There are two staples in Honda's->ke34 lineup that have seemingly been a part its production line forever. Those cars are the Honda Civic->ke236 and Accord->ke237. The Accord has seen many changes over its lifespan, some simple and others very extreme. As we approach the 2013 model year, we know the the Accord is being redesigned, but so far we only know the specifics of the Accord Coupe.

As of now, we officially know the specifics behind the Accord sedan, thus completing the 2013 Accord lineup. Honda's goal with the new Accord sedan was to make it better, but not bigger. One area that Honda needed to improve upon, in order to keep pace with the CAFE regulations, was fuel economy. It's not that the 2012 Accord got poor fuel economy – 23 mpg city and 34 mpg highway with a 4-cylinder – it just needs to constantly improve to hit the corporate lineup average of 54.5 mpg by 2025.

What exactly could Honda have done to make the 2013 Accord any better than the 2012 Accord, which is pretty nice itself?

To find out what Honda did and if it met its goal of making the Accord better, click past the jump.

honda-accord-sedan

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: honda-accord-sedan
Pros
Cons

2013 Honda Accord Sedan

Specifications
  • Engine/Motor: inline-4
  • Horsepower: 185 @ 6400
  • Torque: 181 @ 3900
  • Transmission: 6-Speed Manual
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior

Making up the body of the new Accord sedan is 55.8 percent high-tensile steel and 17.2 percent of the steel used in grade 780, 980, and 1,500 – high steel grades that the Accord has never seen before. This allows Honda to use a little less steel when making the body panels, thereby lowering its weight and maximizing its fuel economy, comfort, handling and performance. Additional weight was lost by shortening the Accord's body by three inches.

The Accord sedan boasts a more sleek and bold exterior with its sharper body lines on the hood and doors. Down the sides of the Accord, you will notice body contours that are similar to last year's model, only this year they are far more pronounced and a little sharper. This gives the Accord a much more defined look.

The hood is much the same way. It has similar lines to last year's model, only the lines are more stout and obvious. These lines give the Accord more of a “get outta my way” look as it approaches, while maintaining the manners we all expect from Honda's flagship.

The headlights are also modified from last year. Last year's lights swooped rearward almost lazily. This year, Honda will have none of that laziness, as the headlights slant rearward with definition, almost giving the Accord a sinister stare. Also gone is the soft, swooping and almost smile-like grille from 2012 and in comes a more serious-looking, straight-louvered grille underlined with a cheeky-smile-looking chrome strip.

Beneath the grille is a wide open mouth with a thin lower lip and chicken-wire-like grating. As you move outward from the grille and the side air intake, you'll find a set of trapezoidal fog lamps replacing the snake-eye units found in the 2012 model.

On the rear end, Honda changed up the taillights slightly to have a sharper forward-pointing tip and the entire lens extends to the trunk lid before tapering to a point. You also get a chrome applique above the license plate. On 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder models, you get a stylish set of dual exhaust pipes hanging out of the rear end.

In all, Honda basically threw the 2012 Accord in the gym and made it tone up in certain areas, giving it a stronger appearance. The biggest thing is that it still maintains the level of class that Honda Accord buyers expect.

The exterior will have nine color options, four of which are metallic colors and five are pearl colors. New colors on the Accord sedan include: Champagne Frost Pearl, Hematite Metallic, Modern Steel Metallic, and Obsidian Blue Pearl.

Interior

Now onto the interior. We actually saw this image, though very grainy, a few days ago. In that image, we made the comment that the center stack and center console simply did not match up with one another. We were really hoping that image was only a preliminary design or was so grainy that we couldn't see a transitioning piece between the stack and the console.

Unfortunately, the high-resolution image only confirms what we saw... The center-stack-to-center-console transition is simply awful. It jumps straight from sharply angled center stack pieces directly into a plane-old center console. It does so very abruptly too.

If Honda may have had the trim surrounding the center console angle outward to better align with the lower part of the center stack, the contrast wouldn't be nearly as noticeable. It just looks odd.

As for the rest of the interior, it looks good so far. The driver's side looks neatly organized with a well-place speedometer. The steering wheel has a small amount of well-positioned control buttons. You also get an 8-inch LCD intelligent Multi-Information Display (i-MID) screen standard, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink interface, Pandora Internet radio, and SMS text messaging system. You can also opt for a touch screen audio system, Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System with voice recognition, and FM traffic feed.

The 2013 Accord is also the first Honda to feature HondaLink Technology, which you can connect your smartphone to and hook the HondaLink system up to music streams, media pages, Internet applications, roadside assistance, and lots more. You can also opt for Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Adaptive Cruise Control.

