Test Drive: V-6 Honda Accord coupe seduces
- Power: V-6 is strong, exciting
- Style: Just sexy enough
- Comfort: Good up front, not in back
When Honda overhauled the mainstay Accord for 2013, it kept a coupe in the lineup.
You might wonder why.
That question is instantly answered by the Accord coupe — at least the high-end, V-6 model with six-speed manual that Test Drive flung about.
Seductive, taut, responsive, satisfying. And the leather upholstery feels supreme.
We strongly suspect that reaction to the four-cylinder version that most people buy would be less enthusiastic. We've tested the four in the Accord sedan, which weighs about the same as the coupe, and don't imagine it would provide the blood-stirring, nerve-twitching experience the V-6 manual did.
So, no long windup: The Accord coupe with the V-6 and manual is terrific, a gem that makes you wonder why more cars from mainstream automakers can't be a bit more interesting. You needn't drive it hard to appreciate it. But if you do get frisky, you're struck by how competent it is.
V-6 is similar to the on in the sedan, but without the variable cylinder shutoff, which Honda says results in the copupe's more banshee-like sound and fury, giving it quite a different personality than in the family sedan. Coupe's cassis is just enough stiffer -- shorter wheelbase, slightly bigger stabilizer bars -- that you really do look for tight corners and sweeping turns.
Steering is firm in the right way. It's a result of enough road feel coming through and resistance from tires wide enough to require some effort to turn. No, it's not some kind of boy- or girl-racer machine unfit for daily use. Much the opposite. It's a daily driver, yet the car's many lovely sensations haven't been scrubbed out in a wrong-headed attempt to "civilize" the vehicle.
But the coupe with four-cylinder — you're probably buying that one for its good looks and decent handling, and the same front-seat expansiveness you get in the V-6. Not bad reasons, but a coupe imposes such aggravation on you that you should consider going all out and getting the yee-hah model.
Unpopular and impractical
Coupes based on mainstream sedans are unpopular, generally, as well as impractical. Smaller and tighter inside — don't count on long friendships with people squeezed into the back seat — than the sedans on which they are based. Accord coupe's wheelbase is only about 2 inches shorter than the sedan's, yet the back-seat legroom shrinks 5 inches.
Coupes are, by definition, two-door cars, and that limits access, handy storage and rear-seat usefulness in general.
A hatchback would solve some of that. But a hatch isn't a real coupe. It's, well, a two-door hatchback.
Coupes' appeal seems not to last. Young hipsters age, have kids, make lots of friends and otherwise find four-door cars or SUVs more appropriate.
Toyota tried a coupe version of Camry, called Solara, that was sold from 1998 into 2009, but it averaged only a modest 8% of Camry sales over those years, the automaker says. Nissan continues selling a coupe version of Altima, but it's a modest 5% to 7% of sales, and Nissan hasn't invested in redesigning it to include the massive updates of the 2013 Altima sedan.
Honda, though, has managed to do well with the Accord coupe, and expects the new one to be about 14% of all Accord sales, or roughly 50,000 a year. It shares drivetrains, major mechanical components and an assembly line in Marysville, Ohio, with the Accord sedan. That keeps incremental costs low so profits are made on relatively low volumes.
Honda coupe buyers, more so than sedan fans, favor higher-power, higher-price, higher-profit models, making it worthwhile to keep the coupe in the lineup.
Honda says, 35% of coupe buyers choose the V-6 ($31,140 and up because the V-6 is available only on the top two trim levels). Among Accord sedan buyers, 20% choose V-6s.
Even allowing for a coupe's impositions, there are quibbles:
The trunk doesn't pop open when you hit the remote. Barely rises; no handy handhold for the hands-full user. Compare that with how, say, GM does it: Hit the button and that trunk lid snaps fully open. Very convenient.
Controls on the navigation-equipped test car were neither intuitive nor easy to operate. As seminal rocker Chuck Berry sang years ago: "Too much monkey business."
If the back seat's not very important, though, Accord coupe with a V-6 and stick shift could become a very intimate friend.
2013 Honda Accord coupe details
What? Front-drive, five-passenger, compact sports coupe, available with four-cylinder or V-6 engine, manual or automatic transmission.
When? On sale since Oct. 8.
Where? Made at Marysville, Ohio.
How much? More standard features than sedan, costs a bit more. Base coupe, LX-S, starts at $24,140 including shipping. Top model, EX-L V-6 with navigation, is $33,140 with manual or automatic. Test car: EX-L V-6 manual.
What makes it go? Standard: 2.4-liter four-cylinder rated 185 horsepower at 6,400 rpm, 181 pounds-feet of torque at 3,900, available with six-speed manual or automatic CVT (continuously variable transmission). Optional on high-end EX-L model: 3.5-liter V-6 rated 278 hp at 6,200, 252 lbs.-ft. at 4,900; available with six-speed manual or automatic.
How big? Interior and trunk space each about 7% less than sedan's. Coupe is 189.2 inches long, 72.8 in. wide, 56.5 in. tall on a 107.3-in. wheelbase. Weighs 3,186 to 3,536 lbs. Passenger space, 93.1 cubic ft. Trunk, 13.4 cu. ft. Turning circle diameter curb-to-curb: 37.6 ft (four-cylinder), 39 ft. (V-6).
How thirsty? Four-cylinder rated 24 mpg in the city, 34 on the highway, 28 in city/highway mix with manual, 26/35/29 with CVT. V-6 rated 18/28/22 with manual, 21/32/25 with automatic.
Trip computer in test car (V-6, manual) registered 16 mpg (6.25 gallons per 100 miles) in exuberant suburban driving.
Burns regular, holds 17.2 gallons.
Overall: Classy, comfy, composed; marvelous, satisfying fun.