Power trip
A well-sorted and comfortable large sedan with plenty of power and handling ability
Effortless power delivery, smooth ride, clever and useful variable cylinder management system 
Somewhat conservative styling Besides the huge amount of horses under the bonnet, the 3.5-litre Accord packs a whole bag of cool tech too
By Lionel Kong
THIS IS THE most powerful Honda Accord that has ever been put into mainstream production. But the real question on many people’s lips is: why even bother with the car here? Singaporean buyers shopping in this category of car are know to prize size and comfort over dynamic ability, and as long as the car carries a respectable badge and is not powered by a lawnmower engine then it’ll do fine.
Even our local Honda distributor Kah Motor doesn’t expect to move many of the 3.5-litre Accords, but prices aside, the car is a great example of what can be achieved when a Japanese automaker goes all out to build a large sedan that is as dynamic as it is comfortable. Honda has always taken pride in building cars that are above pedestrian, simple forms of transport, and with a 275bhp engine in the Accord the chassis takes on a whole new dimension.
The power output from the V6 engine doesn’t sound like much by large car standards these days, but remember, the Honda NSX had ‘only’ 280bhp when it first hit the streets back in 1990. Yes the Honda Accord’s body is much heavier than the NSX’s ever was, but this new engine has a whole bunch of clever electronics strapped to it that make it a very economical unit for one displacing 3.5-litres.
Honda calls it the Variable Cylinder Management system, and the engine is programmed to automatically shut down up to three of its six cylinders when cruising along at low to mdium speeds. Other manufacturers have introduced similar systems before, but the Honda version puts in an intermediate stage, where four cylinders remain active while the car is cruising at high speed.
This means that in its most economical mode, the V6 theoretically uses only as much fuel as a 1.8-litre engine when cruising with three cylinders firing.
The switching process between the modes is dependent on the current engine load and entirely automatic, with only a small ‘ECO’ light illuminating on the dashboard to let the driver know that less than six cylinders are currently active. Still, listen very carefully and you can hear the slight change in engine note when the cylinders go on and offline.
Stomp on the accelerator at any speed and all 275 horses come roaring to life, and even at highway speeds the car will continue to gain momentum very quickly. It’s a smooth operator, with the five speed automatic gearbox shifting seamlessly to make the best of all that power. The suspension system effortlessly keeps up with every bump and corner that comes your way too.
Paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel lets the driver take full control of shifting duties, and when used in sequential shift mode the gearbox will hold a gear even when the engine is bouncing off the rev-limiter. It doesn’t try to shift for you, something that all keen drivers will appreciate.
The interior almost identical to the 2.4-litre Accord, and that is no bad thing because it’s plush, spacious, and has a really high quality feel to it without looking like it’s trying too hard.
The car attracts a high road tax premium thanks to its engine size, but after you drive one you’ll probably come to the conclusion that it’s well worth it.
NEED TO KNOW
ENGINE TYPE 3,471cc, 24V V6
MAX POWER 275bhp at 6,200rpm
MAX TORQUE 339Nm at 5,000rpm
GEARBOX 5-speed automatic
TOP SPEED 240km/h
0-100KM/H 8.0 seconds
PRICE $125,800 with COE
WARRANTY 3 years / 100,000km
CONTACT Kah Motor
TELEPHONE 6840-6888
