2013 Honda Accord Coupe review: New Accord Coupe makes a sporty return to form

Is it too early to say that Honda's got its groove back? Maybe, but that doesn't discount how much the 2013 Accord Coupe V-6 feels like a return to form for the Honda brand. It's attractive. Its design is thoughtful. Most importantly, it's actually fun to drive.

7.5

2013 Honda Accord Coupe

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The Good

With its V-6 engine, six-speed gearbox, and great handling, the <b>2013 Honda Accord Coupe</b> is way more fun than a car this size should be. The cabin tech system check all of the right boxes for audio sources and features basic app integration with Aha and Pandora. Honda's LaneWatch camera takes getting used to, but is very useful.

The Bad

Multiscreened infotainment system can be confusing and awkward to use. Active driver aid technologies, such as blind-spot monitoring, cross traffic alert, and adaptive cruise are missing from the options list.

The Bottom Line

The 2013 Honda Accord Coupe EX-L V-6 is a big step in the right direction for Honda, with great performance and good tech, but we worry that all of these virtues may not trickle down to the rest of the brand.

Cabin tech
We've seen Honda's new dashboard interface before in the Accord sedan and in the new Acura RLX (albeit, highly modified and reskinned for the premium brand).

In our navigation-equipped Accord Coupe, the infotainment system actually consists of two color LCDs and two different control schemes that work together. The main screen is standard to all Accord models and is an 8-inch display that sits at the top of the dashboard outside of the driver's reach. It's not touch sensitive and is controlled by a large control knob located low on the center stack, which is an odd placement. It's not as easily reachable as the center console placement that the German manufacturers have favored recently, not as visible as the high placement favored by Nissan/Infiniti, and requires a bit of reaching around the shift knob depending on the chosen gear.

The main screen is where the the majority of the driver's interactions occur, its interface split into four modes (navigation, phone, audio, and info) each accessible via a hardware button located near the control knob. Honda's interface is greatly improved in this generation; every function is easy to find and, with a few exceptions that I'll nitpick in a bit, I like what I see.

The second, smaller display sits lower in the dash and juts out from the dashboard a bit, making its touch screen easy for the driver to reach. However, the purpose of this second touch-sensitive display left me feeling a bit confused for the first few days with the Accord. Mostly, it just displays metadata for the currently playing audio source and offers additional controls. I was convinced that most of the functions accessible on this second screen could have been more elegantly solved with more clever integration into the main display.

But on the second day of my testing, I went to input a destination into the main screen's navigation system and the audio controls on the touch screen were replaced with an input keyboard. Honda also gives drivers the option of using the control knob to select alphanumerics on the main screen, but with the keyboard right there, inputting destinations was quick and easy. While taking advantage of, for example, the Pandora app integration, the second screen allows for quick browsing of stations and rating songs without leaving the navigation interface on the main screen. The HondaLink Aha Radio integration works similarly. In these instances, what at first seemed like an overcomplication of what should have just been skip and pause buttons becomes a configurable interface that puts a lot of flexibility at the driver's fingertips.

However, even for a old car-tech hand such as myself, dealing with two screens while driving takes a lot of getting used to, and there are a few oddities that never go away. For example, it's possible to display and browse audio source information on both screens at the same time -- possibly a holdover from models that don't feature the second screen.

Speaking of audio sources, our Honda was equipped with an AM/FM tuner. a single-slot CD player, Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming, a 3.5mm analog auxiliary input, and a USB/iPod connection -- the usual suspects for what we expect to see at this point in a modern car. Our navigation-equipped model also featured hard-drive-based turn-by-turn directions with voice command and 16GB of storage space dedicated to storing ripped music and audio. The aforementioned Pandora app control with metadata, rating, and browsing and HondaLink app integration (which is basically just a customized connection to Aha by Harman's audio and data streaming service) round out the audio source mix.

Driver aid technologies
The Accord is available with what is largely a modern outfit of driver aid technologies, including a standard rear-view camera with multiple views (wide, standard, and close).

Our model featured a camera-based lane departure warning system that alerts the driver when crossing guide lanes without signaling and a collision warning system that beeps and flashes amber LEDs at the base of the windshield when you get too close to the car ahead too quickly. I found the collision warning system to be too alarmist, beeping far too frequently, but it is both customizable and defeatable. On at least one occasion during my testing, I was glad to have the system in place.

Missing from Honda's driver safety mix is a conventional blind-spot monitoring system with little LCDs in the side mirrors. In its place, Honda offers its LaneWatch system, a side-view camera that aims into the blind spot on the passenger side of the car, displaying its image on the main LCD in the dashboard. When the right turn signal is activated, the camera springs to life.

At first, I found it a bit odd and distracting, drawing my eye when I went to look over my shoulder (as I always do when changing lanes). The Accord actually has pretty good visibility even without the camera. Over time, however, I learned to use the camera in addition to the shoulder check -- glancing at it as I turned my head and again as I returned to center, allowing me to triple check the blind spot before changing lanes.

Guidelines on the LaneWatch's display also helped with judging whether cars visible were one, two, or three lengths behind, which prevented me from cutting off other drivers while I got used to the Accord's length. A button on one of the steering column stalks allows the LaneWatch to be manually activated, which also aided in judging the size of spaces for parallel parking or double-checking the distance to the curb when you're done. However, shifting into reverse brings up the rear view camera, a more useful view anyway.

There is no LaneWatch display for the driver's side of the car, so you'll have to stick to looking over your shoulder for lane changes in that direction.

