2003 Honda Accord -- catching up with the European sedans

By Price Cobb
East Coast Editor

ALTON, VIRGINIA -- “The Bourne Identity,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” and now "The Honda Accord." Although each has its own story line with completely different outcomes, they are similarly intriguing and for this Accord I’d love to have participated in the Honda brass’ discussion. It might have gone something like this... “Folks, this mission is huge and may be impossible, but if you choose to complete this task you will have a world beater on your hands. These papers will self-destruct in 5-seconds…."

Climbing into the 2003 V-6 Accord forced me to shake my head in confusion. What car is this again? Where am I? This can’t be a Honda! Shades of OO7... after a long night shaken, not stirred.

This car is fabulous. Much closer to a standard European sedan than before. It is one of those hard to quantify things, but this car has a bit more soul than before and the feel of a Euro ride. Not the hard-edged “sports” versions, but the nicer better rounded standards of each class. I take issue with statements made by the motoring press that this car has "lost" its European feel. Quite the opposite.

The interior is a good example. Few frills and well done. Our test car was the 2003 Accord 4DR EX-V6, which is about as complete as you’d possibly dream, with the DX a bit less encumbered.

There is great long term comfort in the heated, eight-way electrically adjustable leather clad seats (four-way for the passenger). Heated seats are one of my all-time favorites. The Accord is a little slow to get real warm but certainly gets the job done. Once seated you’ll immediately notice the self-illuminating gauges in front of you framed by a leather wrapped tilt and telescoping steering wheel.

Accord features a well laid out center dash with a better than average to use Navigation system that is voice trainable. Honda’s version of GPS to guide your way still is a bit confusing. Not that this thing can’t be figured out but why are these things always anything but easy? The manufacturers should get someone like me (I’m the slow one in the corner) to add to the user-friendly quotient.

Beneath this display is one large and two small knobs that are wonderful to use but are most often initially confused as to what they do. More often than not, the larger of the knobs is turned for heating/cooling issues when instead it controls the volume. Oh well.

This multi-function display shows you everything related to the navigation or other vehicle systems. Your choice. Sometimes the best choice for my eyes was simply off!

Up front is the sonorous twin-cam (SOHC or Single Over-Head Cam which means there is a cam per bank, so twin cams!) VTEC 240-horsepower 3-liter V6. I’ve driven many of the famous smaller Honda VTEC engines (like that found in the S2000 or the RSX Type R) but none are comparable to the shear breadth of power available here.

From a standing start the V6 pulls hard up to redline without a single hiccup along the way. So I expected it to be strong and it is. But what really stands out with this car is its strength in the mid range. Rolling on the throttle at cruising speed, This is what I mean. Lots of torque from only 183 cubic inches. The VTEC system is very well suited and mapped to the engine. With power like this who needs a turbo?

Opting for the EX V6 with leather trim gets you 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, front seat and side curtain air bags, traction control, 6-disc CD changer, power glass sunroof, the aforementioned heated power seats, and dual-zone heating and air conditioning. The V6 is mated to a five speed automatic transmission that is close to miraculous (I said close!) with the coupe being available with a 6-speed manual gearbox later in the year.

I mentioned that the automatic shifting is “close” to miraculous, and it is. No matter what I did, the tranny seemed to know the gear I wanted (and needed) to be in. And unlike many modern multi-ratio automatics, this one has little trouble finding the correct lower gear to shift into on hard throttle. Too often, the transmission seems confused. Equally maddening, it's in no hurry to accomplish the down shift. But the Accord gets it right. My single gripe is that the downshifts could be a bit smoother during normal decceleration.

As I mentioned earlier, this Accord is not sport tuned (preferred by me) and as such is very supple yet the chassis is well behaved at all times. I like the tuning of the suspension. Suspension tuning is the black magic of mixing and matching the springs, shocks, and sway bars. No obvious weakness here. The Accord is always controlled and very comforting. I did not have the chance to drive this car at speed at the beautiful VIR circuit as I do most, but I did push it hard through some of the local curves I am familiar with around here and I was impressed. The best thing I can say is that even in the wet the Accord turned-in to the corners with a linearity not often found, breaking into a slight push (much preferred) towards the exit. All very comfortable and inspiring... the Accord is magically fast and composed!

Considerable larger inside than the last model, you still lose some 2.1 inches of headroom in front, and 1.7 inches in back because of the sunroof. So keep your hat stowed and you’ll be fine. Sadly sunroofs just plain take room no matter who is building the car. You’ll also lose some 5 cubic feet of interior room as you option up the car (bits and pieces grow for comfort). I don’t think they will be missed by most of us.

So the new Accord is an outstanding car. The first Japanese car (the majority of these being built in Ohio) that I can truly say starts to encroach on the mighty European sedans. I can only hope that more Japanese manufacturers follow suit as Honda has a blockbuster hit on its hands. It is a darn good time to be alive and in love with automobiles!

COMPARISION VEHICLES: Nissan Altima, Mazda 6, Mitsubishi Galant

HIGHS: Fine engine and suspension package. Automatic transmission.

LOWS: Interior ergonomics and systems controls. Space sucking options.

VEHICLE PRICING: $25800 as tested. Prices vary, see dealer for details.

FUEL ECONOMY: 21 mpg city, 30 mpg. highway.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit Honda online at www.hondacars.com

LIFE'S A TRIP -- Enjoy the drive. Be a safe and courteous driver, obey all highway laws, never drive impaired, buckle everyone up. Copyright (c) 2003, The Weekend Drive. All Rights Reserved.