New Honda Accord sedan, in its 8th generation for the model year 2008, has been redesigned completely. The Accord pretty much rules the D-segment in India, but in the the American market, it faces some serious competition from Toyota & Nissan. Honda’s best-seller is a second to Toyota Camry and is followed by Nissan Altima in terms of sales.

more pictures & video after the jump

Mind you, if anybody including me tells you the current 2007 model (7th gen model which is not so different from the previous 2006 version except for a restyled tail) is boring, its probably a result of having seen so many for so long. All the info and specifications that follow are of the USA-spec version.

The new Accord’s design is immensely refreshing and looks a lot more upmarket. It looks dangerously close to a 5-series BMW in the side profile photo shown below. According to Honda’s official press release, the new Accord (US-spec) is bigger with increased dimensions and more interior space. Comparing its dimensions with the 2007 version, on the outside its 3 inches longer, 1.1 inches wider and 0.9 inches taller. On the road its got a 2.3 inch longer wheelbase and Front/Rear track width is wider by 1.1 & 1.0 inches. One thing thats a little awkward (at least in the photos) is the headlamps stick out from the body-line.

The sedan’s total interior volume is increased to 120 cubic feet (3.3 more than 2007 model) which results in equal seating comfort for both front and rear passengers. The interior is 1.5 inches wider and allows the front seats to be positioned farther apart to allow for a wide center console more commonly associated with the finest luxury vehicles.

2008 Accord is higher on safety too, which is quite important for this class. Its got Vehicle Stability Assist with Traction Control and for the first time ever, Honda is offering four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes standard on all Accords. They say the body construction uses 48 percent high-tensile steel and that increases the vehicle’s torsional rigidity by 20 percent.

Honda was never praised for their designs as they were for their engines. Yes!… those smooth, technologically advanced and rev-happy engines. Honda will be offering two engines in 3 variants for the 2008 Accord.

• The current 2.4-liter, 16v DOHC, i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine tuned to produce 177 bhp at 6500 rpm and 218 Nm of torque at 4300 rpm
• The same 2.4 with a high-flow exhaust system with variable-valve silencer to produce 190 bhp at 7000 rpm and 220 Nm of torque at 4400 rpm
• The V6 is a 3.5-liter this time with an increased power output of 268 bhp at 6200 rpm and 336 Nm of torque at 5000 rpm

Here’s the best part, the V6 has something called a VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) which operates in 3 different modes, the engine will operate in a 6-cylinder, 4-cylinder or a 3-cylinder mode depending on the required power in any given situation. How cool is that! Now this means if driven economically, the V6 can be almost as fuel efficient as the smaller 2.4. Estimated EPA fuel economy is a 21/31 mpg (9/13 kmpl) City/Highway for the 2.4-liter engine and a 19/29 mpg (8/12 kmpl) City/Highway for the V6.

Seeing that the current Indian 2007 Accord is pretty much the same as the USA version, we should be getting the 2008 Accord with most of the above specs (the engines will be slightly detuned to match our fuel qualities though).

[source: autoblog]

Here’s a nice video clip if you wanna see the car in action. It has some good ‘on the road’ and ‘interior’ footage and ends with a nice animation of the V6 firing away.

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