Aside from its legendary name and status as the United States' best-selling Honda, there isn't much that the Japanese auto maker's new Accord shares with its predecessors.
Redesigned for the 2018 model year, the Accord gets an all-new engine, transmission, platform and look.
Dressed in black-and-white body camouflage, a prototype of the athletic-looking fifth-generation sedan was made available for an exclusive track demonstration at Honda's research and development facility outside of Tokyo earlier this week.
Whether you are driving alone or with four passengers, the new Accord won't be a bore.
Interior details were tough to discern – the entire car was deliberately obscured by black-felt blanketing. But the vehicle's new 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine – replacing a 3.5-litre V-6 in old top-of-the-line models – was on full display.
Designed in part to meet toughening emissions regulations, the engine has been paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission.
In Canada, a 1.5-litre turbocharged model with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) will also be available, and both will be offered with optional six-speed manual transmissions. The Accord will also come in a hybrid version.
On the track, the larger engine had its day. While the sedan was never brutish, it was in its element eating up the blacktop, a surprising characteristic for a car one thinks of as a family porter.
Acceleration to high speeds was smooth and the vehicle never strained. Stability was good, steering firm but not too tight, and corners taken at more than 80 kilometres per hour were a breeze.
Cabin noise was also minimal as the Accord moved up and down through its gears in both Comfort and Sport modes – the Accord is hungrier, and more fun to drive in Sport mode.
Horsepower and torque were not released; however Honda officials said that the new Accord shares an engine with the new track-ready Civic Type R. It will be tuned differently, with fewer horsepower and less torque.
As with the Civic, the Accord is built on Honda's new modular platform. The company's CR-V and minivan, the Odyssey, is also built on the platform.
It is built to compete with Toyota's Camry – and gets points out of the gate for being sportier with less mom-and-pop feel.
Engineers on hand also hinted that the redesign is meant to attract premium buyers who would be looking at Mercedes' C-Class and E-Class sedans, as well as BMW's mid-sized sedans.
Pricing has not been released for the 2018 Accord, but company officials promise it will be "competitive." It will be in showrooms in the fall.