H
OPINION
22 MODERN CLASSICS
onda’sgoing
th roughthemill in
th e UK rightnow.
With theannouncement
th at theSwindonfactory
is closingdueto a drop
of f in demandanda push
to wardselectrification
(a ndnot Brexit– honestly),
it ’s goingthroughmajor
re trenchment.Someof
it s troublesare product-
related,though,as anyone
who’sclappedeyeson the
cu rrentCivicwill attest.
Le ss than20 yearsago,it
so ld a rangethatincludeda
tr ulydesirableCivic,the
In tegraTypeR andNSX
su percar.It wasa company
th at seemedin tunewiththe
worldas a whole,producing
desirablecarsthatpeople
ac tuallywanted,andadvertisingthemin a
ve ry coolway.In 2002,it launchedthe
se venth-generationAccordwhich,unlikethe
previousforgettableversion,wassharp,
an gular,andstyledto appealto status-
consciousEuropeans.Honda’smojowas
ba ckwiththisone,andit wastargetingthe
BMW3 Series,AudiA4 andFordMondeo.
I kn owwhatyou’rethinking,though.Why
amI championinga middle-management
sa loonwithall thesportingcredentialsof a
gr andpiano?Andlestwe forget,it follows
onfromtheexcellentsixth-generation
AccordTypeR, completewithfull-fat
re d-topengine,andeveryonelovesthose
no w.Well,theseventh-generationAccord
Ty peS is a bit of a hiddengem,andeven
be tterthanthatone.If you’resavvy,youcan
pi ckoneup forlessthana grand,andstill
en joybulletproofreliabilityandbuildquality,
ba gsof equipmentandtech,a decent
un it thatpumpsout 188bhp.
It ’s happyto revandrev,and
la ughsin thefaceof zingy
6000 rpm-plusforays.
There’salsoplentyof
mi drangepunchand
cruisingrefinementto enjoy.
Performanceis decent
en ough,with0-60mphin
- 9secanda 141mphmax
- but if you’regentle
en ough,youshouldget a
day-to-day35mpg.
AsHondawastargeting
th e 3 Serieswiththiscar,the
ki tchensinkwasthrownat
th is attemptat buildinga
Euro-stylepremiumsaloon.
Th e handlingwasreally
ra thergood thanksto
Honda’ssophisticated
double-wishbone
suspensionset-up.It was
dr ivingexperience,andperformanceand
ha ndlingthatshouldkeepyoumorethan
re asonablyentertained.Eventhebestones
ar en’tmuchmorethan£2500.
OK,so youdon’tget muchof theTypeR
ku doswitha TypeS. Andrightnow,it has
ze ro streetcredandpresence.But that’s
good,becausewe liketo lookbeyondall
th at.Whatyoudo get,however,is a quietly
ef ficientdad-carthat’llentertainyouwhen
yo u havetheroadsto yourself.The2354cc
K24A3engineunderthebonnetis a bit of a
cr acker– a naturally-aspiratedall-aluminium
ho nedforthemoresensitivedriver,with
li ghtcontrolsandover-servoedbrakes.But
st aywithit – thesteeringandturn-inare first
ra te,thehandlingis balancedandgrip
te nacious.As it’snot overburdenedwith
poweror tactility,it doesn’tmatterthatthis
Accordis front-wheeldrive– you’llbarely
no ticeit, unlessyou’rehooningit in thewet.
ThisHondais builtto last– evenover 15
ye arsafterits launchtheearliestexamples
don’tthrowup reliabilityhorrors.Thisis a
goodthingbecausebeinga Honda,youcan
guaranteesomepartswill be hardto find
no t longfromnow.
Sowhygo foran Accord2.4 I-VTECType
S?Becauseit’sa sleeperthatwon’tattract
an y attention,but will leaveyousmiling
whenthetimeis right.Also,becauseit’s
quick,understated,andreallygreatvaluefor
money.So whydoesn’tHondabuildcarslike
th is anymore?We needto be told.
‘A QUIETLY EFFICIENT DAD-CAR
THAT’LL ENTERTAIN YOU’
THE HOARDER
Keith Adams
Want a beat-the-system bargain
in old-school Honda style?
Grab a Honda Accord Type S
WHO IS...
KEITH ADAMS
Keith founded Modern
Classics in 2015, and
now edits Parkers.co.uk
Has a weak spot for
French metal...
