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تقارير اجنبية خاص بالتقارير الاجنبية والاخبار العالمية المتعلقة بالامان والسلامة المرورية


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قديم 17-06-2011, 02:30 AM
ahmed_7erzon ahmed_7erzon غير متواجد حالياً
 
تاريخ التسجيل: May 2011
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افتراضي 2011 Honda Accord SE Review

Honda Canada likes to play with words. A press release in June 2010 announced the arrival of a “new version” of the Accord sedan. Dubbed SE (for Special Edition), it would be replacing the 2010 Accord LX as the entry-level model for 2011.

The reality isn’t quite so dramatic, and consists essentially of swapping a few letters around. Whether designated LX or SE, the base Accord remains the simplest expression of this great car.





A sea of rivals
A change of pace is always a good thing, though. Especially when you don’t have any “actual” new features to offer consumers.

The Honda Accord has to fight it out with a flood of contenders in the mid-size sedan segment, one of the hottest for Canadian dealers.


The Ford Fusion has been dominating the class since 2009, and the Honda Accord supplanted the
Toyota Camry in 2010 as the second best-selling model. Competition is decidedly fierce, and for consumers, the automotive buffet is as diverse as it is tempting. In 2010, for instance, the Chevrolet Malibu, Nissan Altima and Hyundai Sonata came in neck and neck for the third spot. And yet, Hyundai needed only launch a redesigned (and beautifully elegant) 2011 Sonata to eclipse those rivals and land itself in second place since the beginning of 2011 – knocking the Accord back down to fourth. Talk about a roller-coaster ride.

Attractive base model

So that’s the backdrop for the arrival of the 2011 Accord SE. These market conditions don’t prevent the big sedan from staying at the forefront of the class, however.

Honda probably decided to upgrade the base version, among others, to maintain the car’s popularity. So the SE now benefits from the standard equipment that was missing from the Accord LX. That includes an 8-way adjustable electric driver’s seat, compared to the 2010 LX’s 6-way manual one. The new perch even offers lumbar support – and power lumbar support to boot!
The Accord SE also sports 16-inch alloy wheels, so you won’t have to take out a second mortgage to buy a set of winter tires.





Music lovers will appreciate the new 270-watt stereo, which combines an AM/FM/XM radio (instead of plain old AM/FM) and a 6-CD changer built into the dash (instead of a plain old single-CD player). It’s also MP3 and Windows Media Audio compatible and features 7 speakers, including a subwoofer (compared to the LX’s 6). Finally, Bluetooth offers hands-free connectivity.

That’s essentially the new sauce served up in the SE version. Too bad Honda Canada didn’t decide to up the ante a little more by adding heated seats, though. After all, we Canadians appreciate a warm tush during those long winter months! Indeed, even the humble Kia Rio Convenience, a sub-compact model selling for nearly $10,000 less, includes heated bucket seats as standard equipment.


Simple yet efficient mill

There’s nothing new tucked under the hood this time around. Like the outgoing base Accord, this one calls on a 2.4-litre, multi-valve, 4-cylinder mill generating 177 hp. It’s a variant of the mill powering the Honda CR-V.

The swankier Accord EX and EX-L share another version of the engine that produces 190 hp; Honda also offers EX and EX-L models powered by a potent 271-hp V6, but that’s another story.


A measly 177 ponies, you say? Never fear, the advantageous power-to-weight ratio and the judicious gear ratio of the automatic transmission (featured in our tester) allow the beefy sedan to dash from 0 to 100 km/h in under 9 seconds. A very decent number for a car that will most likely be put to family use.
Like the model it replaces, the SE distinguishes itself from the rest of the Accord family by one very special feature: a standard manual transmission. In fact, this is the only Accord sedan to be equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Honda admittedly delivers a lot more Accord SEs equipped with the optional 5-speed autobox, though. The manual version is probably just there so the automaker can tout a base price under $25,000…

An interesting buy

The Accord SE’s entry-level status doesn’t play against it, though. Passengers benefit from a slew of features common to all Accord sedans. I’m thinking of the spacious cabin that can very comfortably accommodate four adults, five if need be. I’m also thinking of the huge trunk with its deep, wide opening. You can even increase trunk space by lowering the one-piece rear bench (the other Accords have a 60/40 split bench).






This Accord has an air conditioner, power windows and a tilt and telescopic steering wheel. The bucket seats are comfortable too, and offer decent side support for a family car.

The variable assist power steering is precise and the brakes are easy to measure out. The only major bummer is the layout of the centre console, which is overrun with controls that are hard to tell apart.


Civic EX-L or Accord SE?

You can compare this mid-size sedan to other mid-size models, but you can also compare it to a high-end compact car with a very similar price tag. This is the kind of question some Honda reps present us with sometimes – without actually asking it, of course! Take the 2011 Honda Civic EX-L, for instance. The very well-endowed compact sedan starts at around $24,000, while the 2011 Honda Accord SE we tested has a base price of almost 26 000 $.

Naturally, the smaller sedan has the advantage of better fuel economy. Using the manufacturer’s numbers, we calculated a 7% difference in favour of the Civic. However, the power-to-weight ratio is pretty much the same for both.


So if you were to choose the Accord in this instance, it would be for its larger cabin and trunk (20 and 17% bigger than the Civic’s, respectively). As for the rest, both models feature much the same equipment – other than the heated seats that the Civic EX-L has inherited. A strange irony, wouldn’t you say?
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