Honda Accord Drive Test Drive with 2008 compartment
Honda Accord Coupe: A rare bird
Honda? Accord? What Coupe? - While I was going to this test, my colleagues just threw me with questions. Theories were put forward one other cooler: that I found somewhere a purebred Japanese with all-wheel drive and right wheel, that this is not an Accord at all, but a certain rare modification of Prelude, etc. Even they, an experienced automobile journalists, could hardly identify this car. So this is a rare bird - Honda Accord with a body compartment ...And everything turned out to be much easier. This is not a Japanese, and not even a version of any other model, but the most Accord, only originally intended for the American market. The catalog also says: Coupe fur die usa. True, this copy was made for Europe, or rather, for Germany, from where he was brought. This is evidenced by the European scale of devices, and a relatively clamped suspension and many more nuances. This is the first copy of Accord Coupe, which fell into the territory of the Republic of Belarus!
Needless to say, with the usual Accord, this version of Coupe has absolutely nothing in common - neither by body or filling. However, all external differences most clearly demonstrate photos: it is not immediately clear what kind of model it is. Although the fact that this is Honda, there is no doubt for a second: the common bodies of the body and the front optics are elusively reminiscent of all European honda combined. But on the side, the car is similar to luxurious Lexus compartment, although there is some similarity with the last generation, already removed from production - the angle of inclination of the rear rack and the window line remind of a related sport part. But at the back, Coupe is definitely similar to only one model - the Honda NSX Central Motor Supercar with an aluminum body. Only he has the same wide, on the entire stern, a lantern and original triangular dimensions on the sides of the body. And if it weren’t for the height of the car itself, the Coupe could also go beyond the central motor spacing behind - it looks very swift, and two chrome exhaust pipes combined with an elegant anti -winged completes the picture.
Inside, everything is much more chic than we are usually used to seeing in machines for Europe - leather, electric drives, etc. Although no worship was noticed by the American style, and the interior of this pro -American Honda was made in the same style as the European counterparts - a negatively inclined central console with a mandatory visor, a chubby four -spitting steering wheel with stylized H and a lever of automatic checkpoints familiar from other models. Even familiar plastic is slightly harsh, but quite expensive in appearance. The salon is far from small, even behind, and this has a logical explanation - Coupe has more base than the last generation Accord! Naturally, in this car, which was originally intended for the American market, there are many different little things that significantly increase the level of comfort - cup holders, armrests with boxes for storing small things, etc. But one thing just killed me - remote control has not only door locks, but also trunk. After pressing the appropriate button on the key, the trunk lid opens - so far I have only seen in the new BMW seven!
The first impression of a person who was driving is how huge it is, this Accord Coupe! Sitting in a passenger place, you don’t notice this, but you should be driving, you immediately begin to envy the drivers of small -leafers - they’ll take them out between rows, squeezing among cars at a traffic light. But on such a car there is nothing to dream of - wide, long, low - it is not at all intended for the city crowd. And although almost everything can be seen in huge mirrors, and the sightseeing seems to be nothing, it is still necessary to maneuver carefully. Sitting behind the wheel, you can’t even imagine where the front bumper begins, although assumptions about its approximate cost are completely deprived of the desire to experiment with dimensions. The steering wheel is quite empty, but not enough to interfere with active driving, although rotating it with one finger is also a kind of pleasure. Moreover, when maneuvering in close space, it will have to rotate quite actively - the car is still large, and the radius of the turn is appropriate. However, that we all ride around the city, it's time to free rein - the track is waiting!
It was here that Honda Accord Coupe has demonstrated herself in all its glory. The speed track showed who is who. Speed \u200b\u200bis at least 90, at least 190 km/h, and the car rides as if it is a warm -up for her - a reserve under the gas pedal is frightening, there is silence in the cabin, and only passing vehicles flying back do not allow to relax. To say that a one and a half-ton car with a six-cylinder 200-horsepower engine rides quickly, means not to say anything. Only eight seconds you need this silver car in order to dial a hundred from a place - and this is with an automaton! If there was a mechanic, which was not provided for this model at all, then with this Coupe engine this would probably be able to just fly - with such indicators 6.5 - 6.8 seconds to hundreds would be a completely acceptable result for her. But we really liked the machine. It is felt that he was very seriously adapted for the needs of dashing European drivers: there is neither inhibition or jerks during switching. It works almost as clearly as machines installed on BMW - you will not have reasons to regret the absence of mechanics.
It is enough to say that despite the presence of only four steps, and not five, like the latest models, he very dashingly switches down - sometimes even to two steps at once! And all this happens without jerks, almost instantly, it seems, the gas pedal has not yet touched the polish, and the machine gun has already pushed the desired gear and is ready to work. It is worth only to press the gas, and the car is instantly transformed. The calm phlegmaticity, characteristic of all the big compartment, is replaced by sharpness and swiftness. Moreover, Kick Dawn as such is absent - there is no familiar step under the gas pedal, after which the car is tearing. She just rides, and quite quickly, and little depends on the engine speed - the motor is equally well lucky in the entire speed range. And in this it is helped by the proprietary VTEC system. Changed phases of gas distribution make it possible to optimize the process of combustion of fuel, allowing to obtain an almost peak value of torque from idle to maximum revolutions.
However, a 3-liter motor itself can much, and even VTEC just allows you to more correctly distribute power and make overclocking more convenient. And in the case of the Accord Coupe, there are no problems at all: your business only demonstrates the intention, and the car will do everything itself. Management is also on top. All Honda has long been famous for well -tuned chassis, and Coupe is no exception. You can go into a turn at such a speed that it becomes even scary yourself - the limit of the car is much higher than the driver's capabilities. True, in comparison with true Americans, the Accord Coupe may seem somewhat harsh: road joints are properly transmitted to the body, although large bumps of the car circles much more smoothly. But then, as compensation, he does not swing and does not scour even on a very bad road. Yes, and the discount needs to be made on low -profile rubber. A relatively small tire profile, I know from my own experience, makes the car very rigid and susceptible to the little things, even if the suspension itself is very soft. But in general, the impression is very good. Given that the machine was originally designed for the overseas market, its running qualities are simply at a height.
Yes, really - a Japanese machine made for America, and then also adapted for Europe - this is a thing in itself. It is very peculiar in everything: in design, in running qualities, in dynamics, in handling. This is a symbiosis of a representative sedan and a very speedy compartment. And although there are many more speedy and more comfortable models, but those that would combine all these qualities, in fact, are very few. As for the Honda Accord Coupe directly, it can be safely recommended to those who have already eaten German models, and American ones, with all their beauty and power, cannot stand it because of specific quality. The Japanese genealogy and orientation to the overseas market allowed to make the almost impossible, namely, to give the consumer a car with a chic design in the American style, with characteristics at the level of the best German models and excellent assembly quality.
