From the September 2014 Issue of Car and Driver

The Accord is nothing if not popular; Honda’s bestseller ranked second among all cars in the U.S. in 2013, with 366,678 sales. Unit number 58,634 entered the Car and Driver fleet shortly after this ninth generation made its debut and just after the Accord landed on our 10Best list for the 27th time. We have feted each generation since the second; we failed to recognize the first gen, not out of any editorial malfeasance, but because we didn’t establish our annual awards until 1983, after the ur-Accord was already out of production.

Do you know who really loves the Honda Accord, though? Thieves. The Accord tops recent surveys of the most-stolen vehicles by both the National Insurance Crime Bureau as well as security vendor LoJack. While that bellwether of desirability won’t be touted in Honda’s marketing, our long-termer’s as-tested price of just $24,180 qualifies as a steal. Or perhaps we just drove it like one.

“It’s hard to buy much car in this price range,” opined senior editor Jared Gall, “unless you buy this, which is the perfect car for just about everybody.”

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

Our idea of perfection was a sedan in the new Sport trim with a six-speed manual transmission. Having selected this model, we were absolved of making further choices since Honda restricts most options on the Sport to dealer-installed equipment. All Sport models are powered by Honda’s direct-injected 2.4-liter four. And while a continuously variable automatic is optional, we avoided it, fearing it would make us swell up like a nut-allergic kid touring the Skippy plant. The only other decision to make was color, or perhaps we should say shade, because Honda’s Ohio paint booth will only spray manual Sports in black or gray. We chose the latter to offset the dour black-cloth interior. And that was it. We imagine the Accord Sport to be a favorite of the clinically indecisive.

It would soon become a favorite of ours. Honda chopped 3.5 inches of length and 0.9 inch of wheelbase from the last-generation Accord, yet the large-car interior remains, earning praise for its roominess, comfort, and ergonomics. “Why can’t all sedans be this pleasant to live with?” asked executive editor Aaron Robinson. The tasteful new exterior styling was met with relief, if not exactly unanimous admiration. We would no longer need to explain, however, as in the eighth-gen era, how the Accord’s dynamics compensate for a dowdy appearance.

Our 10Best evaluation found that Honda’s move from control arms to a strut suspension in front had not diminished the Accord’s standing as an enthusiast-grade appliance. We described the Accord’s man-machine interface as “one big fluid loop,” a sentiment that would be reflected in comments throughout our long-term test. It was a car that would round off the frustrating edges of a commute—a low-heart-rate kind of sedan in traffic but an athlete on entrance ramps. Its chassis is so stable, its steering so responsive that it encourages the kind of hard driving that would ultimately lead to three separate trips to the dealer’s lathe for brake resurfacing.

View Photos Honda was going to call this the A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

The front rotors succumbed to the cutter at two scheduled service appointments, plus a third trip solely to address the return of the vibrating middle pedal. Our dealer turned the rears once. Honda’s 36,000-mile warranty covered the first two events, but the third time, at just more than 37,000 miles, cost us $158. Despite these issues, our Accord still had enough metal left after 40,000 miles that its 70-mph stopping distance shrank a bit from 175 feet to 173.

The Accord’s four-cylinder felt more powerful on the street than would be indicated by its on-paper 189 horsepower, four stronger than in a standard four-cylinder Accord thanks to the dual exhaust fitted to Sport models [see the accompanying chassis dyno plot in specs]. Accentuating its smoothness is one of the best-shifting manuals extant. The crisp throttle response of the naturally aspirated engine stands in contrast to laggy turbocharged fours that have become common of late. Our Accord delivered the same 6.6-second zero-to-60-mph times at the beginning and end of its 40,000-mile test. No logbook commenter registered regret about passing up the V-6 model.

Accord Sport models wear 18-inch aluminum wheels and a pair of chrome exhaust tips as standard equipment, plus fog lamps and a spoiler. We liked the look of the wheels, though when we dinged one this spring, replacing it made us $451 poorer (plus $28 labor for remounting the tire). One of those fog lamps broke but was fixed under warranty. Leather, navigation, satellite radio, and heated seats are not available on Sports, and we missed them. As with nicotine, alcohol, and autoerotic asphyxiation, it always proves easier to proclaim this sort of stuff unnecessary than to actually go without.

