Honda Accord most affordable large car
September 22, 2008 by George Skentzos
During its relatively short time on the market, the new Accord has accumulated some very impressive titles mostly thanks to its big car benefits and small car economy.
Overall, the four-cylinder Honda Accord has been named the most fuel efficient and affordable large car with a starting price tag of only $29,990.
The 2.4 litre EURO4 compliant DOHC i-VTEC engine produces peak power of 133kW and 222Nm, while boasting fuel economy of 8.8 litres per 100km.
With an equally impressive CO2 emissions level of just 209 g/km, the Accord outstrips many medium cars in the economy stakes and even rivals some small cars.
“The Accord offers the highest level of refinement in the large car segment and represents outstanding value for money. Both variants offer excellent fuel economy, which means less money being spent at the petrol pump.”
Since the release of the 8th generation Accord, it has acquired over seven percent of the market to become Australia’s most popular four-cylinder large car in the private sector.
Safety features include dual front and side airbags, ABS brakes with Electronic Brake-force Distribution, Vehicle Stability Assist, active front head restraints and front seatbelt pre-tensioners as standard.
Creature comforts are equally generous, with steering wheel mounted cruise and audio controls, dual-zone climate control, power windows and mirrors, security alarm, audio system with six-stack CD player and six speakers with MP3 compatibility as well as 16 inch alloy wheels.
Print it: 
Yes it’s a good car… all true. But this is a press release is it not?
Hmmm but what are the servicing costs over three years??
Darn it DanMan you beat me to the post…
Very nice, i like Honda’s, if you want a cheap one wait five years and buy it new as a Hyundai Sonata.
Yeah, servicing is expensive, but the car is reliable.
Also the car holds it’s value rather well.
salesman what do you mean? The last few hyundai sonata’s have been 100% hyundai designs, i think hyundai used an old accord platform for the very first sonata, but that was a long time ago???
With a 4cyl engine.
Yes they are expensive to insure and maintain.
Reliability? No better than many other vehicles in the same class.
Richo,
Last time I was in Korea (2004) we visited the Hwasung plant. During the tour we passed a line up of around 40 cars, all black sedans, the first 20 or so were Honda Accords (badges and all) then their were a few with no badges, the rest were Hyundai Sonata’s.
The tour guide filled me in when I asked “Why are you copying the Honda exactly?’
He said “We are not copying, we are benchmarking”
It is cheaper to buy another companies old product and re build it; they reduce cost where ever they can. Every test is done again, including crash tests. Modifications are made were necessary. Hyundai is not the only car that benefited from the old Honda Accord purchase. The Kia Magentis was also spawned from it and later the Rondo as well.
I will be going again next month, so I hope to get a look at what is coming up through the pipeline….
Its a 4 cylinder of cause its going to be cheaper than a 6 cylinder car and who exactly is naming this the most affordable, Honda maybe.
I read that Hyundai used large Merc 450sec? as a benchmark for the v8 Genesis.Motor trend rated the Genesis above Merc and Lexus in most respects except originality. Copied most things from either and improved on it apparently.Also less than half the price.
korea what a joke all crap ,pig cars ,drive like shit , devalue almost as fast as a crummeredore, no comparison to honda.
dont you just love how they judge the cheapest car by looking at the fuel consumption????
dont get me wrong, i think hondas offerings are top notch, but im sick of these bogus claims manufacturers are making in relation to “cheapest” large cars etc.
did they factor in servicing and repair costs???
did they factor in that its not in the large car class???
next honda will also be telling us “the game has changed”.
I spied the latest Aurion advert the other day where they now claim the aurion is so good it is unrivialed.
Pfffftttt!!!
Andrew M:
Why is it it not in the large car segment. it rivals the falcon and crummydoore in size and the accord is exactly the same size between both 4 Cyl and V6 variants.
the Honda has top notch quality and realiability. yes servicing maybe expensive and short between intervals but one compromise for everything else you get. the standard equipment in the car is awesome and you don’t really much more than what comes standard
Arlester,
the accord isnt as big as the falcon or commodore for starters.
im also pretty sure there are contenders in the medium class that out space the accord.
toyota also ofered a 4cyl and V6 in the camry, but it was only ever classed as a medium car.
i think the camry also out spaced the accord????
read the reviews, the accord is noticably a smaller vehicle.
in fact, read the one that compared it to the typical largies (commodore and falcon)
just checked, and as i thought, the mondeo is bigger in every key dimension over the accord.
how come the mondeo isnt drummed up as a large car class changing vehicle???
and then, but i know you dont buy it, when a vehicle has near on half the engine capacity of its rival, its not a direct competitor.
all you guys that like to compare these smaller vehicles to our larger offerings go running when anything other than fuel consumption is compared though.
i bet when we want to talk performance etc, you wont be able to throw the line “they arent direct competitors” out quick enough.
