All-New 10th Generation Honda Accord Launching This Year with Advanced New Powertrain Lineup

Jun 9, 2017 - TORRANCE, CA

• Two high-performance, high-efficiency turbocharged engines
• First-ever 10-speed automatic transmission for a front-wheel drive car
• Available 6-speed manual transmission for both turbo engines
• Next-generation Honda two-motor hybrid powertrain technology
• New, more aggressive design direction complements powertrain lineup

Honda will launch the most stylish and fun-to-drive Accord ever later this year. The all-new, completely redesigned and reengineered 2018 Honda Accord is the tenth generation of America's best-selling midsize sedan, the number one choice of individual American car buyers cumulatively since 20101. A new-from-the-ground-up design that features a more aggressive stance and proportion than any previous Accord complements the lineup of advanced new powertrains.

The three powerful and fuel-efficient powertrains in the 2018 Accord will include two direct-injected and turbocharged 4-cylinder engines, a new Honda-developed 10-speed automatic transmission and a sporty 6-speed manual transmission that will be available on both turbo engines, as well as the next-generation of Honda's two-motor hybrid powertrain technology. The new Accord design will have a dramatically lower and wider appearance that creates a more aggressive and athletic stance. Additional details on the all-new 2018 Accord design, technology and performance will be released in the weeks ahead.

"With these three advanced new powertrains, the tenth-generation Accord will be the most fun-to-drive, refined and fuel-efficient Accord yet,"said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of America Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Just as the new Honda Civic injected new energy into the compact car segment, we expect this all-new 2018 Accord will make people rethink the midsize sedan."

The 2018 Accord will feature two available high-torque, high-efficiency turbocharged powerplants, a 1.5-liter direct-injected DOHC Turbo with dual variable cam timing (dual VTC), mated to either a Honda continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) or 6-speed manual transmission; and a 2.0-liter direct-injected DOHC Turbo with i-VTEC® valvetrain, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission – the industry's first 10AT for a front-wheel-drive passenger car – or a 6-speed manual. An all-new, even more refined Accord Hybrid will be powered by the next-generation of Honda's innovative two-motor hybrid technology, which uniquely operates without the use of a conventional automatic transmission.

A perennial best-seller with American car buyers, the Accord has been the U.S. retail sales leader in the midsize sedan segment for four straight years (2013-2016). For the first five months of 2017, based on retail sales data, Accord is the top selling midsize sedan in America and the second best-selling passenger car overall, surpassed only by the new Honda Civic2. Accord also is an unprecedented 31-time recipient of Car and Driver magazine's coveted 10Best award.

Since its launch in 1976, American car buyers have purchased more than 13 million Accords. Accord is the first vehicle from a Japanese automaker to be made in America and has been in continuous production at Honda's Marysville, Ohio auto plant since November 1982, with cumulative U.S. production exceeding 11 million units over 35 years of U.S. manufacturing3.

The new 2018 Accord's 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter turbo engines will be produced at Honda's Anna, Ohio engine plant. The Accord's CVT transmission will be manufactured at the company's Russells Point, Ohio plant, and its new 10-speed automatic transmission will be produced in the company's Tallapoosa, Georgia plant. Honda recently announced a $149 million investment in the Russells Point and Tallapoosa plants to facilitate production of the new 10AT and its components in America. Additional investments related to manufacturing of the new Accord will be announced closer to its fall 2017 launch.

Honda will launch the most stylish and fun-to-drive Accord ever later this year. The all-new, completely redesigned and reengineered 2018 Honda Accord is the tenth generation of America's best-selling midsize sedan, the number one choice of individual American car buyers cumulatively since 20101.

Fewer cylinders, more turbo 2018 Honda Accord Powertrain Prototype First Drive

Can modified Type-R guts make up for killing the V6?

Engine : Turbocharged 2.0L I4
Power : 260 HP / 255 LB-FT (Est)
Transmission : 10-speed automatic
Drivetrain : Front-Wheel-Drive
Engine Placement : Front
Seating : 2+3

Jun 9th 2017

A highly camouflaged 2018 Honda Accord prototype is circling Honda's high-speed oval at its Tochigi test center, a short Shinkansen ride from Tokyo, and doing its best to replicate the bullet train's impact on spectators. There's no warning. No "I think I hear it approaching." No exhaust trumpet sneaking ahead announcing its pending arrival. Nothing. There is only the lightly rustling of leaves, a particularly annoying crow and then 1.2 seconds of fury as a 10th-generation Honda Accord prototype breaks all of the wind somewhere near 130 mph. There's a sharp gasp and the young woman to my left is wide-eyed and staring at blank space where a car used to be.

This is not the traditional way a carmaker reveals that it's eliminating a beloved naturally-aspirated 3.5-liter V6 and replacing it with a potentially lower-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. But every once in awhile a show of force is required to show the world you can still throw down.

