The last time I drove a new Accord – with a 2345cc, i-VTEC inline-four – I don’t remember feeling the need for more power. Not really. For most of our road and traffic conditions, 142 horsepower is handy enough, right? For me, yes. For you, probably. For Honda, well, perhaps not. Which is why we now have an Accord with a brand-new 6-cylinder engine. It’s not the first time a manufacturer is offering a V6 in India in a D-segment car.
Hyundai did it first, with the Sonata V6. Launched last year, the 2654cc, 166 bhp Sonata V6 was as powerful as a Mercedes Benz E240, luxuriously appointed, comfortable, safe and very fast. However, it was deemed expensive, thirsty, a bit too flashy and lacking in good taste. As a result, the Korean car hasn’t done too well for itself. But the Sonata V6’s failure (more or less) hasn’t stopped Honda from introducing a V6-engined Accord. Word on the street is, Toyota are due to launch a V6 Camry sometime soon and this, ostensibly, is Honda’s pre-emptive strike against the other Japanese giant. While warring factions get set to slug it out in showrooms across the country, we, car scribes, are rubbing our hands in glee in anticipation of forthcoming power wars.
Bag of tricks
So what do we have here then? Satisfying high-cholesterol, full-fat, full-flavour, Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control, that’s what.Remember VTEC, that most evocative of all automotive acronyms? It’s back. With the current City, Honda sold their soul to i-DSI. Now, while intelligent Dual and Sequential Ignition does wonders for enhancing fuel economy, it takes away the joy of driving. Now while others here at Motoring are wont to poke the occasional jibe at my undying love for the late, great, City VTEC, I think even they are happy that a VTEC powerplant is once again in our midst. And this time, it’s bigger and meaner than ever. In the size department,amongst all cars produced in India, the Accord V6 is second only to the Mercedes-Benz S350 L. And almost as powerful. What you get is a 2997cc, SOHC, VTEC V6 which makes 221 horsepower at 6300 rpm and 28.1 kgm at 5000. Go ahead, say you’re impressed. We are.As is right, Honda are offering this car in India with an automatic gearbox. A manual box is not even on the options list and for a change, I’m not complaining. Big engines and big horsepower numbers in a mid-size family sedan are very well suited to automatics and the Accord’s 5-speed unit is as effortlessly slick as you would expect it to be. Honda have also bucked the current trend of combining an automatic with some kind of manual override and that’s also okay with me.
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