How much would you pay for a Honda? Over R250 000? No, never. Insanity of the first degree especially if at this car price range one can get any of the regular German sedans.
This has been one of the many naive conclusions that I have reached with friends time and time again whenever a new Japanese model is launched. And the 2008 Honda Accord was greeted with the same mentality. This was before I had the chance to step into the car and ponder its offerings in a more sober manner. The entire model range is great value for money with plenty of standard features and overall performance which may be offered as extras by the traditional big three.
Reasonable Styling
I do have my grudges against the Accord the very first being the exterior styling. The car’s looks are overall good and well balanced. However, at first glance the model looks too similar to the previous generation. Too similar to the point of appearing like a facelift instead of a completely new design. However the changes are there and do take a very observant eye to notice. The wheel arches are bolder while the front lights and rear lights are revised.
The design continues with the high windows and the bulged bonnet together with big-ish, almost suv like mirrors. All of these design cues make the car look a little heavy while at the same time muscular in a cool confident way.
Neat Interior
Stepping into the car is a pleasure. You do feel very welcome and cosy with a neat balance of grey and blending between the seats and the facia. In terms of ergonomic design Honda got it spot on. Where as in the past (and even today), manufactures seem to clutter all the functional controls on the central console, Honda seem to understand that most of the button pressing happens while the car is in full motion.
What immediately impresses me is the complete separation of the multi information display from the central console and much closer to the windscreen. This makes for much easier reading while driving. There are not that many buttons on the facia which in short means less confusion while in traffic.
Another feature that impressed me is the voice dialling. Once a phone is connected via blue tooth the driver or passenger can then dial away. Voice dialling is pretty common but in the Accord it does work, most of the time. It can get annoying and slow voicing the digits carefully and then waiting for the nice lady to confirm the input. But agg, kids will love it.
Worthy Purchase?
Would I pay over R250 00 for a Honda? I find it more difficult to give a naive answer now and at this point I am deliberately looking to add to the list of grudges against the Accord. And yes I get one more for the exterior styling. The car in my opinion is available in a very limited spectrum of colours. In total there are seven official colours.
But to the naked eye and for the sake of colour naming as used in normal conversations there are really only white, black, silver, grey and blue to choose. And to really make this a grudge, white and black are extremes of the colour spectrum while silver and grey are too close to black. So in essence there only three families of colour offered by the Accord namely white,black and blue.
My second grudge has to do with the plastic on the dash board. This will be fine for the first months when the car is still brand new. But cars are very good in getting dusty and needing a clean. I am not sure whether the material will retain it strong colour after contact with liquid water being one.
So would I pay over R250 000 for a Honda?No. But “no” is still a very naive answer because the Honda accord starts at just under R240 000 and the base model is very good for the price packed with features.
The reality is that the Honda Accord never promised any one diamonds and pearls, Honda never said that if you buy this car, then onlookers must be ready to perform symphony when you park it and step outside. Honda created a car for the sober minded considering that the premium big three are getting more and more unaffordable while their base models are just a teaser with little features.
Verdict
Likes
- Exterior styling too similar to previous model
- Limited colour range
- Plactic on dash board
Dislikes
-Lots of features for even at the base model
-power seems good
-overall very good value for money.
4 comments:
I have to disagree with the writer on the point of styling. The styling looks a lot more different from the previous model. This car looks good in flesh. And I think the colours are okay. Remember that every car has it colour scheme specifically designed to fit the body.
So one on the road this morning. Looks Good. I would buy it.
Honda is making forward strides with this car the proof. Sadly the South African public is still obsesed with the GLAMOUR CARS which does this can injustice.
Good for people to know.
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