As you can see from this first video – taken moments after I first sat down in the Accord Coupe – the car is really fun and fast. That is the key take-away if you read nothing else below!

INTRO

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2014 Honda Accord V6 Coupe that spent a few weeks here this summer. Two previous articles followed the Accord Coupe’s adventures here in the Carolinas, with…

— a mega photo shoot from historic Charleston

— as well as the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway up toward Tennessee.

And this really hones in on the best benefit and summary of the Accord Coupe V6: it is awesome to drive, and makes the road feel endless underneath you. Let’s dive into the full review categories of Exterior, Interior, Mechanical/Drive Impressions and Summary.

Through here you will find five of my best videos with the Accord, covering driving feel in the mountains, cabin tech, and a few other topics.

 

EXTERIOR

The Accord Coupe initially looks much like the regular loaded Accord sedan, but subtle tweaks become apparent after spending some time with the car. The grille is darker and finished in a sportier mesh inset, while the front air-dam and foglamp area is totally unique for the coupe.

There is also a unique bit of chrome accent running the lowest portion of the bumper width, increasing the sense of low and wide coupe proportions.

With the EX-L trim come the LED accents in the headlights, which are really critical to dressing up with Accord Coupe’s style. From afar, the LEDs are very similar to those in many Lexuses these days, which is not a bad thing. After all, the Accord Coupe is much cheaper than any Lexus GS or LS.

In profile, the Accord Coupe has a strongly sloped roofline and arcing glass area below the C-pillar. It looks admirably sporty and is a touch of class that recalls the C-Class Mercedes-Benz Coupe. The sloped roof emphasizes the upright windshield and chopped front overhand nicely. It all blends well, and the swage line flips to convex over the rear wheels to form a subtle flared fender.

Out back, another chrome lower piece dresses up the EX-L Coupe nicely and is unique versus any Accord sedan. It really looks handsome from the back. The EX-L brings upgraded LED brake lights in a twin-tube design that is fresh and classy – without the bright dot-LED bulb effect of previous loaded Accords.

Finally, the V6 engine adds twin exhaust pipes that not only looks great but sound good too.

INTERIOR

The first thing you will note when driving the Accord Coupe V6 is that it is fast and sounds really terrific! There is induction whoosh and exhaust bellow that is completely unexpected – and delightful at all times. The engine makes known how big its displacement is with a deep-voiced growl at low speed and low revs – but the power builds dramatically from big to seriously zoomy as the tach peels toward its redline.

There is less VTEC cam-change effect than the old days thanks to the continuous camshafts setup – which simply ensures that there is huge throttle response and urgent power in almost any gear.

The manual transmission is incredible. It is light and flicky, but almost effortless with the lightweight clutch and short-throw shift patterns for each of the six gears. It makes my Subaru Legacy GT’s manual shift and clutch feel like a 1970s Corvette– wayyy too heavy and slow.

Reflexes stay quick with the throttle, brake and steering inputs, which are all direct and rapid in their responses. Again, the Subaru felt like a cement truck after driving the Accord Coupe — which has seriously quick and light steering, strong brakes and no turbo lag (of course.)

The Accord’s steering is progressive in how it weights up, and is solid and firm in how it holds the dead-ahead tracking on the highway. Excellent.

INFOTAINMENT TECH VIDEO – Pandora is wireless!

INTERIOR SAFETY TECH VIDEO – Side-mirror camera eliminates blindspot completely!

MECHANICAL / DRIVING IMPRESSIONS.

Excellent steering, great seating comfort and position, snicky manual shifter… what else?

It is FAST!!

So fast and smooth, you cannot help but wring out the 278-horsepower from the 3.5-liter V6 as much as possible. It has a characterful bellow and accurate handling that feels playful and rarely front-drive.

The Accord Coupe under-steers very, very little — with a rear-end that feels engaged and involved in the handling. This was especially apparent on the twisty roads of the Blue Ridge Parkway, seen in the video below.

