2016 Honda Accord V-6 Sedan

When is a luxury car not a luxury car? When it’s a Honda Accord.

The Accord may not boast luxury-class styling, interior materials, or options, preferring to comport itself with subtlety in those areas—heck, it doesn’t even offer options, with Honda directing buyers to one of several prepackaged trim levels (EX-L and Touring, in the case of the V-6 version) with only the paint color and some dealer accessories to choose. But the chassis? It’s high-end, premium stuff with the goods to go toe-to-toe with many cars that have far higher price tags.

Your Finest Chassis, Please

Indeed, the wheel control of our top-spec V-6 Touring test car was stunning, with nary a judder or choppy motion detected even over broken pavement. Not only does the Accord soak up bumps like it’s suspended on ShamWows, it also nicely controls body motions when you decide to drive harder. Turn the car into a bend and you get an immediate sense of obedience and unflappability, with what qualifies as a flat cornering attitude among its competitive set. The steering isn’t sports-car quick—who wants that in their family sedan?—but it is progressive, light, and tells the driver what’s happening at the front wheels, much like the steering we enjoy in many Audis. If there were such things as sommeliers for car chassis, this would be one they'd fetch from the back room for the best customers.

The brakes feel strong—this Accord’s 176-foot stop from 70 mph on all-season tires is par for the segment—and the obedient and easily modulated pedal imparts even more driver confidence. One annoyance: The braking system is a tad eager to activate ABS during hard driving. This is good for panic stops, though, especially for the sort of driver—read: most everyone—who is nervous about dipping too deep into the pedal travel. In normal driving, this isn’t an issue.

The 3.5-liter V-6 makes 278 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, enough to make easy work of the cut and thrust of daily traffic, and it has a nice growl that gains a bit of extra rasp above 5000 rpm or so, as the VTEC variable valve timing is activated. It’s quite smooth, too, nearly rivaling the syrupy silkiness of, say, a Mercedes-Benz V-6. The Honda six also features cylinder deactivation during light-load situations, which helps highway fuel economy, and we can’t say we ever felt or noticed it in operation. That said, while the EPA rates the V-6 Accord at 21 mpg city and 34 mpg highway, we achieved just 21 mpg over 750 miles of mixed driving. Those who prioritize efficiency should opt for the four-cylinder, which has returned 30 mpg in our hands. Buyers of the V-6 likely are more interested in its easy power, anyway.

Everyone can appreciate this car’s luxo-sled vibe, which is further enhanced by its standard six-speed automatic. This traditional torque-converter automatic is far preferable to the continuously variable transmission of the four-cylinder model, a gearbox that proved to be a fatal flaw for an Accord Sport in a recent comparison test. (That car finished third of four.) The V-6’s six-speed is a fine transmission, selecting gears with fluid yet decisive action. It also features a Sport mode that will hold elevated engine rpm during spirited driving, although we wished for even more involvement in such situations. Honda pairs this engine with a manual transmission in the Accord coupe, but we understand the decision not to offer one in the four-door—the take rate would be microscopic. Still, a set of the steering-wheel paddles Honda makes standard on V-6 automatic coupes would be nice. Port them over here, please.

That’s Infotainment

One area where the Honda falls short is its infotainment system, which is responsive but has poor ergonomics. As an older member of the current Honda lineup—this 2016 model year marked this car’s mid-cycle refresh—the Accord still features the ill-conceived split-screen center-stack arrangement that can make finding information difficult. The refresh did update the lower screen to Honda’s latest capacitive-touch tech, but that was not a step forward in terms of usability, lacking any hard controls whatsoever. We humbly request that Honda return at least volume and tuning knobs to its dashboards.

But that’s about it for demerits. The gauges in the instrument cluster are easy to read, the seats are comfortable for long stints, and the sight lines are good in all directions. Relative to most modern cars, the Accord’s C-pillar blind spots are commendably small and its rear parcel shelf low. Many manufacturers enlarge their cars’ trunks by making the rear quarters taller, thereby pinching the view through the rear window, but Honda has managed to nicely balance visibility with cargo space. The Accord’s trunk capacity is among the segment leaders.

It’s often said that space is a luxury, and in addition to its capacious trunk, the Accord has palatial interior room. The rear easily accommodates both forward- and rear-facing child seats behind front occupants of various sizes, with room to spare. There are numerous bins and cubbies up front, too, and plenty of head-, leg-, and elbow room. The interior also features an easy-to-access USB port, which is key for Apple CarPlay use, since Apple has yet to enable wireless CarPlay. It’s quiet inside, with this Accord registering the same sound level at 70 mph—69 decibels—as a Mercedes-Benz S-class.

In many ways, the Accord V-6 Touring is as much of a luxury car as many Acuras turned out by Honda’s own luxury division. This isn’t necessarily a good thing for Acura, but it’s great for Accord buyers.

Specifications >

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED: $35,515 (base price: $31,680)

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 212 cu in, 3471 cc
Power: 278 hp @ 6200 rpm
Torque: 252 lb-ft @ 4900 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 109.3 in
Length: 192.5 in
Width: 72.8 in Height: 57.7 in
Passenger volume: 101 cu ft
Cargo volume: 16 cu ft
Curb weight: 3593 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.8 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 14.6 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 22.5 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 6.0 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 3.3 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 4.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.4 sec @ 99 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 128 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 176 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.83 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 21/34 mpg
C/D observed: 21 mpg