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>2016>278 H.P. SOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

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Old 07-17-2016, 03:32 AM
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Question >2016>278 H.P. SOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

2016 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 Automatic
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MIKE SUTTON


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Many of the virtues that make the Honda Accord a 10Best Cars–worthy family sedan also allow it to be a refined-yet-affordable mid-size coupe—it’s also the last family-sedan nameplate to be offered in a two-door variant. Granted, there are plenty of more-exciting two-door options available in the Honda’s price range, from the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro to the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86. But the Accord stands apart for being less overtly sporty, as well as for its front-wheel drive. Our previous exposure to the 2016 Accord coupe has been limited to a V-6–powered EX-L version with a six-speed manual gearbox; in this review we examine how the top-spec Touring model and its standard automatic transmission affect the experience.
Honda updated the styling and features of the Accord range for 2016, but engine choices carry over: a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 185 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque, and an optional 3.5-liter V-6 producing 278 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque. Two-door models come standard with a six-speed manual transmission regardless of engine choice, and a continuously variable automatic is an option with the four-cylinder. The V-6­–only Touring coupe, which is new to the lineup for 2016, is available only with a conventional six-speed automatic, the same as all six-cylinder sedans.

Relinquish Control
The Touring’s automatic transmission and its extra equipment made our test example about 150 pounds heavier than the manual V-6 version. Despite the additional mass, this 3545-pound coupe was quicker, partially owing to being easier to launch than its manual sibling. It’s nearly as quick as the six-cylinder versions of the Chevy Camaro and the Ford Mustang, with our test car requiring 5.6 seconds to reach 60 mph versus the manual’s 5.8. Both coupes recorded the same 14.2-second pass through the quarter-mile. A flashing traction-control indicator—or abundant wheelspin if you deactivate traction control—always accompanies full-throttle getaways.

But letting the car do all the work simply isn’t as much fun as shifting for yourself, especially given the manual Accord’s light and progressive clutch and the rewarding, snickety-snick action of its shifter. In contrast, the automatic feels dull and relatively slow to change gears, even when using the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. (We still wouldn’t mind those paddles in the V-6 sedan, however, where they’re unavailable.) Dropping the shifter into Sport mode brings a more aggressive programming that holds gears longer, but it often still has to hunt for the best ratio.

Our observed average of 22 mpg is less than the EPA’s combined rating of 25 mpg, yet it’s likely more representative of what real owners would achieve than the 19 mpg we recorded while flogging the manual car. For comparison, we’ve seen 22 mpg from Ford Mustangs with both the more powerful 3.7-liter V-6 and the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four.
© MIKE SUTTON 2016 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 Automatic Family Ties

Although the Accord coupe’s electrically assisted steering is precise and notably firmer than the four-door’s, being based on a front-drive family sedan means that our test car carried 63 percent of its mass over the front axle. This leads to lots of safe, predictable understeer during spirited cornering, meaning the Accord coupe is more of a grand touring machine. The Touring’s 19-inch wheels (18s are standard on lesser trims) and Michelin Primacy all-season tires offer modest grip—0.85 g of lateral stick and a 70-to-zero-mph stopping distance of 172 feet. The big wheels feel heavy and disturb the Accord’s otherwise exemplary composure over rough pavement.

The Accord coupe’s sedan origins also show in its handsome, reserved styling, which is rendered more sharply here than in its more practical sibling, yet the car produces less fanfare in traffic than most other two-doors.

With no rear-drive hardware to accommodate, as in the Mustang and the Camaro, the Honda has 13 cubic feet of trunk space and a much more generous back seat that actually is habitable for adult humans. The front half of the coupe’s cabin is largely the same as the four-door’s, with comfortable seats and generally pleasant materials. We wish Honda would fit a larger, high-res display with a digital speedometer in the instrument cluster. Instead, the company puts two large screens atop one another in the center stack, both of which can control certain audio, navigation, and vehicle settings. It’s a clumsy, redundant setup in practice, with the lower unit a touchscreen and the upper largely operated via steering-wheel controls.
Sensible Yet Sleepy

While pricing for the four-cylinder Accord coupe starts at $24,710, V-6s begin at $31,860 with the EX-L trim, which comes nicely equipped with leather, heated front seats, passive entry, a power sunroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, a 360-watt audio system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and much more; the automatic transmission is a no-cost option. The range-topping Touring raises the MSRP to $35,060 and adds LED headlights, navigation, and Honda’s full lineup of driver-assistance technologies—adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning and assist, and forward-collision warning and mitigation—several of which aren’t yet available on other, similarly priced coupes.
As a practical, understated sporty car, the Accord V-6 offers plenty of value for most coupe buyers, even if Honda won’t let you pair the manual with navigation and most of the driver aids. Yet, only about five percent of the 350,000-plus Accords sold in 2015 were two-doors, which is a pittance compared with the volumes for pony cars. While that makes this coupe relatively exclusive, virtually all of its performance and general goodness can be had in the Accord sedan, along with the utility of four doors. Remove the one feature that differentiates the two-door V-6 Accord—the satisfaction of a row-your-own manual transmission—and the automatic coupe is really just a quick, but less useful, version of a sedan we really love.
Specifications >VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE AS TESTED: $35,060 (base price: $31,860)

