 In the eyes of the enthusiast, the eighth-generation Accord had one shortcoming. The V6 engine was conspicuous by its absence in the brochure. One year on, Honda is making amends by launching its biggest engine in India ever. Pleasant surprises come in the form of a 3.5-litre i-VTEC-enabled engine making 271bhp and 34.5kgm in a car weighing 1620kg. With a power-to-weight ratio that’s slightly better than the mighty Audi 3.2 FSI, this car sure promises a lot. Unpleasant surprises come in the form of a price list. At Rs. 28.54 lakh, the price sticker is a bit uncomfortable. Thus this car has a lot to prove says AutoCar (April ’09).
Like any Honda engine, the V6 works and sounds best when revved the gonads out of and, happily, there’s no hange here. 0-100kph comes up in a staggering 7.8 seconds – there’s power available from everywhere in the rev band and the car lunges forward every time one taps the throttle.
 If there is a downside to this V6 Accord, it’s with the car itself says AutoCar (Aril ’09). The driving experience is marred the most by the steering; the light steering, which can be forgiven in the standard Accord, feels ridiculous in a car so powerful. Also, the suspension of this latest-generation Accord, designed to pamper rear seat passengers, is set up too soft for the power. Hence, the body movement felt when going fast around corners is a bit un-nerving.
On the up side, the Accord boasts of some really clever fuel saving tech – it’s called VCM (Variable Cylinder Management).The system can shut off as many as three of the six cylinders depending on torque requirements. When going full blast, all six cylinders are pumping away to deliver full punch. But when cruising at highway speeds the engine shuts off the valves and the fuel injection for two cylinders, one on each bank. When things slow down even further – the engine uses only one bank of three cylinders. – and that way fuel consumption is reduced. It’s really nifty stuff marvels AutoCar (April ’09), but the real brilliance of this system is that you just can’t make out any harshness or vibrations when the system is at work. A counter-balance shaft smooths out vibrations and the active mounts for the engine complete the clean-up  act. The hydraulic mounts change stiffness to suit the engine operation mode and absorb the engine vibrations. So one can hardly ever tell when VCM is in operation, save for an ‘ECO’ light flashing on the instrument console.
Honda engines are known for their refinement, but here’s something that’s really over the top. The Accord V6’s Active Noise Cancellation creates sound waves from the car’s stereo to negate the boom from the engine. Apart from all this, the V6 also comes with the usual list of goodies such as, ABS, airbags, vehicle stability management and cruise control.
To sum up, buying and owning a V6 won’t be cheap – so AutoCar (April ’09) recommends it only if you want a big, comfortable salon car that can give more expensive German saloons a run for their money. |
