2009 Honda Accord Features
Some fights are all about explosions, shock and awe; others are more about attrition, evolution and outsmarting the enemy. Toyota's Camry held its crown for many years as America's top-selling family car, but Honda spent just as long breathing down Toyota's neck with equal parts quality, performance and styling. With the Toyota and Honda both getting clean-sheet redesigns in 2006 and 2007 respectively, the Accord vs. Camry battle was on fire once again, and closer than ever before.
Other People Are Reading
-
Chassis Basics
-
The original Accord -- essentially an extended-wheelbase Civic -- debuted in 1976, and from Day One it was after Toyota's slice of the pie. At the time, Toyota's entry in this market was the Corona, an established marque that quickly lost ground to the Accord. It's no coincidence that the Camry name showed up in 1982 -- the same year as the second-generation Accord. In 2007, the Accord hit its eighth generation. The new Accord had grown four inches in length over the previous generation, which moved it into full-size car territory by EPA standards. Unlike the previous-generation Accord, with its happy face and doe eyes, this eighth-generation American-spec Accord was a serious and sharp-edged beast more in line with the seventh-generation, Japanese-spec Accord. Journalists at the time rightfully compared its styling to that of contemporary BMWs.
Packages
-
The Accord came in a number of trim levels, and Honda's naming scheme doesn't help buyers much in figuring out which is which. The Lowest trim levels were LX models, starting with the base LX, then the premium LX-P and the sporty LX-S. From there up were the EX models, starting with the standard EX and the more luxurious EX-L. Up to this point, all trim levels came with the 2.4-liter K24Z2 or Z3 engine. The two highest trim levels -- 3.5 EX and 3.5 EX-L -- came with Honda's 3.5-liter J35Z2 V-6 engine. LX, LX-P and 3.5 EX models came in four-door only. The LX-S was two-door only, and the 2.4 EX and EX-L models came in both coupe and sedan form.
-
Drivetrains
-
The most basic LX and LX-P packages -- along with the more luxurious EX-L -- came with the K24Z2 engine; this powerplant utilized twin-cam VTEC to produce 177 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 161 pound-feet of torque at 4,300 rpm. It mated to a five-speed manual in standard for; an extra $800 got buyers a five-speed automatic. Upgrading to the LX-S or 2.4 EX got buyers an upgraded engine, among other things: this K24Z3 produced 190 horses at 7,000 rpm and 162 foot-pounds of torque at a slightly higher 4,400 rpm. Specifying the V-6 got buyers 271 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and either 251 or 254 buttery smooth foot-pounds of torque at 5,000 rpm. The V-6 mated to either a five-speed automatic or a six-speed manual transmission.
Dimensions
-
Coupe versions of the Accord measured 190.9 inches long, 72.8 inches wide and 56.4 inches tall; adding two more doors increased length to 194.1 inches and height to 58.1 inches, but made the car 0.1-inch narrower at the hips. Coupes used 107.9-inch wheelbases, and sedans stretched to 110.2 inches. In spite of their narrower sheetmetal, sedans had wider front and rear track widths: the sedan's wheels measured 62.6 inches across the beam to the coupe's 62.2 inches. The lightest two-door, four-cylinder Accords weighed in at about 3,221 pounds; believe it or not, the four-door was only about 9 pounds heavier than its much smaller two-door counterpart. It was the V-6 engine that tacked pounds onto this chassis: the four-door, V-6 model tipped the scales at about 3,520 pounds -- a whopping 290 pounds more than the four-cylinder car, and all of that sitting over the front axle.
Performance and Summary
-
Even in spite of its heft, the V-6 Accord was respectably quick for a family sedan: it hit 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, and shot through the quarter-mile in 14.8 seconds at 95 mph. Granted, the Accord was technically about 0.4 second slower to 60 and 0.2 second slower through the quarter-mile than a V-6 Camry; however, 0.2 second is close enough to be a driver's race on any track, especially with the manual transmission. The most efficient Accord -- the four-cylinder, five-speed manual model -- ranked an impressive 22 city and 31 highway mpg; that's 1 city mpg better than the Camry. Opting for an auto transmission cost four-cylinder buyers a considerable 3 city and 2 highway mpg. Sportiness cost Accord buyers at the pump: 3.5-liter, manual-transmission cars got 17 city and 25 highway mpg, which was still 1 highway mpg better than the V-6 Camry. As of 2013, you can pick up a good Accord for between $14,000 and $18,000; a couple of hundred less than a similar Camry. Even on the used car market, these cars still compete fiercely for buyers -- just as they've been doing for 30 years and counting.
-
