The Honda Accord for 2008
by EVANDER KLUM
Honda Motor Corp. has made great innovations on the Accord for its 2008 model year. With major changes, the Accord became more distinct from its predecessor and has turned closer to the Acura. The Accord is now a bigger and more comfortable sedan equipped with loads of technology in the cabin.
A test on the 2008 Honda Accord powered with 3.5 L V-6 engine revealed that the vehicle is sustained with decent power, reasonable gas mileage and excellently low emissions rating. The engine produces 268 horsepower and 248 lb.-ft. of torque. The vehicle also gets an EPA-rated 19 mpg in city and 29 mpg in highway driving. And, California Air Resources Board gave the new Accord a partial zero emission vehicle (PZEV) rating.
As expected, the 2008 Accord features loads of standard safety equipments. Road-holding electronics in the model has included traction and stability control, antilock brakes, and tire-pressure monitoring. The vehicle also comes with curtain airbags on both sides of the cabin along with front and side airbags in the front seats. To show Honda��s dedication to put safety as primary feature in the Accord, they made the side door beams and day-time running lights all standard.
Inside, the Accord also gained the same level of upgrade as with its exterior. Honda will be selling out Accords with trim levels from LX to the top-of-the-line EX-L, with or without navigation and Honda floor mats. The vehicle will be provided with big multifunction knob, which has been previously seen in the Acura models. There will also be a center stack literally covered in buttons. Compared with the previous model year Accord that is found with a touch-screen LCD set on top of the stack, the new model gets an LCD that has lost the touch-screen capabilities. The LCD, now, has been set deep into the dash to configure it and protect it from glare.
In the unfortunate side of adapting the Acura concept, the new Accord got too many buttons on the stack. The 2008 Accord will be equipped with Bluetooth cell phone integration, which has been an option previously reserved for the more upscale Acura vehicles. Same with Acura models, however, the new Accord lacks in integration, though the Bluetooth system considerably works well enough. The Bluetooth can be accessed with the use of voice command, through a set of buttons found on the steering wheel. There is also a separate voice command system that works to control the navigation, the stereo and the other car functions. This other voice command system has its own set of buttons that are placed alongside the other buttons in the steering wheel.
The navigation system has been slightly innovated from the previous model years. Now, it has several impressive features, including a complete points-of-interest database.
The stereo in the Accord EX-L has not obtained too much upgrade from previous iterations. For 2008, the six-disc changer plays MP3 CDs. It can also now tune in XM satellite radio. And, there is an auxiliary jack mounted in the console.
Honda will be selling out the LX trimmed Accord powered with a 2.4 L engine, manual transmission, and without navigation, at $20,360. On the other hand, the EX-L powered with 3.5 L V-6 engine, without other options and with a $635 destination charge, will be sold out at $30,895.