1L saving in consumption is splitting hairs if you ask me
The Aurion was hardly a Game changing car……how could it be ? It is basically a Camry V6 with a facelift…..how is that game changing ? And now it seems that it comes standard with piston slap as well. So much for Toyota quality. The Honda isnt really a large car and the economy isnt that much ….if at all ……better than an FG 6 cylinder. Why then is a Mondeo classed as a medium sized car when it is as big as a Falcon? In fact if you look at one parked next to an FG Falcon the Mondeo looks bigger !!!
right on limited slip,
and when tested, the FG falcon proved to be better on fuel than the V6 accord, and also keep in mind the accord has that fancy cylinder management stuff.
Lslip – Its just a tag line, just like Just wait till you drive one, monaros game over etc, it attempts to put it into your subconscious, like dodgey repetitive music. To fine toothpick to see if it really mean what it is, is a waste of time..
Car Advice is becoming anything but. Merely putting onto the web manufacturers press releases in the form of “news”.
Did the comparison between my Mondeo TDCi and Accord was VERY close but preferred the compliment German chassis that Japanese cars can never design
laurie
Since when has a mid size 4 cylinder been a large car??? Oh yes of course, when Honda and Car Advice say it is.
Car Advice, now tainted with commercial self interest.
How realistic is it to suggest private buyers are comparing falcons to a 4 cylinder accord? Falcons and commodores don’t stack up well from a resale perspective but they have been unfairly labelled as gas guzzling dinosaurs by many people when a little bit of research into running costs paint them in a much better light. The fuel consumption of the FG falcon range is more then acceptable for the size/performance but perception is everything. Anyone see the latest Royalauto test of the accord euro? In excess of $1100 dollars for a radiator and not much change from a grand for a windscreen.
I don’t believe anyone can come close to the claimed 8.8l/100km consumption figure; Accords have been notorious with fuel.
Not a bad car for the dosh. Alternatively for $30K you could have a Toyota Corolla with a few extras.
I’d rate the mondy as a large car personally all-be-it it has a medium size engine.
What is it with you Guys who type ‘then’ rather ‘than’ quote Superoo “the FG falcon range is more then acceptable”…than than than. Queens English boys.
Often car manufacturers will use the best points of their car to sell it, and that is guided buy the buying publics motives.
At the moment fuel prices are the biggest motive, so of course that’s the direction we go. I would like to see advertised the total cost of ownership over say 5 years and 75,000klms.
Taking in all aspects and costs of running that particular car, From purchase price, fuel, tyres, insurance, estimated depreciation, rego, service, ect.
6cyl cars value are only going down because no one wants to own one, truth be told for allot of commuters a 6cyl car is better, depending on the type of driving you do, a 6cyl car run at constant temperature will use less fuel than a 4cyl and have less ware and tear, why do you think nearly every taxi in Australia is a 6cyl on gas.
If you are more metro than a 4cyl is better for stop start driving.
Therefore the advertising is misleading, how could Honda know this car will give the best is class economy for every customer considering a purchase?
some food 4 thought about car size.the mondeo isn’t much smaller than the falcon,is fwd, with less rear leg room.accord is longer than a commodore,is fwd,and has a less rear leg room.commodore is king for rear leg room.it seems all medium large cars-accord,camry,maxima etc,all try to be commmodore,falcon…..but what for,there not.some people will buy them because there not.some people want rwd…its as simple as that.call an apple an apple,not a orange.and as a ex honda owner i can tell you…beware the service costs.1 dealer tried to charge me $5 for a telfon coated wheel weight…ouch
How about caradvice doing a real world test. Take a commodore, falcon, camry, accord etc. Load it up with 2 adults, 3 kids, a dog and luggage. Attach a large caravan and take it for a 1000km drive at highway speeds. Then let’s see which has the best fuel economy. Holden tried a 4cyl commie and it was a total failure.
Stevo, that would be hard to organise….
One thing though.. the Honda ia a hell of a lot of metal for the money….
