Thanks for the awesome review, Vivek. Great pictures and very well-written.
Frankly, even as a petrolhead, I am terribly disappointed with the Accord V6. Here is why:
1. Price : 7 - 8 lakhs more than the I-4 Automatic? You got to be kidding me. Get the manual (an enthusiasts choice) I-4 into the picture, and we are looking at a near 10 lakh price difference. What has Honda been smoking again?
2. Differential value : For 8 lakhs more than the I-4, what is a V6 owner getting? There is simply no justification for this premium by way of additional equipment. Heck, there aren't even xenon headlamps or a damn sunroof! 8 lakhs is a lot of money for 90 horsepower. Heck, 8 lakhs can buy you
a full car with 100 horses on tap (Fiesta 1.6 etc.). Gotta hand it to Skoda for the way they positioned the RS. It carried a premium tag but had pretty much all the bells & whistles, along with a suspension capable of handling those extra horses.
3. Even with all that additional power, how exactly are you going to put it to use? The I-4 - as competent as it is - is NOT a handler. Its like a large boat. Ditto with the V6. Even the previous Accord was driver-oriented compared to this 26 lakh Accord. We have to realise that more horsepower doesn't necessarily equate to a better driving experience. Its only when the car CAN HANDLE the additional power that its fun. I am willing to bet that a 150 BHP RS is more fun to drive than a V6 Accord.
4. Honda has shot itself in the foot. An overpriced variant, terrible FE and basic equipment levels will ensure that V6 owners suffer from terrible resale. After all, the I-4 meets 99% of the requirements of the market and is a whopping 8 lakhs cheaper.
The Accord I-4 remains one of the most sensible choices in that segment. And the V6 one of the stupidest. Strange how only 2 cylinders and a maniac of a bean counter can ruin the proposition.
If Honda continues to wear the dunce cap that they have in the past 12 months, competition is going to walk all over them. They totally botched up the Civic Hybrid, launched a premium price ANHC - a car that reeks of cost cutting (starting with the interiors), and now a V6 that is priced out of Hondas league. At a 2.5 lakh premium, the previous V6 bombed. Even my 1st grader cousin could guess the fate of a 8 lakh premium.
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Originally Posted by vivekji05 It’s been a week of driving six cylinder cars like the Audi A4 3.2FSI and the BMW 325i. |
How about a review of the 3.2? What a car.
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Braking was adequate and secure for a vehicle of this class, but considering the additional power, it could have been made better.
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When you push it hard, the engine will oblige but the softness of the suspension will hold you back.
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I had both my hands on the wheel and it still needed a lot of corrections to be going straight.
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The soft suspension makes it harder to explore the abilities of the engine and that is the main problem with the V6.
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It would be strange to say that the previous generation Accord 3.0 V6 with 220horses felt much sharper to drive than this one.
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