Honda Accord V6 (old)

Here is a car which is semi-sensible and semi-lunatic

Published on Sep 30, 2009 07:00:00 AM

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You’ll appreciate the space, the soft and absorbent ride, the light, variable ratio steering and the refined engine – things that the typical Accord owner demands. But then again, the V6 is not for the typical Accord owner.

If anything, the performance is too strong. This Honda motor, as usual, is generations ahead of the chassis it is mounted in. There’s just too much performance on tap for this chassis to handle. The massive accelerating, cornering and braking forces easily overwhelm the chassis and suspension and, as a result, the car seldom feels secure and totally at ease with the pace.

The problem lies in the soft suspension, which seems to be set up for the American market where the Accord is hugely popular. For this reason, it’s a bit of a boat around corners. Push hard and the nose washes wide when you attack a turn. Still, considering that a full 270bhp is going to the front wheels, there’s not much torque-steer to battle with when you put the power down.

It does come to a stop in a respectable 26 metres but we found that after repeated hard use of the brakes, the brake pedal starts juddering. Honda says it is because of the sudden rise in temperatures that makes the discs heat up unevenly. The juddering disappears when the brakes cool down, so it’s only a temporary irritant.