 

SUMMARY

The Accord Coupe V6 is Car-Revs-Daily.com’s Family Sports Coupe of the Year!

What is a family sports coupe?

A fast and fun car for driving thrills when you want them, but an effortless luxury cruiser when you do not. All at a base price of just above $30,000 makes this Accord Coupe V6 one of the best cars tested this year.

Check out the Accord Coupe’s features, pricing and colors over at Honda.com

• http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-coupe/exterior-360-view.aspx

Or check out the previous articles here for 200-plus additional photos!

• http://www.car-revs-daily.com/2014/05/24/travel-adventures-2014-honda-accord-coupe-visits-historic-charleston-sc-300-photos/

•  http://www.car-revs-daily.com/2014/06/01/2014-honda-accord-coupe-v6-in-the-mountains/

 

MEGA Road Test Review – 2014 Honda Accord Coupe – SPECIFICATIONS

 

LX-S $23,625*

EX $25,300*

EX-L $28,345*

EX-L V-6 $30,625*

Engineering
Transmissions
6-Speed Manual Transmission	•	•
Gear Ratios: 1st: 3.643, 2nd: 2.080, 3rd: 1.361, 4th: 1.024, 5th: 0.830, 6th: 0.686, Reverse: 3.673, Final Drive Ratio: 4.105
6-Speed Manual Transmission				•
Gear Ratios: 1st: 3.933, 2nd: 2.478, 3rd: 1.700, 4th: 1.250, 5th: 0.976, 6th: 0.771, Reverse: 4.008, Final Drive Ratio: 3.550
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with Sport Mode	Available (with Paddle Shifters)	Available (with Paddle Shifters)	with Paddle Shifters
Gear Ratios: 4.123~0.631, Reverse: 2.645~1.800, Final Drive: 3.238
6-Speed Automatic Transmission with Sport Mode				Available (with Paddle Shifters)
Gear Ratios: 1st: 3.359, 2nd: 2.095, 3rd: 1.485, 4th: 1.065, 5th: 0.754, 6th: 0.556, Reverse: 2.269, Final Drive Ratio: 3.941
Body/Suspension/Chassis
Unit-Body Construction	•	•	•	•
MacPherson Strut Front Suspension	•	•	•	•
Multi-Link Rear Suspension	•	•	•	•
Stabilizer Bar (mm, front/rear)	18 / 16	18 / 16	18 / 16	19 / 16
Front Shock Tower Bar		•	•	•
Electric Power-Assisted Rack-and-Pinion Steering (EPS)	•	•	•	•
Steering Wheel Turns, Lock-to-Lock	2.54	2.54	2.54	2.47
Steering Ratio	13.23	13.23	13.23	13.49
Turning Diameter, Curb-to-Curb (ft)	37.6	37.6	37.6	39.0
Power-Assisted Ventilated Front Disc/Solid Rear Disc Brakes (in)	11.1 / 11.1	11.5 / 11.1	11.5 / 11.1	11.5 / 11.1
Wheels	17″ Alloy	17″ Alloy	17″ Alloy	18″ Alloy
All-Season Tires	P215/55 R17 93V	P215/55 R17 93V	P215/55 R17 93V	P235/45 R18 94V
Compact Spare Tire	T125/80 D16 97M	T125/80 D16 97M	T125/80 D16 97M	T125/80 D16 97M
Exterior Measurements
Wheelbase (in)	107.3	107.3	107.3	107.3
Length (in)	189.2	189.2	189.2	189.2
Height (in)	56.5	56.5	56.5	56.5
Width (in)	72.8	72.8	72.8	72.8
Track (in, front/rear)	62.4 / 62.3	62.4 / 62.3	62.4 / 62.3	62.4 / 62.4
Curb Weight (lbs, 6MT/CVT)	3186 / 3252	3229 / 3298	NA / 3320 NA / 3322 (with Navi)
Curb Weight (lbs, 6MT/6AT)				3397 / 3528 3400 / 3536 (with Navi)
Weight Distribution (%, front/rear, 6MT)	60 / 40	60 / 40		61 / 39
Weight Distribution (%, front/rear, CVT)	61 / 39	61 / 39	61 / 39
Weight Distribution (%, front/rear, 6AT)				63 / 37
Interior Measurements
EPA Mileage Ratings[3] / Fuel
6-Speed Manual (City/Highway/Combined)	24 / 34 / 28	24 / 34 / 28		18 / 28 / 22
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) (City/Highway/Combined)	26 / 34 / 29	26 / 34 / 29	26 / 34 / 29
6-Speed Automatic (City/Highway/Combined)				21 / 32 / 25
Fuel (gal)	17.2	17.2	17.2	17.2
Required Fuel	Regular Unleaded	Regular Unleaded	Regular Unleaded	Regular Unleaded

