Driving the 2008 Honda Accord
What happens when the new Honda Accord meets up with a mid-40s movie buff pretending to be a member of the Beatles? Expect that they’d have a lot of things in common except for pencil pants. Really.
As soon as the movie buff takes sight of the new Accord, which has been redesigned from the previous model, he thinks it’s a sleek teardrop-shaped vehicle almost out of a Batman movie. Well, the new Honda doesn’t have the batwings at the end, but boy can she fly. Okay, the buff isn’t sure whether the sedan ought to be addressed as a she or a he, but when he entered the regular-sized looking means of transport, it certainly appeared like he had entered a whole new world. Think Lucy going into the wardrobe for the first time and emerging in the world of Narnia. Believe it or not, the cabin is that big, yet it wouldn’t appear so from the outside. Cool.
First things first, he sends five hobbits into Narnia. Okay, they’re actually kids aged 9 to 13 and they haven’t got pointy ears or hairy big feet. Just the same, our young members of the Baggins family get gobbled up by the huge Accord cabin. They cannot believe how roomy it is inside. Mind the leather seats and no hide and seek using the Ring, dad calls out to the brood at the back.
Checking the exterior again, especially taking note of the solidly built body, aggressive front grille and headlights that sort of stare down at your face, it would appear that the proper way to address this hunk of metal is he. He, the new Accord that is, is a macho sportsman for sure. On the road, the suspension is firmer than the usual soft-riding sedan used by many a sedate ageing executive. No sir, this guy wants you to know he originated from the sports car family. Sporty driving is still his main suite. Never mind if family car enters your mind at some point, this Ironman can do both, wear crocs like a domesticated dad, and run like the wind when your right foot meets accelerator pedal.
And why not? Underneath the hood is a monster of a V6 displacing 3.5 liters and containing the power of 277+ horses. Stepping on the gas while holding on to the steering wheel (you’d be silly not to) is like sitting behind the cockpit of a jetfighter maneuvering on a peso coin, as you blast away into the wild blue yonder. Movie buff at this point has now lost 20 or more years (in his mind) and is feeling like Maverick, the cocky young pilot in Top Gun, who effortlessly flies his fighter jet like it was the new Honda Accord on the freeway.
If you think this sporty sedan with the big beast of an engine will guzzle all your precious hard earned money spent on premium gas, you’re absolutely wrong, thank God! Like some intelligent android straight out of iRobot, this machine knows when to run on four cylinders in a V4 configuration on the highway, and even like an inline three cylinder when city cruising. It will save fuel when you want it to. And it will instantly and seamlessly fire up all six cylinders when the going gets tough. The thing is, the vehicle will do all this without having to ask movie buff’s approval first. Its quite automatic really and the dude doesn’t even know its doing this, save for an ‘eco’ light that goes on and off while he is driving. This is also known as having your cake and eating it too. Economy car and sports car morphed into one. Oh no, did movie buff just think that – yep: Transformers indeed.
As we know, all fun comes to an end at some point. The Accord and the movie buff have become good friends in the short time they spent together. Maybe, they shall meet again at the showroom, or the top of the
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