The new Honda Accord

The latest in the line of Honda Accords comes with a few minor tweaks and improvements over the previous model. For a car developed for the corporate market, it comes as a bit of a surprise to see the grille has been updated for a sportier look and there is an option of 17” alloy wheels on the ES and ES-GT models. Some of the other changes make a lot more sense though and should improve on what is already a decent vehicle. The ride handling and maneuverability have been improved to add to the driving comfort. The headlights have a cleaner appearance with the top grade option including bi-xenon with Active Cornering Lights which provide improved visibility during night-time driving. The Honda Accord also comes with 3 new colours to choose from: Alabaster Silver, Graphite Lustre metallic and Celestial Blue Pearl. Most impressive of the changes comes with an improvement in fuel economy and a reduction in CO2 emissions. The 2.2 litre i-DTEC diesel engine produces 9 g/km less CO2 than its predecessor which allows it to clock in under the 140g/km mark for the 6-speed manual. The automatic variant improves even further with a 11g/km reduction in CO2, all the while retaining the same power output at 150 PS with torque at 350Nm/2000rpm. The new Honda Accord will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March and will hopefully be released in South Africa later in the year.