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In the Malibu hills, we got good seat time in both the V6 and four-cylinder, with manual and automatic transmissions. Engines aside, the V6 Coupe is a totally different car than the four-cylinder Sedan. Let's start at the peak: 5,000 rpm in the Honda Accord Coupe EX V6 with a six-speed gearbox.
A grin grows on your face at five grand, as if the corners of your mouth are connected to the tachometer needle. It's the growl that does it. The six-speed features a special resonator in the intake system, put there just for your listening pleasure. "It took a lot of fussin' around to make that happen," said Charlie Baker, revealing the extent to which Honda has gone to achieve that "emotion" factor. You simply don't expect a Honda Accord to give you this kind of high-performance, sport-driving pleasure, but the 2003 V6 Coupe redefines Accord.
The new V6 is the same ideal 60-degree configuration as the old V6, but it's 20 pounds lighter and 1 inch shorter, and uses electronic elements such as drive-by-wire throttle. Its 240 horsepower is an increase of 40, and its 219 foot-pounds of torque is an increase of 19. It delivers an improved fuel mileage of 21/30 mpg with the automatic transmission, on regular fuel. This compares favorably to the four-cylinder; for 3 less miles per gallon, you get 80 more horsepower. There's no scheduled maintenance for 105,000 miles, and even oil changes are required only every 10,000 miles.
The Nissan Altima, which takes premium fuel for its V6, has been selling like crazy, based largely on its hot acceleration, and Baker says the Accord can just about match it. However, he adds with a smile, if you run premium fuel in your Accord you'll get more horsepower, and he's willing to bet it will be an Altima killer. Another pleasing thing about the new Honda Accord V6 is that its torque range is broad. It feels very different from the V6 in the current Acura CL Type-S, whose powerband is narrower and farther up the rev range.
The smooth six-speed gearbox is especially wonderful. It reveals more attention to detail, in the ratios, the synchronizers. It shifts beautifully, and loves aggressive downshifts that would cause many other gearboxes to cry abuse.
The five-speed automatic transmission is just as smooth as the manual, in its own automatic way. The drive-by-wire throttle is programmed to cut the throttle during upshifts, and the timing is perfect. It's not often that the performance of an automatic transmission is so tight that it stands out.
There are also improved brakes, with ABS standard on all models and EBD (electronic brake distribution) on all but the four-cylinder DX and LX. (ABS helps the driver maintain steering control under hard braking; EBD distributes braking force to the tires with the best grip, improving stopping performance.) The brakes stop the big Honda Accord Coupe nicely, and the pedal feel is firm and sensitive. At first it felt too sensitive, but that's easy to adjust to, and we soon liked it. However, we managed to make the brakes fade while using them hard, earlier than we think they should have, given the level of the rest of the car. We ran a twisty uphill five or six miles, repeatedly dabbing the brakes for corners, but because we were in second and third gear most of the way, the speeds weren't high and there were no extended applications of the brakes. We turned around at the top and began to come back down, and almost immediately felt the fade. (Fade occurs when brakes get hot and results in diminished or faded braking performance.)
Not surprisingly, the handling is well balanced, too. In our opinion, it's a better-balanced car than the Acura CL Type-S. We tried to get the Coupe to understeer, and it wasn't easy, which is more than you can say for the CL-S. (Understeer is when the front tires begin to lose grip, causing the car to take a wider path around a corner than intended.) The double-wishbone suspension, front and rear, has been re-engineered mostly to reduce fore and aft body motions under acceleration and deceleration, and to provide flatter cornering. It's been tuned to deliver a sportier, European feel, including bigger and better tires and a higher-tech rack-and-pinion power steering.
Sedan: The Honda Accord Coupe V6 may be the exciting car, but the four-cylinder Sedan is the significant one, being the car that moves much of the world. Same deal with its redesign: no stone unturned, and the results show it. The new everyman Accord does not feel like four-cylinder sedans as we know them. It feels smoother, bigger, quieter, and more solid. The standard of living for everyman has just improved.
There's much that could be technically described about the new 2.4-liter, dohc i-VTEC engine, which Honda suggests is "arguably the most sophisticated four-cylinder engine in the automotive industry." The "i" in i-VTEC, a new thing to Accord, means the valve timing is continually adjusted, according to demands. This makes the engine more responsive at all speeds. It's currently used on the racy Acura RSX and Honda Civic Si engines.
But the performance statistics are more revealing. Compared to the previous engine, the 16-valve, four-cylinder engine delivers slightly better fuel mileage (24/33 with automatic transmission, 26/34 with manual), ultra-low emissions, an increase of 10 peak horsepower, but most important and useful, a solid increase in torque over its entire rpm range. (Torque is that force that propels you away from intersections and up hills.)
Acceleration with the automatic transmission was decent. With the five-speed manual, acceleration was strong, although you still need to downshift to accelerate fast when the revs are below 4,000 rpm. The five-speed manual shifts about as nicely as the six-speed. A good word to describe the feel of the acceleration might be quality. Or maybe mature. Hard working at times, but definitely not buzzy.
A good word for the cornering might be correct. The four-cylinder sedan didn't want to be pitched around. Turn it gently, and it'll go faster. This isn't so much a practical guide to driving the Honda four-cylinder Sedan around town, so much as it is an indication of the balance of the car, which does affect the feel of things an everyday driver might not be aware of. And again, there was no significant understeer.
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