2021 Honda Accord review: As good as it’s ever been

The Honda Accord gets a few minimal enhancements this calendar year, none of which must hamper the perennial success of this simple-to-like spouse and children sedan. That’s much more significant now than at any time, too, as the 2021 Accord faces against significantly rigid level of competition. In addition to the Honda’s longstanding archrival, the Toyota Camry, providers like Hyundai, Kia and Nissan are presenting improved midsize possibilities than at any time just before. Thankfully, the 10th-era Accord was a winner from the get-go.

In reality, this Accord was so great out of the gates that its mid-cycle refresh is constrained to just a few styling tweaks, slight cabin tech updates and some design positioning/packaging variations. Truthfully, the most important information for the 2021 Accord is an improved hybrid drivetrain, which my buddy Andrew Krok talks about in detail in a different overview.

Visually, the slimmer LED headlights and broader grille of my Sport tester do not genuinely transfer the needle just one way or the other, whilst I have to say the Accord’s new Sonic Gray paint choice — which at first debuted on the Civic — looks entirely warm. LX and EX-L types roll on milquetoast seventeen-inch wheels, when Sport, Sport SE and Touring trims get snazzier 19s, wrapped in 235/40-sequence tires.

Honda’s one.five-liter turbo I4 is continue to the foundation engine choice, placing out 192 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque. A much more strong 2.-liter turbocharged inline-4 is out there with Sport and Touring types, bringing a balanced 252 hp and 273 lb-ft to the social gathering. Unfortunate trombone time, even though: The Accord’s six-pace guide transmission choice goes away this calendar year. The one.5T engine comes regular with a continually variable transmission and the 2.0T has a ten-pace automatic. And just before you complain, know that only a tremendous-duper-smaller proportion of Accord consumers essentially spec’d the guide gearbox. In other words, y’all only have yourselves to blame.

Yet another point you cannot get on the Accord? All-wheel generate. I know AWD could possibly audio like an oddity for a midsize sedan, but much more and much more automakers are embracing this foul-climate friendliness in an attempt to appease buyers who just do not want an SUV. No lengthier reserved for the Subaru Legacy, the Kia K5, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry all supply AWD now. Go to your Honda vendor on the lookout for all-wheel generate and they will fortunately clearly show you a CR-V.

The 2.-liter I4 is a whole peach of an engine — as it must be, considering the fact that it’s correctly the very same unit utilized in the delightful Civic Variety R. You can trip a sleek wave of torque from just one,500 rpm, and the ten-pace transmission is content to dangle out in the lower close of the engine’s rev array, generating the most of that turbocharged woosh. On the other hand, this signifies the ten-pace gearbox is frequently hesitant to kick down and go-go-go-go-go when brief highway passes are demanded, even though if you operate the Accord in its Sport mode, the transmission is not only snapper to shift, but retains onto gears lengthier, too.

With the 2.-liter engine, the Accord must return an EPA-believed 22 miles for each gallon in the city, 32 mpg on the highway and 26 mpg merged. That’s… great. But equally strong turbocharged competition like the Nissan Altima and Subaru Legacy are a little bit much more frugal. Of course, if gasoline effectiveness is a top rated problem, you happen to be almost certainly improved off just sticking with the one.5T, or for that issue, an Accord Hybrid.

The Sport 2.0T has largely the very same suspension setup as other Accord types, help you save for the Touring, which presents adaptive dampers. But even without having ’em, the Accord Sport strikes an outstanding harmony of ease and comfort and composure this car will eat up highway miles with cool, collected self-assurance and it will not likely get all pissy if you toss it into a corner with gusto. The steering is nicely weighted and brief to reply and, normally talking, the Accord feels much more agile than just about everything else in the course, except possibly the Mazda6. Maybe.

More than its outright sportiness, even though, the Accord has an aura of refinement that’s missing from other midsize sedans. You can find a emotion of high quality solidity that helps make this Honda effortless to generate. Combine that with a peaceful cabin and comfy seats, and lengthy stints powering the wheel of the Accord are everything but fatiguing.

This Honda is an simple car to stay with day to day, too. The inside could possibly lack the flashy style and design of some newer sedans like the Hyundai Sonata, but all of the Accord’s controls are particularly where you hope them to be and each individual area you contact looks and feels genuinely nice. Head- and legroom is generous for equally front and rear passengers and there are a great deal of minimal storage cubbies during the cabin, together with just one beneath the weather controls that residences a wi-fi charging pad on higher trims.

Every single 2021 Accord now comes with an 8-inch touchscreen operating Honda’s Show Audio multimedia system. Apple CarPlay and Android Car are regular and can be operated wirelessly on any Accord that has the aforementioned charging pad. These are smaller tech updates, but thoughtful kinds. That explained, the Show Audio software genuinely lags powering what a great deal of other automakers supply in phrases of style and design and operation and the Accord cannot compete with the even larger screens and better-res displays located in rivals like the Sonata and K5. Across its whole portfolio, Honda could genuinely stand to give its infotainment tech a improve.

At minimum driver-help tech is in substantial source. Every single Accord gets adaptive cruise manage, lane-keeping guide, site visitors-sign recognition, forward-collision warning and automatic substantial-beam headlights. Regrettably, blind-place checking with cross-site visitors notify isn’t really out there on the lower trim degrees and you can only get a head-up exhibit on the top rated-close Touring. It really is all wonderful tech to have, but person, the lane-keeping guide and forward-collision warning certain are sensitive. I discover myself turning them off much more frequently than not.

Starting up at $25,765 together with a $995 place charge, the 2021 Honda Accord stays competitively priced within the midsize sedan course. You cannot get into a 2.-liter design for everything fewer than $33,one hundred and five and a top rated-of-the-line Touring will operate you just underneath $38,000. That’s a few thousand pounds much more than you’ll pay for an equivalent Hyundai Sonata Limited, even though the latter would not have as substantially power and isn’t really pretty as nice to generate. The Hyundai presents much more hanging style and design, a lengthier guarantee and way improved cabin tech, even though — a few items that are arguably much more significant for the typical spouse and children sedan buyer.

Continue to, when some competition could possibly surpass the Accord in precise facets, none really feel as wholly effectively-rounded. Properly-developed, great to generate, refined and handsome, Honda’s midsize sedan carries on to be a wonderful invest in.