Another one bites the dust.
Honda’s redesigned 2018 Accord will follow an industrywide trend of using turbo-goosed small fours and a CVT to appease Uncle and his fuel economy fatwas.
Honda detailed the change in powertrains on the latest Accord on Friday. They includes the nameplate’s first-ever turbocharged engine and the elimination of the previously optional V6 engine.
The base Accord will use a 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine paired with a continuously variable transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox.
The previous Accord’s optional V6 engine will be replaced by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that’s largely the same as the engine in Honda’s new Civic Type R.
The upmarket Accord’s turbo engine will be paired to a ten-speed automatic transmission – a first in the industry for a front-wheel-drive car – or a six-speed manual.
Honda didn’t disclose horsepower or estimated fuel economy ratings for any of the new Accord models. The 1.5-liter four-cylinder is used throughout the Honda Civic and CR-V lineup, where it makes as much as 206 hp. The 2.0-liter turbo is very similar to the one in the new Civic Type R where it’s tuned for 306 horsepower.
Honda said all of the gasoline models’ transmissions and engines used in the Accord will be built in the U.S.
The two-motor powertrain in Honda’s Accord hybrid will also get an update, though Honda was mum on details.
The redesigned 2018 Accord is switching to a new modular platform that already underpins the latest Civic and CR-V and its design is expected to evolve into more of a fastback sedan setup, based on recent spy photos. More details will be announced in the coming weeks ahead of the car’s fall on-sale date.
“Just as the new Honda Civic injected new energy into the compact car segment, we expect this all-new 2018 Accord will make people rethink the midsize sedan,” Jeff Conrad, general manager of Honda, said in a statement.
Like the redesigned Toyota Camry going on sale soon, Honda will launch the Accord into a midsize sedan market facing stiff headwinds.
U.S. sales of midsize sedans have plunged 18 percent through May of this year; Accord deliveries are down 7.3 percent.
Incentives and inventories are building up as consumers increasingly flock to crossovers and rising used-car inventories dampen demand for new sedans.
Stick, get the stick.
Because you won’t be able to afford to replace the fancy new auto trans out of warranty.
Same for the new Subarus – the 3rd party CVT auto trans they use hasn’t held up to the typical mileage here in the U.S.
Plus, nobody will ask to borrow your car…
Thankfully I’ve already got my Accord.
New Accord, destined to be as popular as New Coke once was.
I guess that leaves only Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai-Kia with a V6 option in a midsize car. All the others, Ford, Chevy and Mazda are gone already. Chrysler has discontinued its midsize car altogether.
Looks like the next generation 2018 Toyota Camry WILL have a V6 option.