well. It may not be best in class in every single area, but we can't think of anything it does poorly. It's available as a four-door sedan or two-door coupe. Each offers a choice of four-cylinder or V6 engine and there's a range of interior trim levels. All those choices make the Accord suitable for many different types of drivers. For these reasons and others, the Honda Accord continues to be one of the best-selling cars in the U.S. Honda redesigned and re-engineered the Accord for 2003. The big news for 2005 is the introduction of the Accord Hybrid, which achieves excellent fuel economy and generates almost no emissions. Even more impressive, the Hybrid delivers improved performance as well, thanks to its hybrid gas-electric powertrain. And, no, you don't have to plug it in. The Accord sedans combine high technology and high quality with everyday economy of operation and keen attention to detail. The popular LX and EX models are terrific cars with comfort and convenience features that make for great daily drivers. Order the leather interior, and the EX becomes an affordable luxury sedan. The four-cylinder VTEC engine is powerful and responsive, delivering strong acceleration performance for passing. The Accord is also available with a powerful V6 engine, which adds another level of sports appeal. A gorgeous coupe is available, featuring sporty styling that's unique from the sedan. The LX Coupe starts at less than $20,000 and makes for a quick, no-hassle, high-quality, sporty, two-door coupe that's great for commuting. Add the V6 and leather and it's an executive expressmobile for fast trackers. For enthusiast drivers, there's the Accord Coupe EX V-6 MT, equipped with the V6 and a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox that will blow your preconceived notions about the Accord right off the road. If that isn't enough, a Factory Performance Package is available for the V6 Coupe. Safety has been enhanced for 2005: All Accords are equipped with side-impact and curtain airbags. Otherwise the Accord lineup is relatively unchanged for 2005.

Walkaround

The Accord is bigger than the pre-2003 models, yet it looks lower, thanks in part to its sleeker, raked-back windshield. The sharpened noses of the Accord sedan and coupe are reminiscent of an Acura RSX. The corners and sides of both bodies are carefully sculpted with a combination of concave and convex surfaces, in an attempt to achieve a muscular and agile look, with subtle and unique three-dimensional window glass, also intended to reduce wind noise. The aerodynamically efficient side-view mirrors are one of the results of wind tunnel testing. The sedan's drag coefficient (a measure of how easily it moves through the air) is 0.30, which is quite slippery. The Accord Hybrid sedan is even more aerodynamic, with a 0.29 Cd, thanks to its rear spoiler and angled antenna. The Accord sedan and coupe share no sheet metal, although their faces do look alike partly because they both have angular headlamps. The coupe is a completely different beast from the sedan, however. Its flanks and rear deck are more shapely, flowing naturally and gracefully from the roofline. It yields a very aerodynamic 0.29 drag coefficient. The Accord's doors are built using a unique method that makes them light and strong. You can clearly hear the quality in the sound when you close them. You feel quality, also, in the light touch required to open the trunk. Honda engineers are particularly proud of the fact that all Accord models achieved five-star safety ratings for driver and front-seat passenger in the government's frontal crash test. Additionally, the coupe earned a five-star rating for front- and rear-seat passengers in the side-impact test, even without the optional side-impact airbags. All Accord coupes and the majority of sedans are assembled in Honda's Marysville, Ohio, plant, though some of the sedans come from Japan and Mexico.

Interior Features

The Honda Accord's interior is smooth, firm, and quiet. For starters, it comes with great seats. The seats in the sedan are generously wide and tall, with springs and urethane padding designed to reduce vibration. The driver's seat provides a one-with-the-car feel with good side support. It features a manual height adjustment or power adjustments on premium models. It jacks up plenty high for even the shortest drivers and offers good headroom for taller drivers. Front legroom is generous. A tilt-and-telescope steering wheel comes standard. The seats in the coupe seem a bit different and feel even better than those in the sedan. You sit lower in the coupe. The side bolsters are more aggressive providing a more secure fit at the torso. The cloth looked classier in black; the light-colored cloth looked like it would show dirt over time. The leather is nicer than the cloth. The sedan's bench seat is roomy and comfortable, especially for two people with the center armrest flipped out. The back seat offers decent support, though it's fairly flat. Rear-seat legroom is slightly better than in the Nissan Altima, but the Toyota Camry offers an inch more. The Accord's trunk is smaller than that of other mid-size sedans, but the flat trunk floor makes loading easy. The Accord's trunk measures 14 cubic feet (though only 11.2 for the Hybrid version because of its extra computer and battery pack), compared with the Camry's nearly 17 cubic feet and the Altima's 15.6. The coupe's trunk is slightly smaller than the sedan's, holding less than 13 cubic feet. The instrumentation is excellent, comprising large, clear analog faces with LED illumination, the latter a feature associated with higher-priced luxury cars. A big speedometer in the center dominates the instrument panel. The switchgear, primarily three big dials located in the center of the dash, is simple, if not particularly attractive. And automatic dual-zone climate control is available on EX models. Honda's interior fit and finish is good. The available bird's-eye wood grain plastic trim looked interesting, the faux carbon fiber trim looked nice, and the brushed aluminum trim wasn't bad either. Interior space is used efficiently, with the audio, climate and optional navigation system controls integrated into a single unit. This frees up space for exceptional cabin storage, including a good-sized glovebox, a big center console, a bin under the audio system that will hold 12 CDs, and door pockets deep and wide enough for a purse. Attention to detail shows in every corner: coinholders, cellphone cord hooks, grab handles over every door, console lights, power outlets, sunglasses holders, sliding armrests for different-sized arms, convenient and versatile access to the trunk from the rear seat. The remote can open or close all four windows on LX and EX models. Up to eight cupholders are provided; a couple of them are big enough to hold a liter-sized water bottle yet feature spring-loaded prongs that can grip a paper coffee cup. But if you could distill this attention down to one example, it would be the solid, pleasurable and unique sound of the turn-signal click. Three sound systems are available. LX V-6 models and above come with a six-disc in-dash CD changer, a 180-watt amplifier, and four twin-neodymium speakers with polypropylene cone woofers and soft dome tweeters. But here's the real-world test: We took the V-6 coupe six-speed on a flat-out blast through the Malibu hills, engine revving to redline, windows wide open, CD celebrating Bob Marley, and even with all that exterior noise, max volume on the sound system wasn't necessary for the full effect. The available XM Satellite Radio is a great feature to have when traveling, because the stations don't change as you drive across the country. You still get ads, but fewer and less obnoxious ads than what you hear on FM. XM Satellite Radio is nic