SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


It’s Bon Accord in Honda’s 2015 Accord 2.4 sedan

Lighter, quieter, more economical

Posted: 12 March 2015

 The cheat sheet
Price: R471 300
Engine: 2356 cc, DOHC, 16-valve four-cylinder
Power: 132 Kw at 6200 rpm
Torque: 225 Nm at 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.6 seconds
Maximum speed: 200 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 10.0 l/100 km
Tank: 65 litres
Luggage: 453 litres
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km; at 15 000 km intervals

“Looks like a president’s car,” said the youngest niece, and so it does: Tastefully attired in Crystal Black Pearl and with genteel, silver, 18-inch alloy wheels, it certainly looked the part.

It’s obviously luxurious in intent but doesn’t scream “Honda” to all who see it. Truth be told, it could be almost any big car at first glance – is it a Mercedes, a Lexus, or some kind of Audi? At least one passer-by admitted he had to look to the logo on the wheels before being sure. Perhaps that’s the intention; to lure presidential aides into buying them as staff cars if not for The Boss himself.

Keeping it simple, there are just three models spanning three engines and three levels of trim. All have automatic transmissions; five speeds for the 2.0 and 2.4-litre versions and six for the top, 3.5-litre V6.

Even the most basic one boasts six airbags; warmed, electrically adjustable leather seats with memory settings; a competent sound system with all the plugs and Bluetooth; the usual powered mirrors and windows; dual zone automatic air conditioning; rearview camera; cruise control; tyre deflation warning; on-board computer; auto-on headlights; ABS brakes with EBD and EBA; practically all the stability systems you ever heard of and rain sensing wipers.

This mid-range model adds shift paddles; a sunroof; LED headlights with automatic levelling, active cornering and highbeam support; an auto-dimming rearview mirror and keyless entry with push-button starting. And the more powerful 2.4 engine of course.

Finally the ‘el-presidente’ 3.5-litre V6, for smaller countries with responsible attitudes toward national fiscus, adds electronic avoidance systems called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems or ADAS. That’s adaptive cruise control, adaptive braking and lane keeping assistance. Its front seatbelt pre-tensioners are more advanced, 10 000 kilometres is added to the service plan and servicing is more frequent.

The PR pack tells the now-familiar story of how the new car is bigger, stiffer, stronger and hopefully better. It’s beginning to sound like an increasingly popular genre of women’s fiction.  All players brag about it, but let’s just leave it be.

It’s also lighter, quieter and more economical. That’s cool, but what you will probably notice first is that there’s more room inside – especially in the rear. Our tall backseat driver gave it eight out of ten for headroom, despite losing about an inch to the sunroof, a bridal-joyfulness “twelve” for knee space and a perfectly acceptable eight for foot room under the driver’s chair.

The built-in armrest features a lidded compartment for the obligatory cup holders and when folded down, reveals a lockable load-through hatch; never seen a keyed version before. Perhaps this is a possible armed escort car and the secured flap is to keep the long guns locked away? Just a thought. The boot is long, wide and fairly shallow – no standing suitcases in there, but the fully sized, and upside down, alloy spare offers space for soft bags or small items.

Clocked at 10.6 seconds for the zero-to-100 km/h dash, eight-tenths of a second slower than the previous model, the 2.4 performs perfectly well for most practical purposes. It turns over gently at 120 in fifth, maintains cruising speed up most hills and kicks down smoothly; provided you keep it in normal or sport mode - the “Econ” control softens throttle and gearbox responses too much for my taste.

On the other hand the big V6 gets up to 100 km/h in only 7.2 seconds so would probably be better for the bodyguard duty suggested earlier. Maximum speed is the same for all derivatives at 200 km/h. It was previously 227 for the 2.4 automatic, so something has changed. It isn’t weight – the new one is 19 kilograms lighter – it’s the power. The old version of the engine developed 148 kW and 230 Nm in automatic guise vs 132/225 today. Why the change? It’s for better fuel economy and emissions – an improvement of half a litre per hundred in fuel and seven grams per kilometre in emissions.

Weighing up, the 2.4 Accord is beautifully made, well equipped, looks great and performs quite well. It would make a magnificent bridal car or chauffeured executive transport. I would skip the sunroof, if there was a choice, in order to regain headroom. Apart from the dubious power cut, it’s a fine piece of machinery and looks the part too.

Test car from Honda Motor SA press fleet



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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