2006 Honda Accord Review

Specifications

A Coupe Too Cool?

The two-door, midsize coupe is a segment thats almost exclusive to North America, for reasons not quite known to me. These cars are roughly the same as their sedan counterparts, often with the same widths and wheelbases, but they often express a different message, one of youth and performance rather than married with 2.5 children and family pet. In other words, behind the dark-tinted shades and curvy figure theyre family cars that try to be cool. Its an interesting, if not select market thats directed to a very specific audience, and its one thats been waning in recent years, so much so that theyre almost as much of a rarity as the family station wagon (which has now morphed into the beloved crossover - Ed.). But, for the few brands that still produce a two-door hardtop, there is one that stands above them all - the very good, and very cool Honda Accord Coupe.

Like the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the Toyota Camry Solara, the Accord Coupe is really more of a two-door sedan than a coupe in the traditional sense. Being blessed with bones that are bigger than your average sporty coupe (incidentally, it has a wheelbase thats 2.8 inches shorter than the four-door) means that it incorporates two very useable rear seats that have decent rear legroom, and, provided that youre under six-feet tall, adequate headroom. And like the sedan, it includes folding rear seats and a big 13.1 cubic-foot trunk, which means that any sacrifices brought about by its more rakish styling are a lot less imposing than you may have originally thought. As such, the Accord Coupe is just as competent at transporting the familys luggage as the sedan, not to mention the 2.5 kids… after all, it has three rear seatbelts, plus side curtain airbags, side airbags, and front airbags too.

Like its vastly more ordinary sister, the Accord Sedan, the Coupe was revised this year with a series of cosmetic changes, although the ones employed here are milder than on the four-door. Most noticeable are the new tail lamps, which are LED units, but unlike the sedan theyre more or less the same shape as before. New wheels were also the order of the day, but, if youre a Honda fan, youll have seen these before on the old Acura CL Type-S. Minor tweaks were also made to the headlamps and grille, though youd be hard pressed to notice. The new red V6 badge, revised red gauges, and red illuminated switches give some indication that theres a fire lurking beneath its very cool-looking exterior.

The 3.0-liter V6 engine that the top-line Accord Coupe uses isnt the most modern engine in the Honda lineup; it uses a single overhead design and VTEC (not the latest iVTEC), but its 244-horse-powerful and unbelievably smooth. This engine is fantastically velvety, from idle to engine redline cutoff, and everywhere in between; it just doesnt feel like its powered by something as crude as thousands of small explosions. Mind you, it doesnt seem particularly keen to rev, which is an unusual inclination for a Honda engine. If you put your foot to he floor, theres no chorus, no song, no byproduct tune; it just goes, coolly and silently. Instead, I think the V6 feels better just poodling along close to idle, which is a bit of a shame, considering that this is one of the very few high-power front wheel drive cars that has zero torque steer. This isnt to say that the Accord Coupe isnt quick - thats about as far from the truth as you can get - it can hit 60 mph in as little as six and a half seconds.

The only thing that might rate more highly than the engines refinement in my books is the six-speed manual gearbox, which verges on perfection. Hondas manual transmissions are always a delight, and the Accords is business as usual with well-defined gates and a slick action. Some may find the clutch too light, with an odd engagement feel, but it works well with this car. Effortlessness is cool, especially when youre stuck in traffic, or like me, shifting up as early as possible. Surprisingly, unlike some other brands, Honda has not taken up the practice of charging a premium for the six-speed manual over the equivalent car with an automatic, a real bonus for those who enjoy a little more sport with this coupes stellar refinement.

In fact, its not just the engine and gearbox that are smooth - the car as a whole is just so smooth.  The ride is more taut than the sedan to convey that heart-pounding sporting feel, but its not at the cost of the ride quality. The Accord glides over roads with a similar firm effect as a BMW or Mercedes-Benz on low profile tires, and what little tradeoff is made by the stiffer springs and dampers is worth it - the Accord Coupe feels much more tied-down and level with less lateral body movement than the sedan. Also on the plus side, the steering is decent; tuned specifically for the coupe with a quicker steering rack, it has the right balance between crispness and weight that makes the car feel quite nimble. Unfortunately, theres not much by the way of road feel; but, thats not part of the Accords nature, is it?

Over the years, Honda has really worked to convert the Accord into a luxury vehicle, something that comes out loud and clear with this top of the line Coupe. On the move towards comfort and convenience, the engine conducts its business at whisper levels, and wind noise is, for the most part, effectively muted. Im not going out on a limb by saying this, but I really think that this Honda provides the kind of refinement youd expect in a premium brand, like Lexus, and could easily wear the Acura badge with pride, although, if that were the case, it wouldnt command such a modest asking price of just $27,400. Come to think of it, the only thing that really marred it from achieving true premium status were the grumbly Michelin Pilot Tires, something that could be fixed easily by quieter all season rubber.

Equally as important, the Accord Coupe feels like a well-made, high-quality item. All the plastics used are matte-finish and most are soft touch, and the leather used on the sporty, well-bolstered but extra-firm seats is definitely luxurious. I personally find the front seats quite nice, but staff writer Jonathan Yarkony found the front seats unbearable, with excessive amounts of lumbar support in all the wrong places. In fact, on several occasions, he deliberately chose the rear seats, even when offered the front. But back to the quality; theres more of that nice leather on the stitched door panel inserts, on the steering wheel, hand brake lever and across the tiny aluminum shift knob. Im not one hundred percent convinced on the not-so-nice carbon fiber trim; it just doesnt gel with the rest of the cabin the way aluminum might.

Yet, despite all of this, there is something amiss with the Accord Coupe. In trying to make this car as cool as ice, Honda has given it a personality thats just as cold; it has all the right components, and is a better performing car in all aspects than the four-cylinder sedan I had several months back, but it doesnt really ignite any feelings within as sports cars are supposed to. It doesnt make my heart beat faster, or want to make me rip down a twisty road, something that sporty coupes are supposed to do. Surprisingly, the less powerful sedan did exactly that. Technically, the V6-powered coupe is brilliant. In practice, it leaves me cold. As Gestalt mightve said, the sum just isnt greater than its individual parts.