Halfway through our test we noticed an intermittent whine coming from the front of the car, one unrelated to the lack of seat heaters. We mentioned it at the 30,000-mile service, but the dealer was not able to identify its source and an additional 10,000 miles did nothing to reveal its origin. Combined service charges for oil changes, filters, and inspections cost us $61 at 10,000 miles, $143 at 20,000 miles, and $152 at 30,000 miles, bringing the Accord’s total maintenance and repair bill to $1219. This is not unreasonable considering that the car returned an impressive 29 mpg while in our hands.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

“A person with BMW dreams but a Walmart budget could buy this car and never be ashamed of his station in life. It’s that good,” read one logbook entry. Yet for all the praise heaped upon our Accord, we often overlooked it as commonplace, leaving its keys to languish on our sign-out board whenever sexier stuff rolled through. Yes, we drove the Accord to California to let our West Coast editors have a go, but it did not engender the kind of wanderlust or pride commensurate with our esteem.

But that may be part of this machine’s appeal. “The Accord’s greatness has always derived from its ability to disappear under its driver,” we wrote in our 10Best analysis. That it also acts as a vanishing cloak for roadway stress, only to reliably reemerge from the ether when called upon, makes the Accord one of the smartest choices on the market. Just be sure to keep your garage locked, lest it truly disappear. —Jeff Sabatini

RANTS AND RAVES

Aaron Robinson: Ergonomics are old-school perfect, before mid-size car interiors were reshaped into interstellar attack ships.

Tony Quiroga: The slick shifter makes the manual version a must. I guess the CVT alternative does, too.

Alex Stoklosa: This is a fun, roomy, efficient sedan that I’d actually consider buying.

Mike Sutton: I’m still confused as to why you can’t get navigation with the manual, or a color other than gray or black.

Susanne Kocsis: Enjoyable simplicity—basic but not boring.

Eddie Alterman: This ninth-generation Accord represents a return to form—the major controls function with harmony and elegance; it’s huge inside and merely mid-size outside; its relatively low cowl and big side glass give its driver an intimate relationship with the road. This is the stuff that made the Accord so great in the first place.

David Beard: Plenty of nuts to cruise at 85 mph with ease.

Jared Gall: Find four adults who can’t fit comfortably inside, and, statistically speaking, one of them will be an NBA center.

Don Sherman: The peak power we measured at the front wheels is within 10 horsepower of Honda’s flywheel rating. Either Honda is being modest or it’s whittled driveline losses down to the nubs.

Approaching the completion of its 40,000-mile test, our frill-free long-term Accord Sport cruises easily and with a relaxed competence that ensures only happy thoughts are left in its notebook. Those of you decrying the ever-rising prices of “a decent car” should take heart that our cheapie Accord well surpasses “decent” and goes straight to “excellent,” all for just $24,180. If only more people could or would drive a stick-shift car, this religion would surely spread.

Well, there are a few things we would fix and some we’ve attempted to fix but with no luck. We’re still slightly miffed at Honda for punishing clutch jockeys by prohibiting the stick from being paired with navigation or satellite radio in any of the three trim levels (LX, Sport, EX) in which a manual box is available. You can’t get seat heaters, either, an oppressive nuisance when a polar vortex comes calling. These options are healthy pocket liners for Honda, so why it singles out and precludes stick buyers from contributing to the corporate coffers is a mystery. However, in an age of do-everything smartphones, the fact that we have only a basic “dumb radio” in our Accord seems less and less relevant. All we need now is for somebody to write a seat-heater app.

Bumpy Rotors

Another problem we’ve faced is shuddering brakes. This turned up first around 10,000 miles and has refused to go away, despite rotor resurfacing then and again at the 21,000-mile service stop. At this point, we’re certain nothing short of new rotors and pads will cure it, and perhaps not for long. Fortunately, the hot roughness only becomes apparent under heavier freeway braking. Around town, you don’t notice it.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

A third issue has been an inconsistent and speed-dependent whine up front, sounding like the hum produced by gears meshing improperly. Oddly, it comes and goes and is never very loud. Some have theorized that the differential is at fault, but thus far the dealer has not identified anything other than a heavily rusted exhaust downpipe baffle possibly coming loose and making noise from inside. A complete teardown and inspection of the exhaust system was recommended. We passed, figuring if it is the exhaust, it’ll get a lot louder before long and eventually solve its own mystery.

