Downsize Accordingly
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- 2.0-litre version of Honda’s big sedan should help sales no end
By Nick Syn
WADING INTO THE cutthroat big sedan segment without packing a 2.0-litre engine option is like trying to survive a gunfight naked, armed only with a small, blunt fruit knife.
When the Thailand-built Accord was launched here in the first half of 2003, it was only available in 2.4 and 3.0-litre guises. If you wanted to scare away typical Singaporean buyers, you’d only have to flash these capacities in their faces.
Local buyers tend to prefer small engines shrouded in big body shells, and for good reason. Outright cost is the main one certainly, but the weight you save as a result of choosing a lighter engine also means better fuel economy and oftentimes, much nimbler handling.
Dealers try to get round the bigger engine problem by lavishing larger engined variants with higher equipment levels. Therefore to the buyer, more cc’s equate to more luxury. The 2.4-litre Accord consequently comes with considerably more kit than the 2.0-litre model, but strictly speaking you
don’t really miss out on too much.
The fact that there actually is a 2.0-litre variant is reason enough to celebrate, thanks to a series of arcane changes in the Thai taxation and subsidies structure governing the manufacture of the Accord, the 2.0-litre variant is a wistful gleam in a Kah Motor salesman’s eye no longer. Not that you wouldn’t be hard pressed to tell, the 2.4 and the 2.0-litre cars are virtually identical from the outside.
The Accord is a large car by most standards, the smooth and rounded exterior is in diametric opposition to the more angular and aggressive Japanese domestic market version, and has more of a grown up look.
The 2.0-litre sports smaller alloy wheels than the 2.4-litre, the most prominent external difference. You also get conventional reflector headlamps as opposed to the more expensive car’s Xenon gas discharge items. The inside is where the most differences can be found. For starters, you get velour seats and significantly less by way of wood trim. You don’t get an electrically operated front passenger seat, the driver’s chair comes sans lumbar support, the steering wheel is covered in urethane instead of leather and there are no side airbags.
What you do get is an excellent 2.0-litre iVTEC engine. This lends credence to the less-is-more ethos. The unit in the Accord has pulled duty in a myriad of applications, and in varied states of tune, including Honda’s sporting Type-R models. It develops 150bhp and 186Nm of torque, the former figure is just 10bhp down on the 2.4-litre model. However, the 2.0-litre does give away a bit more to the 2.4 in terms of torque, though, but its eagerness to rev and silky smoothness help compensate for this deficiency. The five-speed automatic is similarly smooth and responsive, nicely slurring gearshifts, and changing down the instant you ask it to.
Handling has always been the Accord’s forte, a trait that distinguishes it from its closest rivals, and the 2.0-litre model is no different. The Accord has a terrific appetite for corners and, if anything, the 40kg weight saving makes it feel even nimbler. If you’re in the mood to just cruise, you’ll find the ride compliant without straying into soft and wallowy territory. Noise insulation is excellent too.
If you’re in the market for a big 2.0-litre sedan, then you’re now even more spoiled for choice. And if it’s a keen drive that you want thrown into the mix, look no further than to the Accord 2.0-litre.
NEED TO KNOW
HONDA ACCORD 2.0
ENGINE TYPE 1,998cc, 16V in-line 4
MAX POWER 150bhp at 6,000rpm
MAX TORQUE 286Nm at 4,500rpm
GEARBOX 5-speed automatic
TOP SPEED 180km/h
0-100 KM/H 11 seconds
PRICE $89,800 with COE
WARRANTY 3 years / 100,000km
CONTACT Kah Motor
TELEPHONE 6840-6888
