The Accord's conservative philosophy carries over to the interior, which
is subdued but inviting.
Seeing out of the Accord is easy in all directions, although the rear
window seemed a little small to us. The outside rearview mirrors are large
enough to give a good view of what's coming up behind you. From the driver's
seat you immediately notice that the instrument panel is classic Honda.
Easy to read, white-on-black temperature and fuel gauges flank a larger
tachometer and speedometer. Two large rotary switches just to the right
control the interior fan and temperature, and the air-conditioning control
buttons are large and accessible.
Two buttons for the cruise control are comfortably positioned on the
steering wheel, and the radio has knobs and buttons that are also easy
to use while driving. None of that could be simpler or more convenient.
Two small drawbacks come to mind, though. First, the horn buttons are
too small and located on the edges of the wheel, rather than a handier
center-punch arrangement. And the cupholders, two plastic indentations
tastefully covered by a door, are marginal--awkward to reach, and too close
to the elbows.
The rest of the interior is nicely done. The fabrics and plastics are
pleasing to the eye and the touch, with excellent finishing throughout.
As for safety, all Accords come with a driver and passenger side air bag,
but antilock brakes aren't available on DX models and cost $850 extra on
LX models.
Seating comfort is well suited for long drives. Bottom cushions are
deep enough to support your legs and back cushions are thick and firm enough
to support your back. The seats don't have big torso bolsters to keep you
from sliding side-to-side in sharp corners, but that's not surprising in
a car that doesn't have a lot of sporty pretensions.
Both the front and back seats provide plenty of room: four good-sized
adults can be comfortable in this car. While the back isn't as spacious
as that of the Cirrus or Stratus, headroom and leg room are still more
than adequate.
The back seat folds down to expand the trunk. You can also fold down
the rear seat's center arm rest and open a small pass-through door to the
trunk that will let long things like skis fit inside the car.
You can get three kids in the back seat, no problem, as long as they
aren't tormenting each other. (It could happen.) And the roof is high enough
to let you lift a little one into a car seat without killing your back.
Under the hood of most Accords you'll find a 2.2-liter single overhead
cam 16-valve four-cylinder engine that is about as good as they come.
The 130 horsepower won't take your breathe away. When you step on the
gas it will say "Sure, OK," not "Yeah! Let's go!" Honda's
philosophy has always been to provide enough to just get the job done.
The result is polite power.
It's, smooth, though, and amazingly quiet, producing little vibration
from idle to freeway speeds. It's economical too, getting nearly 30 miles
per gallon in our road test over city streets and freeways.
The upscale EX comes with a standard 145-horsepower four-cylinder engine.
A 170-horsepower 2.7-liter V6 is available as a $2660 option on both LX
and EX models, and it will provide a quicker getaway from stoplights and
fast pickup as you come out of a sharp turn. For most Accord buyers, though,
these things aren't high priorities.
The 1997 model air conditioning system has been improved for faster
cooling. More insulation has been added to successfully reduce engine and
road noise, and the redesigned automatic transmission is supposed to shift
more smoothly.
A five-speed manual transmission is standard on all sedans with four-cylinder
engines. A four-speed automatic is an $800 option or standard if you take
the optional V6 engine. Although the redesigned automatic is supposed to
shift more smoothly, we didn't notice much difference. It seemed to force
the 2.2-liter engine in our test car to rev higher before upshifting, creating
a little extra noise in the process.
Aside from that very small complaint, we found the Accord effortless
to drive and superbly comfortable. The Accord's double wishbone suspension
is as sophisticated as any of its competitors. As a result, the Accord
is quick and responsive to the wheel. It feels downright nimble as you
maneuver into a tight parking space and you feel only a modest amount of
body roll on corners.
Compared with a car like the Ford Contour, the Accord's suspension gives
a somewhat softer ride, though you can still feel all the bigger potholes.
The tradeoff is that it won't consume a winding mountain road quite as
quickly.