Honda Accord 2018, a very European saloon for the American market

Honda’s North American subsidiary has just presented the new Accord, a saloon the Japanese brand also sold in European markets years ago, Spain among them, but which, with the crisis, the rise of premium saloons and later of SUVs and crossovers, disappeared from the brand’s line-up in January 2015 due to low sales volume.

The Accord has traditionally been Honda’s flagship saloon, since it began to be sold back in 1970, but the economic crisis and, in particular, the crisis of mainstream saloons, models that have ostensibly given way to the rise of crossovers and SUVs, ultimately sealed its fate.

The new generation of the Accord is very Civic, but also very Acura. But its disappearance from European markets does not mean it is disappearing from other markets, such as North America, where saloons still maintain a good level of sales. So, this past Friday, in Los Angeles, Honda’s North American subsidiary unveiled the tenth generation of the Japanese saloon. A model that in this new version will only be sold with a five-door, three-box body, so the coupé body versions disappear from the range, given that they barely accounted for 4 percent of the model’s deliveries in recent years.

Compared with its predecessor, it is shorter (10 mm) and also lower, but wider, and its wheelbase is also longer, which undoubtedly will allow it to enjoy a roomier and more comfortable interior, as the images accompanying this article suggest.

What it will have is a touring or estate body variant, which for the first time in Accord history will feature a new variable damping system, with fast and efficient operation. Honda will build the new Accord at its North American plant in Marysville (Ohio, USA).

This new generation of the Accord is “very Civic”, but also very Acura. Clearly Honda has sought to optimise development costs for the model to the maximum, especially given the ever-declining sales of the mainstream saloon segment.

The new Accord will no longer offer its traditional V6 engines under the bonnet, opting instead for turbocharged four-cylinder units shared with the Civic. What it will have is its prestigious continuously variable transmission and a 10-speed automatic gearbox (the latter also produced in the USA at the Tallapoosa (Georgia, USA) plant).

It will feature a turbocharged 1.5-litre 4-cylinder producing 192 CV and, replacing the traditional V6 engine mentioned above, a 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit with turbocharging and 252 CV, directly derived from the one fitted to the Civic Type R, offered in combination with a new 10-speed automatic gearbox. As standard, both engines will be offered with a six-speed manual gearbox.

Its exterior styling is certainly eye-catching and, in a way, may come across as somewhat extravagant, especially with that hatchback-like design achieved through the excessive rake of the rear window. Inside, Honda has opted for simplicity. It has done so to such an extent that it could even be said to be clearly designed to appeal to European markets, where the brand does not seem to be planning to sell this model at all. In North America it will go on sale at the end of this year, and in early 2018 a hybrid version will join its range.