Review: 2008 Honda Accord Sedan

Perennial Best Seller Enters Eighth Generation

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After nearly three successful decades in the U.S. market, the Honda Accord has become a bit of an institution. Now in its eighth generation, this car has carried countless students to high school and college, families to Disneyland, and grandparents on their weekly runs to the grocery store and post office.

The Accord has traditionally merged the comfort and satisfaction of making a wise and rational car purchase while providing an extra measure of driving appeal. Offering a five-speed manual with the two four-cylinder models helps this reputation, as does a very compliant yet capable ride. The automatic transmission feels perfectly matched to the engine, as if it was all made of one solid piece of high-grade steel.

Honda vehicles often set the standard on available equipment, and the new Accord does not disappoint, with a satellite-linked XM Traffic Control Navigation System plus Bluetooth® compatibility, a 270-watt seven-speaker audio system, and steering wheel-mounted controls. High quality leather-covered and heated seats with eight-way power adjust easily fool you into thinking this is an underpriced luxury car. In fact, if you were to squint your eyes a bit when looking around the cabin, you would be hard pressed to differentiate this Honda from its Acura siblings. The visual dynamics are very good for this price and class.

2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6 Sedan

The 2008 Accord should have no problem keeping current Accord owners in the Honda family, but it lacks that certain something found in Accords of the past...the sense that you are driving the common man's BMW. Maybe this is a result of building a larger Accord than the 2007 model. After all, we Americans are also getting much larger. But just like that extra few pounds around your middle keeps you from feeling and acting like an athlete, the new larger size also keeps this Accord from feeling equally light on its four feet.

The exterior design of the 2008 Accord should be the one and only reason why this car may not be the right one for you. While nobody expects a mainstream sedan to set Ferrari-like standards for beautiful and aggressive design, I cannot help but wonder if the designer of the front third of this car was angry at the designers of the middle and back thirds. When viewed from the front, it exudes modern appeal. But when taken in from the side, that same front end looks overly long and tall and clashes with the dimensions of the rest of the car. Maybe we will get used to this look, as it is also present in the new Chrysler Sebring. But I hope not.

One thing I do not expect is a drop in the Accord's incredible reputation for a low overall Cost of Ownership and great reliability, quality and retained value. This is a very important vehicle for Honda and is well placed to take on the big hitters in the mid-size sedan market--Camry, Fusion, Aura, Passat and the upcoming, all-new Malibu. Unfortunately, making such a rational economic decision is now tempered by a slight loss in driving appeal and exciting design. But maybe Honda is crazy like a fox and has once again anticipated the midsize sedan buyer's demands in ways we have not yet seen. We know that we are getting bigger...but are we also getting softer?

Posted on 2007-10-08 | Permalink | |

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