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2013 Honda Accord preview (pictures)

Honda gives the Accord a major update for the model's 30th anniversary, equipping it with new engines and cabin tech.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
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Honda updates its midsize sedan for the 2013 model year, modernizing the technology to compete with cars such as the Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion. Honda offers the Accord in LX, EX, EX-L, Sport, and Touring trim levels. There are also two engine and three transmission choices.
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A specific Honda design language is difficult to find on the new Accord. The new car gets a chrome strip underlining the small grille. Headlight casings are rounded and bubble out from the front fenders slightly.
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The rounded roofline accommodates front and rear passengers. Honda reduced the length of the Accord sedan by 3.6 inches, but did not lose any cabin area.
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The suspension delivers a very smooth ride, and Honda uses active noise canceling in the cabin to help eliminate road noise.
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The 2013 Accord will also be available in this coupe body style. The Accord Coupe will come with similar engine and transmission options as the sedan.
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The engines in the new Accord employ Honda's new Earth Dreams technology initiative to improve efficiency. The 2.4-liter uses direct injection to boost power and fuel economy over the prior generation's 2.4-liter four-cylinder.
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The 3.5-liter V-6 engine gets Honda's i-VTEC technology, which controls the valve timing and lift, but not direct injection. This engine also shows greater horsepower and fuel economy over the older 3.5-liter V-6.
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The EX-L Accord sedan gets leather, power-adjustable seats. The cabin is covered in quality trim pieces and feels very roomy.
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The rear bench can easily hold three passengers.
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Navigation is available in the EX-L and Touring trims. The navigation system uses a hard drive to store its maps, and looks similar to those currently found in Acura models.
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Even Accords without navigation still get the LCD at the top of the dashboard, although it only shows stereo and phone information.
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The Honda LaneWatch feature employs a camera on the car's right side mirror, which gives the driver a clear view on that side of the car.
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The maps show much better resolution than those in older Honda models, in particular making text for street names easier to read. The maps also show traffic information.
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This onscreen menu, operated by a dial controller on the dashboard, is similar to those seen in Acura models, although the styling is refined.
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Among the audio sources, some high-trim Accord models will have Aha, a service that uses the driver's phone to deliver podcasts and music from the Internet. The service also turns Twitter and Facebook feeds into audio.

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