ENGINE TYPE: SOHC 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 with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 107.3 in
Length: 189.5 in
Width: 73.0 in Height: 56.5 in
Passenger volume: 94 cu ft
Cargo volume: 13 cu ft
Curb weight: 3545 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.6 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 14.0 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 21.8 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.8 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 3.1 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 4.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.2 sec @ 101 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 127 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 172 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.85 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 21/32 mpg
C/D observed: 22 mpg
 
  #2  
Old 07-17-2016, 03:39 AM
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Default 2016 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 Manual






2016 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 Manual

Still the best—and only—case for front-drive, mid-size coupes.




  • nstrumented Test

Think of the modern, affordable two-door coupe as being like applesauce made from one of those squeaky, hand-cranked mutilator contraptions. Only in our pomaceous metaphor, the mechanism is a quid pro quo equation in which, ideally, the impracticality of lowered door count is offset by performance pretense and rear-wheel drive. This arithmetic creates gooey, wholesome stuff such as the latest Camaro, the Ford Mustang, and the BRZ/FR-S twins. It also has boxed out nearly every front-drive two-door on the market except Honda’s Accord.




Even as the front-drive coupe has all but disappeared, Honda has dug in hard,refreshing the Accord for 2016. It should be applauded for its tenacity. Nissan stopped selling the two-door Altima, and Toyota long ago chucked the Camry-based Solara overboard. A few compact players stick to the format, but when was the last time you overheard anyone pining for a Kia Forte Koup or Honda’s own (non-Si) two-door Civic? And the Scion tC? Please. Beyond a modicum of style, there’s little to recommend those cars. The Accord, alternatively, serves up the sportiest two-door experience this side of a pony car.
VIEW 28 PHOTOS



As a performance machine, the deck is stacked against the Accord coupe. Its specifications include front-wheel drive, a large 107.3-inch wheelbase, and more than 61 percent of its mass riding over its front axle. But the Accord coupe has long transcended its pigeonhole, and its cosmetic tweaks haven’t changed that. The V-6, six-speed-manual version you see here is the family’s edge case, with 278 horsepower and a plethora of new, nonfunctional gashes in each bumper. Power is unchanged compared with the last Accord coupe we tested (a 2013 model), and the cars weigh within six pounds of one another. It’s also a negligible two-tenths of a second slower to 60 mph—a still-quick 5.8 ticks—and posted barely lower grip and a four-foot-longer stop from 70 mph.

Unlike a Ford Mustang or a Chevrolet Camaro, the Accord coupe isn’t a numbers car. No one will be impressed by the Honda’s performance stats, but anyone can jump into this car and take up a quick pace. In spite of the Accord’s extremely front-biased weight distribution, the nose never feels heavy, a sensation aided by the light steering. Everything from the steering wheel to the brake pedal, the clutch, and the suspension feels as though it moves through the same high-viscosity fluid, and the car simply flows down the road. Understeer keeps you from going completely wild, but it’s progressive and manageable.
The sweet-sounding V-6 yanks the Accord around with zeal, and torque steer really only crops up when coming out of particularly tight corners. You can buy a V-6 Accord coupe with a six-speed automatic—or a four-cylinder version with a CVT—but the manual transmission is phenomenal, with short throws and perfectly spaced pedals. (A stick is available on the four-cylinder model, too, but you give up 93 horsepower.) Our only complaint is easily solved with a twist: The 2016 Accord Sport sedan’s manual gained a satisfyingly hefty metal ball that we prefer over the coupe’s lighter, more plasticky piece.
VIEW 28 PHOTOS



You’ll often hear bleating over the Accord coupe’s high price, at least relative to stuff like the Mustang and the Camaro. But Ford has effectively relegated its V-6 Mustangto rental-car status in its earnestness to shout “EcoBoost!” from every rooftop, and the Accord’s premium over the Camaro V-6 has shrunk to $3255 as Chevy makes room for that coupe’s new turbocharged four-cylinder base model. This is as evenly matched on price as these cars have ever been, and at $31,745, the Accord EX-L comes loaded with 18-inch wheels, leather seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power driver’s seat, heated front seats, a sunroof, and LED taillights and fog lights. So it’s not a rear-drive pony car, but for a slice of buyers, it fits the bill perfectly as a quick thing filled with creature comforts.
Honda may be ignoring the industry’s two-door recipe by keeping the Accord coupe front-drive—or by keeping it around at all—but the car remains appealing. The restyled bumpers and wheels don’t ruin what’s easily the sauciest design in Honda’s lineup, the back seat can actually hold bipedal creatures of moderate stature, and the trunk is enormous. Consider the driving satisfaction to be the cinnamon sprinkled on this delicious applesauce, the manual transmission the crank you want to keep operating, and rear-drive a nonessential ingredient.
View Photos


VIEW 28 PHOTOS



2016 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 Manual

Still the best—and only—case for front-drive, mid-size coupes.