It’s worth noting that this particular dealer is in Los Angeles, and the tech’s definition of “heavy rust” might thus be different from one based in Michigan. Also, the service writer nearly fainted with pleasure when he saw the manual shifter. Apparently, he had never seen the current Accord so equipped before. And this dealer gets to see a wide variety of Hondas, what with American Honda Motor’s headquarters barely a mile away. Sad, right?

Speaking of L.A., the Accord made the cross-country trek to our West Coast office, where it is now, averaging better than 30 mpg with the cruise routinely set at a comfortable 10 over the limit. Except for a trip down to North Carolina, it’s the Accord’s first major foray from the Ann Arbor home office, meaning it has accrued its miles the hard way, with frequent cold starts and short trips. Thus, we rejoice in the car’s current running average of 29 mpg, a great result for a car with this much interior space. Some credit, perhaps, goes to the Eco button, which relaxes the throttle slightly and has been left on for long periods without anyone seeming to notice.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

Thrifty, Comfy, and Peppy

Throw the stick up into sixth gear, settle into the comfortable buckets that equally support the upper and lower back, and let this Honda prove it’s a Honda as the miles pass, the fuel gauge seemingly pinned in place. A range approaching 500 miles is a bladder buster, but we’re not complaining. And the number of gripes in the logbook about the 2.4-liter’s passing power stands at zero. Drop a few gears with an expert rev match, boot it, and it goes.

Despite a few minor mechanical farts, the Accord Sport is a car we’ve grown to adore. It’s a complete package for an enthusiast, offering athletic ability, efficient operation, ample interior space, and the increasingly rare pleasure of a well-calibrated manual transmission. If the Sport came in more body colors besides gray or black, it might just be perfect. Even so, you can do a lot worse, but right now you can’t do any better at this price. —Aaron Robinson

Months in Fleet: 14 months

Current Mileage: 32,071 miles Average Fuel Economy: 29 mpg

Fuel Tank Size: 17.2 gallons Fuel Range: 499 miles

Service: $356 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0

Every year, automotive paint suppliers make a big deal of their annual color “forecast,” which has all the variability of weather in San Diego. Black and white, along with their gray and silver offspring, always dominate. This is why the paint business is only slightly more exciting than watching it dry. Oh, sure, the suppliers will dream up dozens of new shades and hues every year, using actual colors. This year, BASF rolled out 65 of them, with catchy palette names like “Multiverse,” “Syncopace,” and “Dequalize,” whatever any of those mean. Not that it matters: BASF’s own survey shows that 60 percent of consumers drive vehicles of a “neutral color,” like our dark gray 2013 Honda Accord Sport.

The drab color is our biggest complaint about our long-term Accord sedan, and that speaks well for Honda’s engineering team. The product planners and bean counters who decided the manual-transmission-equipped Accord Sport can only be had in black and gray, however, should be counted among the many enemies of fun. (It gets worse: The manual four-cylinder Accord coupe comes only in Henry Ford’s favorite color.) In a world of 24-bit color graphics, the gray-scale spectrum offered by Honda does the Accord a disservice just as it contributes to the vicious circle of color neutrality. Buyers can’t pick red cars if there aren’t any.

We brought up this point of view with Honda, which basically said we should be happy there’s a manual transmission at all. The Accord Sport model is selling well (exceeding expectations, Honda says), making up about 21 percent of four-cylinder Accord sales, but the take rate for the six-speed is only seven percent. Overall, manual-equipped Accords represent three percent of volume. Honda says keeping build-combination complexity low contributes to manufacturing and distribution efficiency, which helps keep the base price of the Accord Sport at $24,505. That’s only $1000 more than the cost of a Civic Si sedan, so perhaps we should stop complaining.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

Secret Pleasures

Regardless, having eight choices of body color is not enough enticement to give up the Accord Sport’s gearbox, which is our favorite thing about the car. It is among the best manual transmissions extant, with short throws, direct paths between the gears, and a fluidity to the shifts that not only makes us happy each and every time we have reason to exercise the clutch but also reveals the secret genius of the Accord.