"No. Never in the last five years." Junji Yamano, chief engineer and leader of Accord development, confidently tells us when asked if a V6 was ever really on the table for his new midsize sedan. Through a translator, the engineer gives the same pitch every other carmaker gives when making this switch: flatter torque curve, earlier low-end power, increased fuel economy ... when not on boost.

This isn't a shock as the turbos-not-cylinders engine strategy was a significant shift for Honda that was designed to work with most, if not all, of its vehicles. If you've been paying attention recently and putting the pieces together, you'll have a correctly guessed that this is a derivative of the Ohio-built barnstormer that powers the wicked new Civic Type-R. While that engine produces 306 horses, the one in the new Accord will produce fewer, Honda confirmed. The reasons for this are pretty simple as midsize sedan buyers have different expectations of power delivery, fuel economy, and NVH; and midsize sedans have more mass to move around.

Specific changes include a low-inertia turbocharger, a secondary balancer, and tuning for regular fuel compared to the Type-R which likes the premium juice. If we had to guess on what the final spec sheet will say, we'd bet this is pushing 260 horsepower at 6,500 rpm, 255 pound-feet of torque right around 1,750 rpm, and a highway fuel economy number of 35 mpg. As the replacement for the V6, this 2.0 is certainly not the only powerplant we'll see in the upcoming Accord. Honda confirmed a hybrid variant and announced the base motor would be the company's ubiquitous 1.5-liter turbo four cylinder that does duty in the CR-V and Civic.

Backing up this motor is another semi-shared part, the 10-speed automatic we've just sampled in the all-new Odyssey. Honda wasn't ready to confirm what, if any, changes were made to the transmission itself for this application beyond a unique torque converter.

The other big news on the powertrain front is the availability of a six-speed manual with either of the two conventional engines. "Based on Civic and Type-R, we know that the characteristics of these engines are very good with a manual transmission," a Honda rep tells us; Having just stepped out of a Type-R, we couldn't argue. And because we're not accountants or profit-focused product planners, we're not going to argue with their decision to include a manual transmission at all. As expected, the Accord remains front-drive regardless of engine and transmission.

We've been warned that the prototype vehicle we're about to drive is an early build. The engine and transmission are nearing the final stages of completion, but the interior, exterior, and suspension seen here should not be taken as anything like production-ready. Considering that, we'll only talk for a moment about these things and focus on the motor in a minute.

From the outside, this Accord prototype looks longer, wider, and lower than the current car. Through the camouflage tape, the LED headlight assemblies look thin and angry. The hood looks lower than those found on almost any other production car in the post pedestrian-crash era. Finally, while it could be the camo, there's an elegance to the profile here that we think is owed to that low hood and what looks like a pushed-back dash.

Inside was a sea of, yup, you guessed it; camo. The only thing we can definitively say is that there is a ton of room on the inside. You've got excesses of height and width to work with in there that some other midsize sedans have lost as dashes, chunky door panels, and center consoles started sliding into our space.

Finally out on the track, the Accord performs almost exactly as we'd expected it to. Though we were told not to focus on it, we can't help but find the steering to be exceptional for the class. It's light on center yet requires no thought to stay in the lane and has no slop. Honda engineers admitted that behavior was one of their primary goals. The engine itself is less exemplary; it just feels, pulls, sounds and acts like every other modern turbocharged four-banger paired to a many-geared transmission.

From a dead stop with lots of pedal pressure (50-100 percent), the Accord absolutely moves. It puts you back in your seat an inch while staying sewing-machine smooth and making a great noise that's half intake and half exhaust. And when the transmission only has to upshift, the gearchanges are crisp and fast, keeping the power right where it needs to be. Acceleration doesn't really drop off until about 100 mph and then it's more of a slight drop as we hit 120 and then 125 before really thinking about it. The engine's as smooth and quiet at triple-digits as it is at 65 as it is at idle. It's pure Honda engineering talent on display. But you learn little from circling an oval in a family sedan, so we backed off and replicated some highway cruising and passing maneuvers from various real-world speeds.

These are the situations where the Accord's 2.0, just like all of the other motors of its ilk, kind of fall short. Tuned for fuel economy, as soon as you start a steady-state cruise, the transmissions leap to the highest gear possible and the engines try to use that turbo as little as possible. Prod it for a little extra momentum and you're met with a bit of a lag as the 10-speed starts dropping to find the right gear followed by a little bit more of a wait while the turbo spools up.

While these situations can seem a little annoying, there are two very real rubs to this behavior: The first is that as soon as you want to use the power, those low-load EPA fuel economy numbers get burned up and dumped right over the turbine. Second is that, after experiencing this a few times, confidence in the powertrain declines. If you need to accelerate to catch a gap in traffic or get out of a jam where it may be too late to brake, the last thing you want is noticeable, two-step delay.

The 2018 Honda Accord won't go on sale until later this year which means that Honda will have tweaked the formula to the best of its ability. Given Honda's near 70-year history of engineering excellence, if it can't crack this nut, nobody can.

