Honda is moving in the right direction

Press, 24 July 1986, Page 34

Honda is moving in the right direction

By

PETER GREENSLADE

NZMC, Ltd, timed the public launch of its 1986 batch of Honda Accords to coincide with the New Zealand Motor Expo ’B6 at Auckland last week. The national press corps was treated to a preview and comprehensive drive programme a few days earlier and subsequently arrived at Expo ’B6 secure in the knowledge that the new Accords fully justified the time, effort and money NZMC had spent to exhibit them attractively. More wedge-shaped and deceptively larger than the previous versions, there are three new Accords in 10 derivatives. These are not cheap cars, but it is only fair to add that if the prices announced on Monday, July 14, actually remain on the tickets, they are not as expensive as most motor industry observers expected. The cars range from $26,950 for the locally assembled LX four-door saloon and two-door coupe, both with manual five-speed transmission, to an estimated $51,000 for the two-door, fuel-in-jected, automatic transmission Aerodeck version, which is imported completely built-up from Japan and should reach dealers’ showrooms in October.

Four of the locally ssembled derivatives wear price tickets between $31,950 (two-door, fivespeed EX coupe) and $33,800 (four-door, fourspeed automatic EX saloon) so readers will readily appreciate that the new Accords are not bargain basement goods. If, as most people in our materialistic society believe, money really counts, these should be

good cars. I believe they are and so does George Hickton, NZMC’s sales and marketing general manager. In Rotorua, he expressed the view that the new 2-litre Accord saloon was "a cut above the average Oriental.” Hickton’s opposite numbers handling “average’ Mitsubishis and Toyotas may have reservations on that score, and, on the basis of price, the cynics will retort, “It would need to be.”

Nevertheless, it is an opinion easier to swallow than Hickton’s contention that the new Accords compare favourably in performance and design with European cars such as the 3 Series BMW, Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema.

Notably, BMWs, Fiats and Lancias were not among the 2-litre saloons lined up for back-to-back comparisons with the Accords.

With the exception of the Holden Commodore 4, the sampling comprised Japanese 2-litre saloons and, after the exercise was completed, my conclusion was that the timeworn adage that at night all cats are grey applied to cars also, even in daylight. Certainly, the new Accord scores points because it does feel more spacious than the average 2-litre Japanese saloon. However, from the driving and riding viewpoints, it would appear that Japanese chassis engineers still lack the knowledge of vehicle dynamics of their European counterparts (with the exception of Toyota, which, in New Zealand at least, has enlisted the expertise of Chris Amon).

It is unfortunate that

the average New Zealand motorist remains ignorant of the generality better handling and road-holding characteristics of European cars. People brought up solely on a rice diet never crave for a potato!

Anyway, my regular companion and I got on with the job and we conccluded that the LX coupe was the best of not d bad lot. The ride was, perhaps, a little stiffer than that of the other cars, but it was not uncomfortable. The power-assisted rack and pinion steering seemed just a shade more responsive and had a real element of road feel, qualities somewhat lacking in the other cars. With the exception of the fuel-injected, four-valves-per-cylinder Aerodeck, these 1995 cu cm

three-valves-per-cylinder (two intake and one exhaust), single overhead camshaft, carburettor-fed engines develop 78kW at 5500 rpm and are livelier than the older engines. Hondas in the past have been better regarded for their quality rather than performance. Now, the quality has been combined with a more agile and responsive power unit.

The 16-valve, fuel-in-jected engine in the Aerodeck is the same as that used in the upmarket Honda Prelude coupe. It develops 90kW at 5500 rpm and, frankly, I expected more from the waggon-type car than it could deliver. However, my only chance to sample this one was on a greasy forest road, so judgment

must be reserved until the opportunity arises to drive it under more favourable conditions.

As would be expected, the more expensive EX Accords are handsomely appointed, featuring power-operated windows, exterior mirrors and, in the case of the four-door saloon, a sunshine roof. The power-operated windows were welcome because the window winders on the LX cars have not been designed for use by weaklings.

The EX models are set apart from the cheaper LX cars by the equipment level rather than the standards of upholstery and trim. Following in the footsteps of Toyota New Zealand, Ltd, NZMC, Ltd, has had Robyn Leigh as a design consultant for the last 18 months and she

has furnished the new Accords every bit as tastefully as the latest Civics. The likes of Robyn Leigh and Toyota’s Jan Beck have added a degree of taste to the furnishings of these locally assembled cars. In the past, interior decorators

— and one could be excused for assuming that the domain was exclusively male — contrived to furnish cars with the extravagances of a bordello or the sanitary functionalism of a doctor’s waiting room of the midthirties. The Accords also look just as good externally. Front end treatment is much the same as that of the Prelude, retractable headlights emphasising the shark-like nose treatment. The high boot line is reminiscent of Alfa

Romeo saloon styling, but the lines are much more fluid to create a harmonious whole.

A new suspension layout has made the attractive styling possible. Honda has dispensed with MacPherson struts and used the double wishbone layout with coil springs and anti-roll bars front and rear. The use of double wishbones has not only permitted the lower profile in front, but has materially increased in capacity of the boot into which struts no longer intrude.

Apart from the styling and luggage carrying capacity advantages, this revised suspension layout, which is of a type increasingly favoured by high performance car designers, makes for a sweeter handling and rid-

ing car. it,. as well as some fine tuning of the steering geometry, has eradicated torque steer, a Honda weakness for long enough.

On the open road, at brisker touring speeds, the Accords understeer mildly in faster bends and show no tendency to react to variations in the throttle opening. There is no sign of nose tuck-in if one eases the throttle in the middle of a bend, so the tail does not drift out. The general effect experienced by occupants is that the Accord is secure in comers and body roll appears to be minimal. A disc-drum brake layout is used on all models, with the exception of the Aerodeck, which has discs all round. The brakes are very effective, being smoothly progressive. Apart from a rear-end growl that probably stemmed from an errant rear wheel bearing in the EX four-speed automatic sampled, no, weaknesses emerged in any of the' other cars in about 600 kilometres of fairly exacting driving, spread over an afternoon band a morning.

I must admit that the time I reached Auckland on Tuesday afternoon, my regard for the Accord was rather higher than it had been when I settled into the seat of the 1986 EX coupe after lunch at Napier on Monday. While the Accord is by no means comparable with the 3 Series BMW, the Fiat Croma or the Lancia Thema, it is fair to say that the Honda people, like some of the other Japanese carmakers, have got themselves pointed in the right direction at last.