Even as an enthusiast driver I could appreciate how Honda set this one up. Without having to operate within a predetermined number of gear ratios, the CVT transmission can be used to ‘shape’ the vehicle’s power curve – and Honda’s engineers have had some fun with this one. Punch it, and you get a solid leap forward, followed by a nice, peaky, high-rpm pull that blends with the additional output when the VTEC system really gets working. It’s remarkably athletic.
   2013 Honda Accord Sport. Click image to enlarge |
“I’m going to use this all the time”
Mom was talking about the ‘ECON’ button. Press it, and the Accord’s computer brain makes changes to the sensor in the gas pedal, the engine, and the transmission. These changes work with your gentle driving to help save fuel. You press this when you’re trying to drive as efficiently as possible, which mom always does.
Test fuel mileage, recorded after a combination of mom’s green driving and my lead foot, landed at 9.5 L/100 km. Note this figure was collected during a winter test, with winter tires, on a low-mileage tester that hadn’t completed engine break in.
“I love that screen that lets you see what’s behind you”
That’s the back-up camera. It’s standard on every new Accord sold, because Honda says everyone wants one. It helps with parking and navigating while you’re in reverse, and makes the area in and around the Accord safer. Winter sees it easily blocked with salty road spray, but a lick of your finger and swipe over the tiny lens as you walk by clears it.
“The turn signals blink 3 times, on their own?”
That’s an added convenience when you’re changing lanes. Tap the stick once, and it blinks the blinker 3 times. Makes you look like a more courteous driver, even if you aren’t.
“The lights stay on, on their own”
Left in ‘AUTO’, the headlights turn on when it gets dark, turn off when it’s not, and even stay on for half minute after you lock the car, so you can see your way up to the house in the dark. You can set the timer for this system in the vehicle’s settings menu.
“I accidentally pressed a button, and the car asked me what I wanted to do”
Unfamiliar with steering-wheel mounted controls, Mom had accidentally pressed the voice-command button, which causes the Accord’s pretty female voice to assertively say “PLEASE SAY A COMMAND”, after which point a beep suggests you issue a request. You can ask for a phone contact to be dialed, a radio station to be set, and the like.
“I floored it in a parking lot, once, to see the torque”
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Wow, I’m definitely my mother’s son. That torque came from Honda’s 2.4L Earth Dreams four-cylinder engine. It doesn’t shoot rainbows and saplings from the tailpipes like the name implies, but it’s very clean, promises to be great on fuel and is remarkably athletic. You get 190 horsepower. That should be enough for most drivers, and a V6 is available, with over 270 horsepower, if you’re not one of them. The four-cylinder piece sounds appreciably grunty, and transmits nearly no vibration or harshness back into the cabin when pushed.
Pricing: 2013 Honda Accord Sedan Sport
Base Price (Sport): $25,490
Options: $1,200 (CVT)
Freight and PDI: $1,640
A/C Tax: $100
Price as tested: $28,430
Crash test results
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