Sampling the 2018 Honda Accord’s New Powertrain

We (briefly) get behind the wheel of a 10th-generation prototype

June 9, 2017

Togichi, Japan - Wrapped in camouflage, its cabin swaddled in obfuscating black cloth, Honda’s next-generation Accord is nearing the end of its march toward production. We visited Honda’s global research and development center this week to drive an engine and transmission development prototype of the car ahead of its arrival on U.S. roads later this year. Given the Accord’s central role to Honda’s automotive efforts, the company absolutely has to get it right. On this trip, we got our first chance to find out if they did.

The 10th-generation Accord will ditch the V-6 available in its predecessors, opting instead for a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injected, dual overhead cam i-VTEC four-cylinder as its top power producer. Forged connecting rods, a forged crankshaft, improved cylinder head and block water pathways, and sodium-filled exhaust valves give the 2.0-liter additional durability and power capability. A 1.5-liter turbo-four (essentially the same engine available in the latest Civic) will also be offered, as well as a two-motor hybrid. Both turbo-fours will be offered with a choice of a six-speed manual transmission or an all-new, Honda-developed 10-speed automatic transmission. The 10-speed auto is capable of transmitting 20 percent more torque than the outgoing six-speed auto, but weighs 10 percent less. The two-motor hybrid needs no transmission thanks to its unique design.

Front-wheel drive is the only option for the 2018 Accord, says American Honda’s regulatory, legal, and technology communications manager Chris Martin, because customers who want all-wheel drive also tend to want the higher ride height and ground clearance of a crossover — and Honda makes plenty of those already.

To put the new Accord’s powertrain to the test, Honda handed us the keys to a prototype fitted with the 2.0-liter engine and 10-speed automatic. The prototype was built last fall at Honda’s Marysville, Ohio facility, where the new Accord is being developed. More complete prototypes exist there, but this early example was outfitted with the latest specification of engine and transmission software, according to Martin. Because the prototype was an early build, however, its suspension tune, interior, and technology features were still just placeholders — our evaluation was focused on the engine and transmission. As for the new exterior and interior styling of the 2018 Accord, Honda says we’ll see more of that in the coming weeks.

We had just two laps of the 2.5-mile banked oval at Honda’s Tochigi R&D center to test the upcoming Accord’s highest-performance locomotion system. While we weren’t allowed on the banking, we didn’t really need it — the Accord still hit an easy 120 mph straight out of the pits. From a 25-mph pit exit, the turbocharged four-cylinder exhibited only minimal lag, building boost pressure and torque smoothly and quickly as we accelerated onto the track. The 10-speed auto’s function was so smooth as to be transparent. Left to its own devices, the transmission’s function is all but unnoticeable in normal acceleration and deceleration at city and highway speeds.

The Sport Mode button in the center console sharpens up the Accord’s responses for a spirited drive — or an aggressive Monday morning commute.

Honda hasn’t disclosed the power rating for the new turbo 2.0-liter, but my highly unscientific seat-of-the-pants feel says it’s somewhere around the 250-260 hp mark, with similar figures for torque output. Peak torque seems to arrive around 1,500 rpm, with power output at apparently constant levels from 3,000-5,000 rpm. Those figures compare well with the outgoing V-6’s 278 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque, and that’s before you take into account that the V-6’s peak torque doesn’t arrive until 4,900 rpm and peak horsepower at 6,200 rpm. The turbocharged engine should deliver more low-end torque, and therefore quicker acceleration in everyday situations.

In its final form, the Accord’s V-6 engine was equipped not only with the i-VTEC variable camshaft profile system, but with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) which deactivates three cylinders in light-load situations, resulting in EPA gas mileage ratings of up to 21 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, and 25 mpg combined when paired with its six-speed automatic transmission. The new four-cylinder should easily beat those ratings, thanks not only to its smaller-displacement, turbocharged nature, but also the addition of the new 10-speed automatic transmission and whatever improvements to aerodynamics and/or weight Honda makes with the rest of the 2018 Accord’s design.

As important as the outright performance of the new 2.0-liter turbo, however, is the very fact of its existence, replacing the V-6 and moving the Accord to an entirely turbocharged lineup in its non-hybrid models. Honda, long an innovator in the marriage of performance and efficiency in naturally aspirated engines, has been slow to adopt across-the-board turbocharging in comparison to its competition — in part because of the strengths of its naturally aspirated engine development. With the move to smaller-displacement turbo engines on the Accord in addition to the Civic, Honda is signaling its intent to move toward turbocharging for even more of its models in coming years.

The 2018 Honda Accord will be built at the company’s Marysville, Ohio plant, while its 2.0-liter and 1.5-liter turbo four-cylinders will be built at Honda’s engine plant in Anna, Ohio. The 10-speed transmission will be built at Honda’s Tallapoosa, Georgia plant. The 2018 Honda Accord will arrive at American dealers this fall.