Despite being shorter, Honda did a great job with increasing very important interior dimensions. First off, the trunk has a flat-load floor, so it can carry 1-cubic-foot more cargo than last year's model. Honda also increased rear leg room by over one inch, and front and rear shoulder room.

On the inside, you can choose from three colors: black, gray, and ivory. You can opt for either cloth or leather interior in all three colors.

If it weren't for that funky center section, we think the Accord's interior would be a home-run. Instead, it is now just a triple.

Safety

Safety is huge when it comes to a family sedan, and Honda did not short customers on this important part. Standard on the 2013 Accord is Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), which combines the Accord's Drive-by-Wire throttle with its standard 4-channel ABS to enhance vehicle control when cornering, braking, accelerating, or if you make a sudden maneuver. You can also opt for Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning.

Advance Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure helps keep you safer in the event of a front-end crash, via the use of high-tensile steel and impact-absorbing front body design. You also get six airbags: dual fronts, front-side airbags, and side-curtain airbag.

Honda fully expects a top-safety award in its class and 5-star ratings across the board on all crash testing.

Engines and Drivetrains

There are still two engines available on the Accord, as there has been for many years. The 2013 model's base engine is a direct-injected 2.4-liter 4-cylinder with Earth Dreams technology, which pumps out 185 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 181 pound-feet of torque at 3,900 rpm in the LX and EX-L trims and 189 horsepower and 182 pound feet of torque in the Sport trim level. That's an 8-horsepower and and 20 pound-feet increase over the 2012 LX and EX-L models. There was no Sport trim in 2012.

The largest engine in the lineup this year is a 3.5-liter V-6 engine the the same Earth Dreams technology. This Engine is only found in the EX-L V-6 and the Touting V-6. It pumps out 278 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 252 pound-feet of torque at 4,900 rpm – a 7-horsepower increase and a 2 pound-feet loss from the 2012 model year.

As for transmissions, you will get a 6-speed manual as the base transmission on the LX and Sport trims with an available CVT. The EX-L trim will come standard with a 6-speed manual tranny and there's the option of adding in the CVT. The EX trim level comes standard with the CVT transmission and has the option of a 6-speed manual.the EX-L V-6 and L Touring come only with a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Fuel Economy

Trim and Transmission

MPG City/Highway/Combined

LX w/ 6-Speed Manual

24 / 34 / 28

LX w/ CVT

27 / 36 / 30

Sport w/ 6-Speed Manual

24 / 34 / 28

Sport w/ CVT

26 / 35 / 29

EX/EX-L w/ 6-Speed Manual

24 / 34 / 28

EX/EX-L w/ CVT

27 / 36 / 30

EX-L V-6/Touring w/ 6-Speed Automatic

21 / 34 / 25


Those fuel economy numbers show a 4 mpg increase in the city and 1 mpg increase on the highway on the V-6 model. The 4-cylinder model sees a 1 mpg increase in the manual transmission in the city and the highway mileage remains the same, but the CVT gets 4 mpg more in the city and 2 mpg more on the highway over last year's automatic.

Competition

The 2013 Camry->ke246 should be just a carryover from the 2012 model year, so we can safely assume that all of the specs will carry over too. From the outside, the Accord has a definitely leg up, as the new Camry just doesn't quite fit the “Camry persona.” Plus, the sporty front end just does not match up well with the all-business rear end.

Under the hood, the Camry comes standard with a 2.5-liter 4-banger that pops off 178 horsepower and 170 pound feet of torque, a 7-horsepower loss and 11 pound-feet loss to the Accord's 2.4-liter engine. The fuel economy is almost identical between the two, with the Camry slightly edging out the Accord manual transmissions, but the Accord CVT narrowly edging out the Camry.

At the top level, the Camry's 3.5-liter V-6 pumps out 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque, which is a 10-horsepower loss and 4 pound-feet loss to the 2013 Accord sedan. The Accord narrowly beat the Camry V-6 in city gas mileage 21 mpg to 20 mpg, but it crushes it in city mpg, 34 to 30.

On the inside, however, Honda can't shake that horrific center stack, as the Camry's interior is simply much cleaner and better organized.

Conclusion

We love the Accord's new look, engine output, and fuel economy numbers. That center stack just kills it for us. The addition of a CVT to increase fuel economy is curious too, as most companies are simply enhancing their automatics to enhance mpg. As you know, we hate the CVT and think it's a waste of space, but we love the extra mpg.

If you can live with gazing at that monstrosity of a center stack, then the Accord is a perfect fit. Then again, at least its exterior matches up, unlike the Camry, who's front end does not match the rear end. We'll call this one a draw...