Engineering
Transmissions
Body/Suspension/Chassis
Exterior Measurements
Interior Measurements
EPA Mileage Ratings[3] / Fuel
Active Safety
Passive Safety
Exterior Features
One-Touch Power Moonroof with Tilt Feature		•	•	•
Integrated Rear Window Antenna	•	•	•	•
Security System with Remote Entry	•	with Smart Entry	with Smart Entry	with Smart Entry
Variable Intermittent Windshield Wipers	•	•	•	•
Projector-Beam Halogen Headlights with Auto-On/Off	•	•	•	•
Fog Lights		•	•	•
Hood Struts				•
Chrome Door Handles	•	•	•	•
Body-Colored Power Side Mirrors with Expanded View Driver’s Mirror	•
Heated, Body-Colored Power Side Mirrors with Integrated Turn Indicators and Expanded View Driver’s Mirror		•	•	•
Chrome Exhaust Finisher	•	•	•	Dual Exhaust
Comfort & Convenience
Dual-Zone Automatic Climate Control System	•	•	•	•
Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System™ with Voice Recognition, FM Traffic and Interface Dial [8]			Available	Available
i-MID with 8-Inch High-Resolution WVGA (800×480) Screen and Customizable Feature Settings	•	•	•	•
Rearview Camera with Guidelines	•	Multi-Angle	Multi-Angle	Multi-Angle
Honda LaneWatch™[9]			•	•
Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink®[10]	•	•	•	•
SMS Text Message Function[11]	•	•	•	•
Push Button Start		•	•	•
Power Windows with Auto-Up/Down Driver’s Window	•
Power Windows with Auto-Up/Down Driver’s and Front Passenger’s Windows		•	•	•
Illuminated Power Window Switches	Driver’s only	•	•	•
Power Door Locks/Programmable Auto-Locking Doors	•	•	•	•
Cruise Control	•	•	•	•
Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel			•	•
Illuminated Steering Wheel-Mounted Controls	Cruise / Audio / Phone / i-MID	Cruise / Audio / Phone / i-MID	Cruise / Audio / Phone / i-MID / Navi (available)	Cruise / Audio / Phone / i-MID / Navi (available)
Tilt and Telescopic Steering Column	•	•	•	•
HomeLink® Remote System[12]				•
Center Console with Armrest and Storage Compartment	•	•	•	•
Beverage Holders, Front and Rear	•	•	•	•
Driver’s and Front Passenger’s Illuminated Vanity Mirrors	•	•	•	•
Map Lights	•	•	•	•
Sunglasses Holder	•	•	•	•
12-Volt Power Outlets	•	•	•	•
Lockable Glove Compartment	•	•	•	•
Driver- and Passenger-Side Seatback Pockets	Passenger-Side only	•	•	•
Remote Fuel Filler Door Release	•	•	•	•
Remote Trunk Release with Lock	•	•	•	•
Electronic Remote Trunk Release	•	•	•	•
Rear Window Defroster	•	•	•	•
Cargo Area Light	•	•	•	•
Floor Mats	•	•	•	•
Side Door Pockets	•	•	•	•
Seating
Audio
160-Watt AM/FM/CD Audio System with 6 Speakers	•	•
360-Watt AM/FM/CD Premium Audio System with 7 Speakers, including Subwoofer			•	•
HondaLink™ featuring Aha™ Compatibility[13]		•	•	•
Audio Touch-Screen		•	•	•
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) including 16-GB Audio Memory[14]			with Navigation	with Navigation
