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2020 Honda Accord – Still a Place for Compact Sedans

A Balanced Comfort Sedan

Despite its never-ending popularity of cross-over SUV’s, there’s still a place for compact sedans and the Honda Accord makes a perfect example. It sits lower to the ground for better handling while offering plush comfort all while seating 5 comfortably with plenty of legroom in the back.

Its 10th generation was debuted in 2018 with the main focus of maintaining power while improving fuel economy with its continued use of its i-VTEC technology in its 1.5L or 2.0L 4-cylinder engine that outputs 192 and 252 horsepower respectively. At that time, the Honda Accord was one of the first to offer a 10-speed automatic transmission in front-wheel-drive format thanks to its previous deployment experience in its Acura lineup.

Elegant and Mature Styling

Exterior features its in-house Jewel-Eye LED headlamps whose design is also borrowed from its luxury Acura lineup and the front fascia is well, but not over-decorated with a simple mesh grille, LED fog lights and chrome trimming. The 10th generation design has made the Honda Accord more athletic appeal while maintaining a matured look by introducing a fastback tail design similar to the contours of Audi A5.

It’s got a wide stance and the enlarged 19″ be-spoke alloy rims on Touring models complements its design treatment well and the dual trapezoidal chrome-tip exhaust pipes complete the overall contemporary and luxury-inspired design.

Interior and Tech Features

Perforated leather seats in the EX-L trim and above provide plush comfort with adequate lateral support. Front seats get 12-way power-adjustability that are heated with available options to upgrade heated rear seats and the steering wheel. Thanks to its longer and wider dimensions, the saloon-style rear seats offers exceptional legroom for increased comfort. Extra cargo space can be made with its 60/40 rear folding seats via a simple mechanical latch lever.

All trims are generously offered with an 8″ infotainment touchscreen that is compatible with Android Auto and Apple Car play for seamless smartphone connectivity and built-in turn-by-turn navigation. Available as upgrade options also includes a driver’s heads-up display and integrated wire-less smartphone charging.

Powertrain and Capabilities

The front-wheel drive configuration gets its power from either a 1.5L or a larger 2.0L 4-cylinder engine that outputs 192 and 252 horsepower respectively. Both engines are turbo-charged and incorporate i-VTEC to boost engine performance on higher RPM range. Standard across all trims gets a CVT transmission while the Touring trim gets an available configuration upgrade to a 10-speed automatic. The Touring trim will also add adaptive damping suspensions to improve overall ride handling and comfort. Unfortunately, getting all the powertrain bells and whistles will require you to upgrade to the higher Touring trim.

Driving enthusiasm is enhanced through available steering-mounted paddle shifters and a sport-mode driver select option that dynamically stiffens up the suspensions and latches onto gears in the transmission longer to exact maximum power from the engine at higher RPM ranges.

Final Thoughts

There’s much to like about the Accord, from luxury and plush comfort to assertive driving most in part to the larger turbo charged 2.0L engine and a fun and engaging 10-speed automatic transmission. The equipped dynamic suspensions on our Touring tester model makes a well-balanced ride for daily city driving while leaving room cornering and handling. That and despite its 10-speed automatic transmission, the Accord doesn’t make it into the performance sedan league – it’ll need a bit more horsepower and perhaps torque vectoring to get there, but the Accord was never intended for it anyways.

The Honda Accord base SE trim can be had for as little as $34,100 which will still come with a standard 8″ infotainment system and pre-loaded with Honda Safety-Tech features but will be limited to the smaller 1.5L 4-cylinder engine with a CVT transmission. But we ultimately prefer the highest Touring 2.0 trim with the larger 2.0L engine and 10-speed automatic gear box and dynamic damping suspensions for the best driving experience the Accord has to offer and that will set you back in the $43k range.

Specifications

  • Vehicle : 2020 Honda Accord
  • Model : Touring 2.0
  • Price as Tested : $48,300
  • Vehicle Type : Sedan
  • Seating Capacity : 2+3
  • Powertrain Configuration : FWD
  • Engine : 2.0L I-VTEC
  • Transmission : 10-speed Automatic
  • Horsepower : 252

Pros

  • Contemporary and modern styling
  • Smooth and uninterrupted acceleration
  • Well balanced comfort and performance capability
  • Generous standard safety and tech features

Cons

  • Larger 2.0L engine and 10-speed automatic transmission limited to higher trims.