This is a car that, on the outside, appears to be a mere appliance. It is as capacious as a chest freezer without being difficult to park between the yellow stripes at the strip mall. It is handsome enough, neither unduly flashy nor slightly dumpy like the previous Accord. Its wife-acceptance factor is outrageously high, and if Honda produced a badge that read “Practical” instead of “Sport,” it would still fit. Yet the car is discreetly pleasurable to the enthusiast in so many ways, starting with that shifter. Indeed, all goodness flows from that interface, although the Accord’s magical suspension is nearly its match. Able to transport even carsick-prone offspring without spilling Cheerios and juice boxes, yet capable of dancing all the way home once said youngsters have been dispatched to their ballet lessons, the Accord Sport’s handling defines balance.

Halting Measures

If there’s a downside to the Accord’s excellence, it’s that it encourages heroic driving, which has taken a toll on our brakes. We noticed a vibration through the brake pedal after a few months, so when the service indicator lit up for an oil change at about 10,000 miles, we had the dealer perform an inspection. All four rotors were turned under warranty, ameliorating the problem for a while, but by the time our second service warning tripped at 20,000 miles, the vibration had reappeared. This time the dealer resurfaced just the front rotors, which seems to have worked for now. Having the rotors turned twice within 20,000 miles, however, has us concerned, as Accords have long carried anecdotal reputations for having weak discs.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

The only other issue we’ve had with the Accord was a cracked fog light, which was repaired under warranty, as the dealer said there was no sign of impact. The charges for two oil changes and two inspections have amounted to $204. We spent $172 to have winter tires mounted and dismounted. (Dunlop Graspic DS-3s in the same 235/45-18 size as the factory all-seasons, currently listed at $155 each from the Tire Rack.) The Accord has been frugal in motion as well, averaging 28 mpg.

Indeed, the Accord’s value price is frequently mentioned in conversations about all manner of vehicles, from Abarth Fiats and Kias to Porsches and Lincoln MKZs, always in amazement at how Honda can offer so much that is so good for so little. —Jeff Sabatini

Months in Fleet: 9 months

Current Mileage: 21,000 miles Average Fuel Economy: 28 mpg

Fuel Tank Size: 17.2 gallons Fuel Range: 481 miles

Service: $204 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0

We’d like to tell you that considerable thought went into the selection of our long-term Honda Accord, that it was only after several high-level meetings and a sophisticated analysis of all possible build combinations that we arrived at the decision to park this particular car in our fleet for a 40,000-mile test. But that would be overstating the case a bit. Honda actually has made it simple to unravel the Gordian knot of the new, ninth-gen Accord order sheet with the appropriately named “Sport” trim level, available only on the four-cylinder sedan. As to why we’re bothering with the Accord in the first place, well, if you’re asking that question, then you haven’t been paying attention, have you?

With the requisite six-speed manual (a continuously variable transmission is optional on all four-cylinder Accords), an Accord Sport comes in only two colors: black and dark gray. Honda calls the hues Crystal Black Pearl and Modern Steel Metallic, but we see them more as “New Concert T-Shirt” and “Concert T-Shirt You’ve Been Wearing since College.” We chose the latter, obviously. Beyond that, we saw no need for backup sensors on a car with a standard reverse camera, especially when the Accord offers such good visibility in all directions. The interior is black cloth, full stop, and that’s it, no more choices to make.

Gloriously free of dealer-installed accessories, our Accord Sport stickered for $24,180, a mere $1710 more than the cost of a base Accord LX. That extra cash covers a modest power boost, 18-inch aluminum wheels, fog lamps, a tasteful spoiler, and chromed dual-exhaust tips.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

All four-cylinder Accords now have direct-injected, 2.4-liter engines underhood, but the dual exhaust on the Sport bumps horsepower from 185 to 189 and torque from 181 lb-ft to 182. That’s one fewer pony than in last year’s Accord EX but an additional 20 lb-ft of torque, a trade-off that helped our Sport scoot from 0 to 60 mph nearly a second quicker than did the last manual EX we tested. At 6.6 seconds, our four-cylinder Accord is still about a second slower than the 278-hp V-6 models, but it’s time we’ll gladly leave on the table, as the V-6 sedan can’t be had with a manual transmission.

Snick-Snick like Wolverine

It’s the six-speed gearbox that has most excited us through the first few thousand miles. Wielding our Accord’s shifter is like landing repeated deathblows with a fly swatter. The manual makes every bit of the 2.4-liter’s power satisfyingly tractable. And even though we think the Accord’s optional continuously variable transmission is the best of its kind, it’s still a CVT and not as engaging to drive as the stick.