Power train
While not immensely powerful, the Accord Coupe's V-6 engine is a gem. Output for the 3.5-liter engine is stated at 278 horsepower and 252 pound feet of torque in this '6MT' incarnation, which sends its power to the front wheels via a standard six-speed manual transmission.

The six-cylinder engine uses a technology called Variable Cylinder Management, which allows it to shut down one of its two banks and operate on just three cylinders when cruising and idling for increased efficiency, then reactivate the dormant bank when acceleration is required. The system is completely transparent in operation and I never noticed a lack of power when I called upon the engine. Fuel economy is estimated by the EPA at 21 city, 32 highway, and a combined 25 mpg. I averaged about 23.9 mpg over a long weekend that consisted of roughly equal parts highway cruising, city traffic, and a few early morning back-road blasts to test the Coupe's handling prowess.

The Accord Coupe features a green "Econ" button on its dashboard, much like that of the Honda Civic, that aims to help drivers to maximize fuel economy by adjusting (read: dulling) throttle response. I tested it to make sure that it worked, but largely drove the Coupe in its normal setup.

Also optional on the 2013 Accord Coupe EX-L V-6 is a six-speed automatic transmission. I'm being very specific with the model and trim level, because the EX-L V-6 is the only model that's available with a conventional, torque converter, gear-switching system, where the other four-cylinder models feature continuously variable transmissions.

Perhaps it's my inner car snob showing a bit, but after spending a week with the manual gearbox, I can't fathom why anyone would bother with either of the automatic options. But I digress.

Performance
As I stated earlier, the Accord's V-6 engine is a gem. It's quiet when idling and cruising at low engine speeds. Downshift and lay into the accelerator and the engine wakes up, filling the cabin with a deep sound that's urgent but not buzzy. Don't get me wrong, it's not muscle-car deep, but the Accord Coupe's induction sound was, to my ear, suitably aggressive for the sort of "sporty" driving that automakers always seem to claim their big, boring coupes are capable of.

However, in the case of the 2013 Accord Coupe V-6, this big, boring coupe actually is capable of sporty driving.

To call the V-6 engine "responsive" seems like a bit of an understatement. This hunk of metal feels alive, particularly when paired with the manual gearbox. Honda presents the driver with the killer combination of the blippable throttle, the smooth shifter with positive engagement at the end of every throw, and a shifter that's easy to modulate. The three pedals could be better placed for heel-toe downshifts, but rowing my own cogs feel like a pleasure and not a chore, even in heavy traffic in and around the city.

Not that the V-6 engine requires constant shifting and rowing of the driver. It's got enough torque to pull off passing maneuvers, even if you happen to find yourself a gear or two higher than is optimal.

What's more is that the Accord Coupe boasts handling that is also impressive for a car of its size.

Steering was responsive, with only a small enough dead spot around center to keep it from feeling twitchy at highway speed, but with decent enough turn-in to hustle an emergency lane change when I needed it to. When I aimed the Coupe around a fast bend, it settled in and went where it was told to with surprising ease and no drama. Toss the Coupe back and forth around an 'S' and it will hit apex after apex with nary a complaint.

That's not to say that Honda has built a sports car. The Accord Coupe has limits, but they are generous limits that are clearly defined. Come into a turn too fast and the Honda will respond with predictable understeer that is easily correctable. The Accord is easy to drive quickly, but doesn't punish its driver for exploring the limits of the car they bought. This is a very good thing.

On my first trip in the 2013 Accord Coupe EX-L V6 6MT, I immediately remarked that everything about the car, from the handling, to the acceleration, and the general behind-the-wheel experience reminded me of the Honda Civic Si, only larger. I think that's one of the highest compliments that I can pay Honda's engineers.

In sum
So I've established a few strong opinions in my mind at the end of my week with the latest Honda Accord Coupe. It's a gorgeous car with a sporty design, despite its size. Its dashboard tech makes a number of steps in the right direction but requires a lot of getting used to on the driver's part and a bit more polish on Honda's end. It's one of the best large, front-drive coupes that I've ever driven. I drive a lot of "meh" cars during the course of the year, but I really liked this 2013 Accord Coupe V-6 so much that I couldn't help gushing about it to my friends.

The Accord Coupe starts at $23,350 for the 185-horsepower LX-S entry model. For that price, the Accord is pretty spartan, lacking pretty much every feature that I praised in our tester. Working your way up through the trim levels adds driver safety tech, better cabin trim and infotainment tech, and -- at our EX-L V-6 trim level -- more power and performance. Add the optional navigation system and a $790 destination fee to reach an MSRP of $33,140. This is the Accord to get if you're looking at the Coupe. Manual or automatic, the EX-L V-6 is the same price, and there are no options at this trim level, so specing your car couldn't be easier.

But is this coupe a return to form for Honda, a reappearance of the brand's sporty driving dynamics and DNA ripe to spread through the brand? Well, that remains to be seen.

I personally haven't driven the four-cylinder, CVT-equipped Coupe and Sedan variants that share the Accord nameplate with our tester, but Senior Editor Wayne Cunningham has. When I asked him about these other variants, he told me that, aside from the dashboard tech that he disliked, they were largely unremarkable. So perhaps this 2013 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 EX-L 6MT is just an oasis of performance in a desert of dull. It's a step in the right direction, but just a single step. Does that diminish this specific trim level's impact? No, but it does give me a glimmer of hope.