Honda to bring in the new Accord

Allow me to start with an apology for the quality of pictures. I couldn’t manage anything better with merely a camera phone whilst running behind the damn car to get a clear shot.

I was talking to a fellow motoring journalist recently about how Honda has been, sort of, pompous about its presence in the D segment with the Civic. Honestly, the Civic is no longer as appealing a product that it was till a couple of years ago. There are better cars in the segment. Even the bland – and it pains me to say this – Toyota Corolla is a damn side better than the Civic. The Skoda Laura is the best there, really. Today, I would buy a Skoda Laura over the Civic or the Corolla in a hearbeat. In fact, I did.

The Civic has been asking for a serious makeover. Not just a little cosmetic touch-and-go, but a complete Shilpa Shetty nosejob sort of thing. Honda has been flirting with the Indian customer, really. Over the past few months, Honda has given the Civic a couple of ornamental add-ons, but that’s about it.

I think Honda should’ve brought in the American Civic here in India as a response to the Skoda Laura. I believe Honda would’ve done well to have actually announced the American Civic for India during the Auto Expo, 2010.

Anyway, it’s not the Honda Civic that compelled me to write this piece, it’s the Honda Accord, interestingly. The current Accord looks sensational; and if you don’t agree with that statement of mine, you’re simply a mental. It looks fresh, even butch from some angles, and is probably the best looking car in the upper D segment. Or is it the Toyota Camry that looks the best? Some decisions in life just aren’t so easy, are they?

Well, just as we’re warming up to the Honda Accord, it seems a new one is being readied. I spotted the European version of the Accord earlier in the day with minimal design changes and no camouflage. Just striking a little chat with the driver of the car, and sounding like an over excited motoring fanatic in the process, it was revealed that the ‘upcoming’ Honda Accord is being put through real-world evaluation in and around the NCR.

It beggars belief because it simply doesn’t make bloody sense. The Accord is still quite fresh and doesn’t necessarily need an update. The Civic is the one that needs it desperately, I say.

Having said that though, the car in pictures is the Honda Accord and if it is to be estimated, I believe we should get this car anywhere between the first quarter and mid-2011.

I also hope – from the bottom of my heart – that along with the usual 2.4-litre straight and 3.0-litre V6 petrol engines, we also get to see the 2.2-litre i-CTDI diesel occupying the space under the bonnet. The European Accord, with it shaper looks and, hopefully, the powerful diesel engine, should take the fight directly at the doorstep of the likes of VW Passat, and even the entry level Mercedes and BMW!