The euro flogs it but.. hence Honda’s current push on the Accord..
Stevo,
Caradvice has already compared the accord, falcon, commodore an Aurion.
from memory the falcon was the only one to achieve sub 10L/100k fuel economy
Super roo,
right on,
the “fuel guzzler” tag is purely perception based.
and also on price of parts,
im sure they dont factor in the price of a honda windscreen is near a grand, where as a new windscreen for my falcon only set me back $250 installed.
also whats a Honda oil filter worth??
you can pick a Z9 oil filter from any auto store for under 5 bucks which suits the last 30yrs of falcons.
oh,
and not to mention the price of the belt the honda needs replaced at its major service
Thanks for the grammar correction Cupid Stunt. Totally correct. I guess my parents didn’t have enough “dosh” as you put it to send me to learn the Queen’s English. Does the word “Guys” in your post require a capital g?
I have a falcon and a mondeo and the mondeo is easily big enough to be rated as large. If we start taking engine capacity into consideration to classify vehicles, do we rate a Golf R32 as large?
Superoo,
One thing I found is that the mondeo doesnt have the elbow room that the falcon has across the console.
do you also find that.
And to go further, I cant think of any other vehicle off the top of my head that has the generous elbow room to match the falcon.
But in saying that, the commodore is getting better in that department these days
I did a falcon versus mondeo comparison back to back a while ago, and i must say the falcon hoses it for comfort and feel of quality.
Yes I found the mondeo pretty damn good for in its class, but I still dont see it as a no compromise substitute for the Falcon.
the falcon is the best drivers car i reckon.
sure the commodore is a comfy car too, but its interior is a massive let down. the only thing its got going for it is its V8.
sure its not the best V8 (rough idle), but the sweet sound more than makes up for it.
PS. how many grammar mistakes cupid????^^^^^
it may not be a poor education, but perhaps the lazy aussie way.
You can correct me on the no capital “A” in “Aussie” too if it turns you on
Andrew,
Yes, the falcon interior is wider than the Mondeo but the Mondeo has easier access and the added flexibilty of coming in a hatch (great for prams etc). I also feel the Mondeo handles better than my BA falcon – less body roll in corners. I can’t compare it to the new FG falcon as I haven’t had a close look but personally the interior materials and finish of the mondeo have it over the BA/BF falcons.
Ths salesman – You re saying THE ONLY THING that Hyundai had done before they launched the Sonata was just bring in an accord and find any rooms left for cost reduction in it and rebuild it. If that was really the case they would never have had to spend some 3-4 million dollars to design and do research before lauching the Sonata. So it s very careless and misleading of you to suggest the Sonata is merely an inferior edition of the old accord
Shinzitsu,
Bless you,
You did read that I wrote?
Honda sold the old Accord to Hyundai and they striped it down and re build it, that is not a negative, Hyundai made lots of changes to bring the car up above global standards.
What’s careless is making a comment on something you clearly haven thought through…..
If that was what you really meant then never mind. Your first thread looks as though Hyundai’s design and research works are entirely based on taking apart an accord and rebuilding it with some improvements on it. That was where i was concerned. If you have been offended i apologise. I just wanted you to be aware of that.
Oh sorry it was your second thread that has mainly worried me not the first one although it was misleading too.
superoo,
when they designed the FG they payed particular attention to ease of entry.
the doors now open much wider, and the roof line has changed to give more head room.
Shinzitsu,
What was misleading?
Honda not just good in price but also in quality.
Perhaps Car Advice might want to check with VFACTS on this one. It does NOT meet the criteria for a “large” car.
The 4cyl Accord is a medium car – this story is flawed!
Why is it that Honda do not offer better colours here in Aus. I really like the Red one that is available in the US
The Accord may be the most affordable large car.. just as the Aurion may happen to be the most powerful. However; those in the industry will tell you that its the way a car looks that is one of if not the most important thing to a cars success
- if a car looks good and draws your attention to it in the showroom it will make you want to walk up and have a closer look.
- you will then look through the window at the interior & if it looks good you will want to open the door and have a seat.
- if the interior feels good you will want to see how it sounds.
- if the engine sounds good you will want to have a test drive to see how it performs/handles.
- if it performs well you will probably buy one if not strongly consider one.
Which could explain why the VE Holden Commodore is still Australia’s most popular/best selling large family car because in terms of design it makes the 2 mentioned previously look old & hideous.. despite being down on power [V6] and not as technologically advanced etc