  • [*]
  • [*]
  • [*]

Instrumented Test
Think of the modern, affordable two-door coupe as being like applesauce made from one of those squeaky, hand-cranked mutilator contraptions. Only in our pomaceous metaphor, the mechanism is a quid pro quo equation in which, ideally, the impracticality of lowered door count is offset by performance pretense and rear-wheel drive. This arithmetic creates gooey, wholesome stuff such as the latest Camaro, the Ford Mustang, and the BRZ/FR-S twins. It also has boxed out nearly every front-drive two-door on the market except Honda’s Accord.



Even as the front-drive coupe has all but disappeared, Honda has dug in hard,refreshing the Accord for 2016. It should be applauded for its tenacity. Nissan stopped selling the two-door Altima, and Toyota long ago chucked the Camry-based Solara overboard. A few compact players stick to the format, but when was the last time you overheard anyone pining for a Kia Forte Koup or Honda’s own (non-Si) two-door Civic? And the Scion tC? Please. Beyond a modicum of style, there’s little to recommend those cars. The Accord, alternatively, serves up the sportiest two-door experience this side of a pony car.
VIEW 28 PHOTOS



As a performance machine, the deck is stacked against the Accord coupe. Its specifications include front-wheel drive, a large 107.3-inch wheelbase, and more than 61 percent of its mass riding over its front axle. But the Accord coupe has long transcended its pigeonhole, and its cosmetic tweaks haven’t changed that. The V-6, six-speed-manual version you see here is the family’s edge case, with 278 horsepower and a plethora of new, nonfunctional gashes in each bumper. Power is unchanged compared with the last Accord coupe we tested (a 2013 model), and the cars weigh within six pounds of one another. It’s also a negligible two-tenths of a second slower to 60 mph—a still-quick 5.8 ticks—and posted barely lower grip and a four-foot-longer stop from 70 mph.
Unlike a Ford Mustang or a Chevrolet Camaro, the Accord coupe isn’t a numbers car. No one will be impressed by the Honda’s performance stats, but anyone can jump into this car and take up a quick pace. In spite of the Accord’s extremely front-biased weight distribution, the nose never feels heavy, a sensation aided by the light steering. Everything from the steering wheel to the brake pedal, the clutch, and the suspension feels as though it moves through the same high-viscosity fluid, and the car simply flows down the road. Understeer keeps you from going completely wild, but it’s progressive and manageable.
The sweet-sounding V-6 yanks the Accord around with zeal, and torque steer really only crops up when coming out of particularly tight corners. You can buy a V-6 Accord coupe with a six-speed automatic—or a four-cylinder version with a CVT—but the manual transmission is phenomenal, with short throws and perfectly spaced pedals. (A stick is available on the four-cylinder model, too, but you give up 93 horsepower.) Our only complaint is easily solved with a twist: The 2016 Accord Sport sedan’s manual gained a satisfyingly hefty metal ball that we prefer over the coupe’s lighter, more plasticky piece.
VIEW 28 PHOTOS



You’ll often hear bleating over the Accord coupe’s high price, at least relative to stuff like the Mustang and the Camaro. But Ford has effectively relegated its V-6 Mustangto rental-car status in its earnestness to shout “EcoBoost!” from every rooftop, and the Accord’s premium over the Camaro V-6 has shrunk to $3255 as Chevy makes room for that coupe’s new turbocharged four-cylinder base model. This is as evenly matched on price as these cars have ever been, and at $31,745, the Accord EX-L comes loaded with 18-inch wheels, leather seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power driver’s seat, heated front seats, a sunroof, and LED taillights and fog lights. So it’s not a rear-drive pony car, but for a slice of buyers, it fits the bill perfectly as a quick thing filled with creature comforts.
Honda may be ignoring the industry’s two-door recipe by keeping the Accord coupe front-drive—or by keeping it around at all—but the car remains appealing. The restyled bumpers and wheels don’t ruin what’s easily the sauciest design in Honda’s lineup, the back seat can actually hold bipedal creatures of moderate stature, and the trunk is enormous. Consider the driving satisfaction to be the cinnamon sprinkled on this delicious applesauce, the manual transmission the crank you want to keep operating, and rear-drive a nonessential ingredient.
View Photos

Highs and Lows

Highs:

Peerless powertrain, roomy interior, subtle good looks.
Lows:

Thirsty for an Accord, occasional torque steer.

  • MSRP
$24,860
Listed MSRP is for a 2017 Honda Accord LX-S Manual Coupe base trim with no options. Includes destination fee. Does not include sales tax.
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Last edited by BeachBumMike; 07-17-2016 at 03:42 AM. Reason: 2 post a manual trans Honda 2 thread >EnJoy>Shift `it<
  #3  
Old 07-17-2016, 09:51 AM
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