Although we occasionally find ourselves overpowering the Accord’s front tires—a Honda four that produces decent torque is a new thing, after all—for the most part, this is an easy car to drive. The steering is quick and direct, the clutch is light, and the suspension is firm enough to handle aggressive driving.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

We can imagine our Accord Sport dodging cones on an autocross course just as well as navigating traffic in the Costco parking lot, and initial testing indicates we might have fun proving that theory. The car produced 0.87 g of grip on our 300-foot skidpad and turned in a 175-foot stop from 70 mph. Top speed is governed at 126 mph, which is plenty fast; once you pass the legal highway limit while, say, turning a 15.2-second quarter-mile at 93 mph, the Accord no longer feels as steadfast as it did a few seconds earlier.

Keep It Simple

Inside, Sport trim upgrades are a leather-wrapped wheel and a 10-way power driver’s seat; all Accords come with automatic climate control, Bluetooth, and steering-wheel-mounted phone and audio-system controls. An eight-inch LCD infotainment screen is standard, although in this trim its capabilities are somewhat limited, meaning you can scroll through your iPod’s music selection but there’s no navigation system and the only smartphone app included is Pandora. Also, the large screen displays a relatively small amount of information and does so in a small font.

Choosing a Sport means forgoing LED daytime running lamps, adaptive cruise control, collision- and lane-departure warning, satellite radio, and Honda’s new LaneWatch system, which shows a view of the passenger-side blind spot on the LCD when the right turn signal is on. All that equipment is nice to have, but it can add more than $10,000 to the price, and none of it really has much to do with driving.

View Photos A.J. MUELLER , MICHAEL SIMARI

As some of these higher-spec Accords have cycled through our test fleet, we’ve discovered further reason to be satisfied with our inexpensive model. The logical layout of its instrument panel—with audio and infotainment controls grouped high on the dash, above the climate controls and just below the LCD screen—gets all mucked up in navigation-equipped models. The high-end Accords get a second, smaller touch-screen LCD that replaces the top array of buttons and knobs with a different set added below the climate controls. This bifurcated configuration has made us appreciate the relative simplicity of our Sport manual. One thing common to all Accords, however, is a steering wheel that often seems to be obscuring a clear view of the speedometer, although this quirk is, of course, dependent on driver and seat adjustment.

Also dependent on the driver: fuel economy. Inexplicably, we are averaging 29 mpg during our first 3000 miles in the car, one more mpg than the EPA combined average. We’ll chalk that up to the winter weather and the snow tires that were fitted to the car a few days after it arrived. We promise we haven’t started driving like your mother, no more than this Accord was designed for her. Like it says on the trunk, this is the Sport model. Unlike many vehicles that advertise themselves thusly, our Accord shows every indication of delivering on the name. —Jeff Sabatini

Months in Fleet: 3 months

Current Mileage: 3457 miles Average Fuel Economy: 29 mpg

Fuel Tank Size: 17.2 gallons Fuel Range: 499 miles

Service: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0

Specifications VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED: $24,180 (base price: $24,180)

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 144 cu in, 2356 cc

Power: 189 hp @ 6400 rpm

Torque: 182 lb-ft @ 3900 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 109.3 in

Length: 191.4 in

Width: 72.8 in Height: 57.7 in

Curb weight: 3276 lb

PERFORMANCE: NEW

Zero to 60 mph: 6.6 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 17.7 sec

Zero to 120 mph: 28.6 sec

Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 6.9 sec

Top gear, 30-50 mph: 11.1 sec

Top gear, 50-70 mph: 11.2 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 15.2 sec @ 93 mph

Top speed (governor limited): 126 mph

Braking, 70-0 mph: 175 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.87 g

PERFORMANCE: 40,000 MILES

Zero to 60 mph: 6.6 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 17.5 sec

Zero to 120 mph: 28.0 sec

Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 6.9 sec

Top gear, 30-50 mph: 11.1 sec

Top gear, 50-70 mph: 10.8 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 15.2 sec @ 94 mph

Top speed (governor limited): 125 mph

Braking, 70-0 mph: 173 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.85 g

FUEL ECONOMY:

EPA city/highway driving: 24/34 mpg

C/D observed: 29 mpg

Unscheduled oil additions: 0 qt

WARRANTY:

3 years/36,000 miles bumper to bumper;

5 years/60,000 miles powertrain;

5 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection

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