Honda Accord
Not often mind you, but every now and then, a car on test has that ability to blow you away in some small way. Occasionally, to completely awe you.
Take the case in point. The new Honda Accord. On test in 2.4 form. I received the car late one night leaving the airport. With no-one about to brief me, “Q” style on the gadgets on offer, I set off cheerfully enough on my own. Setting the now passé, adaptive cruise control, I was happily following the car in front of me, my test car happily matching the speed of the car in front. I was free to get familiar with my new steed. All was comforting and normal. That is, until the first big corner, when to my surprise the steering wheel began to tug at me as if there was a major wheel alignment problem.
The odd thing was it wasn’t pulling me off my line, but into it. I had just driven the first lane keeping assist system I have ever had on test. First off it works. It puts in about 80% of the torque needed to keep to the middle of your lane, expecting you to do the rest. It also is only supposed to work with your hands on the wheel. Although for brief periods it worked autonomously. I had to test that. It also worked for ages with 1 finger on the wheel, but that is just for showing it off really. So a couple of cameras establish your lane position, and until they lose track or you hit an indicator, the system keeps you on the straight and narrow. So to speak.
The obvious philosophical question one asks oneself is how far off are we from driverless cars? In this one, on freeways at least, there is no need to touch the brakes or accelerator or wheel really. Other than Navigation, and the GPS system could easily be interlinked, the driver could really be considered superfluous, or would be if they programmed it that way. It is already that good. Miraculous I think. Just consider that this isn’t some Google test project, but a real live car available since last year in a Honda showroom near you.
As for the rest, you get a 2.4i-Vtec good for 148kW and 234Nm, in the auto version tested, this gets a respectable 9.8 seconds in the nought to 100 sprint while sucking down 8.6 litres of fuel in the combined cycle. The drivetrain is a pleasure. As really is the rest of this car. Accord has a grown up Japanese dash that oddly avoids garishness or seeming like it was stolen from a video arcade design studio. The plastics even feel upmarket. It is quiet and composed. The suspension was completely unobtrusive and the car spacious.
All in all I think the Accord is a solid competitor that is worthy of a comparison shop next time you consider an A4, 3 or C class.