Cox News Service
January 26, 2007
If you shop for a car with your head, with cold, calculating reason, the 2007 Honda Accord should be on your short list. The vehicle may not set your heart aflutter, but it will never break it, either. You've got to love that in a car.
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Photo by Honda
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Honda Accord | |
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ABOUT THE HONDA ACCORD:
Body style: Coupe, sedan
Price: MSRP $18,625-$33,090; tester sticker price is $27,050
Drive: Front-wheel
Seating: Two in front, three in back
Engine: 2.4-liter inline four cylinder; 3-liter V-6
Transmission: Five-speed automatic; five-speed manual, six-speed manual
Miles per gallon of fuel: 24 city/34 highway
WHAT'S SPECIAL: Everything about this car is efficient -- with a capital E-F-F. The interior layout is just so -- there is no wasted, awkward motion from steering wheel to cup holder to armrest. The steering wheel controls for cruise control and the sound system are easy to use for the most clumsy thumbs. There is storage aplenty throughout the cabin.
WHAT WE LIKE: The royal We were prepared to be underwhelmed by the Accord's 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. We were pleasantly surprised by the pep provided by the 166 horsepower. The five-speed automatic transmission provided seamless shifting. Again -- efficient.
WHAT ISN'T THERE: Thrills. The car's styling is clean and understated. The performance is efficient. If some cars are Angelina Jolie exciting, the Accord is the plain girl-next-door who is dependable and easy to get along with.
YOU OUGHTA KNOW: Car and Driver magazine named the 2007 Accord as one of the winners of its annual "10 Best Cars" award -- again. The Accord has made the list 21 times in the 25 years that the magazine editors have been making the awards, more than any other vehicle in the award's history. More than 9.5 million Accords have been sold in the United States since 1976.
EXTRAS: The Accord offers a wide variety of trim levels (coupe and sedan) with various combinations of engines and transmissions -- four-cylinder, V-6, hybrid, five-speed stick, six-speed stick, five-speed automatic. The Accord EX test car featured a navigation system with voice recognition, heated leather seats, heated power side mirrors, side curtain air bags, dual-zone climate control and XM satellite radio.
AND ANOTHER THING: The Accord hybrid features a V-6 and produces 253 horsepower, making it the most powerful Accord available.