the Accord Euro is arguably the best car in the Honda range. It's an engaging drive, and it's packed with standard equipment. And I'm not the only one think so. Honda Australia needed the jaws of life to extract Car Advice road tester Paul Meric from his last Accord Euro test drive. Paul, you love the Accord what's the best thing about the driving one?
Where do you start? The car is just packed with features, and it drives just like a sports car, especially in manual perform. I mean they have hit the goal with this one and it's extremely impressive. So Honda knows the value of the word Euro in cachet terms, is Is it a Euro drive experience? When it was first released, everyone sort of laughed [xx] the Euro at the end of it.
But it certainly is a Euro drive experience, Euro built quality and Euro design. So when you compare Accord Euro with Accord because that's very confusing and the accord euro is built in Japan and the other Accord is built in Thailand lay out the differences for us.
To be honest, it's like chalk and cheese. The standard Accord is much bigger and has a bigger engine as well. The Accord Euro is only available in a 4-cylinder 2.4-liter. And while it provides plenty of poke for a car its size, the Accord needs a V6 to get moving but is also available in a 4-cylinder.
So what's the drive experience like in an Accord Euro? Lay out the steering, all of that sort of dynamic stuff.
The steering is point-and-shoot ; it's really direct and you feel the road through it. The brakes have perfect finesse and the power delivery is spot-on. There's no torque steer and it's all just very linear, and the gearbox is great fun as well. It is a real all-round package.
The equipment level inside the cabin is a little bit "fighter pilot," isn't it really?
It's good. There's three different specs: you have your entry level, your Luxury, and your Luxury Navi. Your Luxury Navi, the only difference being the Sat Nav. Now the Sat Nav isn't much to write home about; it's pretty average. and they could certainly improve it, but you get a massive screen which, you know, you can do after market mods with, play videos through it, and have a bit of fun with it.
Okay, but if you're in the market a Euro. What other cars do you have to test drive? You're looking at Mazda6, Mondeo, there's a raft of competitors out there. Kizashi? Kazashi as well. Kazashi is another top model. So everyone is sport for choice in that bracket and I think that's why their sales have been struggling a little bit.
There hasn't been much have been uptight recently...so the thing that i always find a little bit confronting is that Mazda 6 sells more units than accord euro every time, what's the reason there? I think it's just Mazda 6 has a more diverse model range. You can get a diesel, you can go a wagon, you can buy a hatch sedan, where the Accord Euro is only available in one form That's the type of sedan.Ya Honda is being toying with the side view of having a diesel of Accord euro in Australia years now or even with the previous model what i we have one sell as well?
That's a great question. And I think that's something we should ask Honda because that's...Well, you mean you can't answer that for me here and now? I wish I could. Because if it was my decision, it'd be here in a heartbeat. That would just make the car a stellar drive with so much torque. Yeah, but if it is your decision and if you are equivocating and like about the Mazda 6 with Accord Euro which one will you buy?
It has to be Accord Euro it's such a fun car to drive and I don't think the Mazda 6 or any of the other competitors can really match it in terms of performance and handling. The Kizashi's got to be on that list too, hasn't it? Absolutely. That would have to be right there test drive list and it's certainly a car that matches the Euro in many aspects.
So I think it just depends on what brand you're after. Now what don't you like about the Accord Euro? It sounds like you're in love with it but like everything you're in love with, there is a dark side. That's right. And you never wanna talk about it but there is unfortunately. Rear seats, there's not much leg room there.
So adults will find it hard to get in and out. The entry and egress isn't too impressive. So it's really a kids only space. And I think they want you to upgrade then through the range once your family grows out of that car.
Okay. Two transmissions, auto or manual. Which one did you prefer?
Definitely the manual. While the automatic's not too bad. The manual really allows you to extract the most from the four-cylinder engine. The automatic does give you Tiptronic mode so you can change gear manually. Is there paddles in the upmarket one?
Yeah there is, but I still think the manual is the way to go. Six speed manual, great shifts and really a sporty drive So just right for the ten percent of people on the road who can still drive a manual car.
Absolutely. Lucky them, I say. That was Paul Maric raving about the Honda Accord Euro. You can read the full review, download specifications, add your comments, or get a quote from a Honda dealer. Just follow the links on this page.
