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.
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.
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 Mustang to 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.
