2015 Honda Accord Sedan Quick Spin Review

2015 honda accord

For the past 30 years, Honda’s Accord has been a mainstay of the family sedan marketplace. Consistently one of the two top selling models in the category (Camry is the other one), Accord wins fans over with an excellent reputation for reliability, strong build quality, efficient and sophisticated powertrains, well-appointed interiors, and an engaging driving experience.

Handsome, if somewhat benign styling helps too.

Other points in the Accord’s favor include spaciousness, which brings up an interesting fact. The Accord has grown considerably since it was originally introduced back in 1976. So much so, today’s Civic is larger than the original Accord.

Styling

Honda’s flagship manages to pull off the seemingly disparate feat of being good looking, and anonymous at the same time. In other words, when you see the Accord, you probably don’t really think twice about it—unless you own one—and yet you aren’t repulsed by its appearance.

The car is both good-looking and yet invisible.

The crisply styled body features a relatively tall greenhouse, which partly accounts for the exceptional roominess of the interior. The low beltline, slender roof pillars, and large expanses of glass make for excellent outward visibility, which many drivers find highly reassuring. On the other hand, the short trunk is good for only 15.8 cubic feet of cargo, which is about in the middle of the pack for this category.

Photo by Honda

Performance

The front-wheel drive Honda Accord is configured to accept a choice of three powertrains.

The base engine is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 185 horsepower and 181 ft-lbs of torque. If you opt for the Accord Sport, it makes 189 horsepower and 182 ft-lbs. A six-speed manual transmission is standard, except with the upmarket EX-L trim package. That one gets a continuously variable transmission, which is optional for the other four-cylinder trim packages. The CVT returns 29 mpg overall, the manual is good for 27.

The 3.5-liter V6 makes 278 horsepower and 252 ft-lbs of torque. It gets a six-speed automatic and is rated at 25 mpg combined.

The hybrid option teams a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with an electric motor and a CVT for 196 horsepower. The hybrid is rated at 47 mpg combined.

Safety

Standard are ABS, traction control, stability control, a full complement of airbags, tire-pressure monitoring, and a rearview camera. Options include blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, and forward collision warning.

Honda’s LaneWatch system places a camera in the right-side exterior rearview mirror for a view of the passenger side of the car when the right turn signal is activated. This helps ensure drivers bicyclists or other vehicles won’t be affected by the impending turn.

NHTSA says Accord scored five stars in overall protection, four in frontal impact protection, and five in side impact safety. The IIHS bestowed its highest rating (“Good”) upon Accord in all of its testing, including the small offset frontal overlap test.

Pricing & Features

For 2015, Honda's Accord sedan pricing starts at $22,105. Standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control, full power accessories, Bluetooth telephony and audio streaming, a rearview camera, and a tilt and telescoping steering wheel. Also included in the base price is a folding rear seat.

Optional features include keyless entry and pushbutton start, power adjustable driver’s and front passenger seats, leather upholstery, memory functions for the driver’s seat, a touchscreen interface, satellite radio, navigation, voice recognition, LED headlamps, smart cruise control, an auto dimming rearview mirror, and an upgraded audio system featuring smartphone application integration.

The top of the line Honda Accord Sedan Touring trim package (which pretty much gets you all of the above—plus the V6 engine) comes in at $33,360.