But the larger two-door Accord, as good as it is, is an entirely different
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| Its standard 1.8-litre four-cylinder, replacing the somewhat taxed 1.7-litre unit, now makes 140-horsepower in base trim. (Photo: Honda Canada) |
animal than the compact Civic coupe. Along with the smaller size comes a much more "tossable" vehicle, thriftier on fuel yet still offering adrenaline inducing acceleration. Well, it's no neck-snapper if not outfitted in optional Si trim, but its standard 1.8-litre four-cylinder, replacing the somewhat taxed 1.7-litre unit, now makes 140-horsepower at 6,300 rpm in base trim, compared to 115- or 127-horsepower at 6,100 and 6,300 rpm respectively, in base or previous DX or Si-G trim levels (plus a variety of trim levels in between), and 128 lb-ft of torque at 4,300 rpm, an improvement from 110 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm or 114 at 4,800 rpm, respectively.
This means the new car's acceleration is much quicker at takeoff, as well as much more enthusiastic when passing long highway trucks out on the
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| The new car's acceleration is much quicker at takeoff, as well as much more enthusiastic when passing long highway trucks. (Photo: Honda Canada) |
highway. That zippier performance doesn't negatively effect fuel consumption, however, with the new four-cylinder managing a respectable 7.8 L/100 km in the city and 5.7 L/100 km on the highway when equipped with the manual transmission. If an automatic is more to your liking, the Civic coupe's extremely efficient five-speed unit, which by the way is the first of its kind in the compact class, doesn't negatively effect highway mileage numbers at all, but around town it goes through slightly more fuel at 8.2 L/100 km. This said, I'd put money on the auto being more economical in real-world driving situations. Why? Its comparatively sedate nature would probably cause drivers to relax and enjoy the scenery more often, not beckoning on the weak minded (myself included) like the sporty five-speed unit does. Less enthusiasm behind the wheel benefits the environment too, with the new coupe given a ULEV-2 rating compared to last year's respectable ULEV-1 standard.
