Car and Driver - USA (2020-01)

30 10BEST FOR 2020

The Honda Accord is

the perfect escape from

suburban monotony.

Quickness is routine in 2020. You

can buy a mainstream subcom-

pact SUV—a four-wheel bottom

feeder—that hits 60 mph in less

than seven seconds. There are

two-and-a-half-ton vehicles that

achieve the same feat in less than

four. So when we call the Honda

Accord a sleeper, we’re not talking

about the fact that the proletarian-

spec model (continuously variable

automatic trans, turbo 1.5-liter

inline-four) shoots to 60 mph in a

spry 6.6 seconds. Nor do we have

the quickest Accord’s 5. 4-second

sprint to 60 mph in mind. This

sensible family sedan is a sleeper

because of how the Accord’s chas-

sis responds when roused from a

lazy commute.

Fluid handling and alert steer-

ing turn every dogleg on-ramp,

@OR[Q \ß_NZ] N[Q PY\cR_YRNS

interchange into a momentary

escape from the monotonous

and the mundane. The precise

action and satisfying weight of

the steering wheel, the pedals,

and the manual shifter suggest

a kind of engineering harmony

aUNa f\b _N_RYf ¼[Q \ba`VQR \S

sports cars. That’s right, Honda

is the last automaker to provide a

manual transmission in a mid-size

ONE OF

THE MOST

HIGHLY

EVOLVED

CONSUMER

PRODUCTS

IN THE

WORLD.

The Sleeper