Pandora® Compatibility[15]	•	•	•	•
XM® Radio[16]			•	•
Bluetooth® Streaming Audio	•	•	•	•
Song By Voice® (SBV)			with Navigation	with Navigation
USB Audio Interface[17]	•	•	•	•
MP3/Auxiliary Input Jack	•	•	•	•
MP3/Windows Media® Audio (WMA) Playback Capability[18]	•	•	•	•
Radio Data System (RDS)	•	•	•	•
Speed-Sensitive Volume Control (SVC)	•	•	•	•
Multi – Information Display
Average Fuel Economy Indicator	•	•	•	•
Digital Odometer and Digital Trip Meters (2)	•	•	•	•
Engine Oil Life Indicator	•	•	•	•
Exterior Temperature Indicator	•	•	•	•
Instant Fuel Economy Indicator	•	•	•	•
Maintenance Minder™ System	•	•	•	•
Miles-to-Empty Indicator	•	•	•	•
Shift Lever Position Indicator	CVT	CVT	CVT	6AT
intelligent Multi – Information Display
Average Fuel Economy Indicator	•	•	•	•
Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink®	•	•	•	•
Bluetooth® Streaming Audio	•	•	•	•
Clock	•	•	•	•
Compass		•	•	•
Customizable Feature Settings	•	•	•	•
Instant Fuel Economy Indicator	•	•	•	•
Miles-to-Empty Indicator	•	•	•	•
Rearview Camera with Guidelines	•	Multi-Angle	Multi-Angle	Multi-Angle
Pandora® Compatibility	•	•	•	•
SMS Text Message Function	•	•	•	•
Welcome Screen	•	•	•	•
Instrumentation
12-Volt Battery-Charging System Indicator	•	•	•	•
ABS Indicator	•	•	•	•
Airbag System Indicator	•	•	•	•
Backlit Gauges	•	•	•	•
Brake System Indicator	•	•	•	•
Coolant Temperature Indicators	•	•	•	•
Cruise Control Indicators	•	•	•	•
Door- and Trunk-Open Indicator	•	•	•	•
ECON Mode Indicator	•	•	•	•
Electric Power Steering (EPS) Indicator	•	•	•	•
Fog Lights Indicator		•	•	•
Forward Collision Warning (FCW) Indicator			•	•
Fuel Level Indicator	•	•	•	•
Headlights-On Indicator	•	•	•	•
High-Beam Indicator	•	•	•	•
Immobilizer System Indicator	•	•	•	•
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) Indicator			•	•
Low-Tire Pressure Indicator	•	•	•	•
Low-Fuel Indicator	•	•	•	•
Low-Oil Pressure Indicator	•	•	•	•
Maintenance Minder™ Indicator	•	•	•	•
Malfunction Indicator	•	•	•	•
Passenger-Side Airbag-Off Indicator	•	•	•	•
Seat-Belt Reminder Indicator	•	•	•	•
Security System Indicator	•	•	•	•
Smart Entry System Indicator		•	•	•
Starter System Indicator	•	•	•	•
System Message Indicator	•	•	•	•
Tachometer	•	•	•	•
TPMS Indicator	•	•	•	•
VSA System and VSA-Off Indicators	•	•	•	•

Check out the Accord Coupe’s features, pricing and colors over at Honda.com

• http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-coupe/exterior-360-view.aspx

Or check out the previous articles here for 200-plus additional photos!

• http://www.car-revs-daily.com/2014/05/24/travel-adventures-2014-honda-accord-coupe-visits-historic-charleston-sc-300-photos/

•  http://www.car-revs-daily.com/2014/06/01/2014-honda-accord-coupe-v6-in-the-mountains/