The 2018 Honda Accord is an all-new Honda itself. It comes with two engines – both turbo charged – with a 10-speed Automatic gearbox for the 2.0 L Turbo and a refined CVT for the 1.5 L Turbo. This is the comprehensive first drive of the 1.5 T, the second of the new Accord, after the 2.0 L Turbo.

I would like to read the 2.0 T first

First Drive of the 2018 Honda Accord 1.5 T

As the Honda Accord in San Marino Red was parked and the 1.5 L car in white slid out, I could instantly notice two things – one, that the engine feels much more powerful than its size suggests, and two, that the transmission is CVT.

As I got the first taste of some torque on the steering, I remembered that the 1.5 T is better than the outgoing 2.4L engine in both horsepower and torque. The haters of CVT seems to be fast losing ground – the G-Shift simulation of this Honda is the best so far, even better than the new CR-V that I drove last summer. [Click here for the review and video.] The CVT did not choke or croak as I climbed ‘unnatural’ speeds on the road and on the rpm meter in the 1.5 L Turbocharged Accord!

To deliver a cabin with matching quietness, Honda has added a wheel noise cancellation technique called ‘Wheel resonator’. So, some noise that remained could be due to the wind resistance on the Emirates Road and the fact that both Sport versions came with 18” wheels!

THE UPSIDE: Smoothly powerful, fuel efficient, evolved driver assistance, premium looks

THE FLIPSIDE: Some might miss the V6, 2.0 T available only in one trim

THE SPECS: 2.0 L Turbo 268 hp and 370 Nm torque @1500 rpm, 10-speed Automatic Transmission // 1.5 L Turbo 198 hp and 260 Nm torque @1400 rpm, CVT gearbox, Fuel economy: 1.5 L Turbo: Up to 18.4 km/L 2.0L Turbo: 14.3 km/L

THE PRICE: 2018 Accord 1.5 T LX: 94,900 Sport: AED 104,900 EX: AED 119,900 2.0 T Sport: AED 139,900

THE DIMENSIONS: Length: 4890 mm Wheelbase: 2830 mm Width: 1860 mm Height: 1450 mm, Weight distribution 60:40 for CVT, Boot space: 473 L Rear legroom: 1026 mm

Cabin and comfort

The seats in the 1.5 T are wrapped in a comfortable combination of synthetic leather and glossy, good-looking fabric. The classy dashboard inserts are here too.

The refinement is better with an overall improvement in the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness). The braking while effective occasionally lacked refinement. On city drives, the 1.5 T Accord is smooth and silent. For full throttle, the Sport mode would be a better idea, as the climb is steadier; in the regular mode, it might not be as good on the ears.

Advanced Safety and Driving (You can skip this if you read it in the 2.0 T review)

“Honda has complemented the premium feel of the Accord cabin with a complete package of Honda Sensing of driver assistance and safety.”

Airbags safety is standard across all variants of the 2018 Honda Accord – Advanced front airbags, side and side-curtain airbags, knee airbags for the driver and front passenger! Kudos to that!

HondaSensing™: Blind Spot Monitor, Lane Keeping Assist that goes beyond just warning, Forward Collision Warning and mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control with low speed following. The last feature is new and indeed the essence of ‘Adaptive’ cruise control that adapts to the speed of the car ahead and resumes the pre-selected speed when the opportunity returns. Head Up Display seems to be absent in the 1.5 T EX.

“The immensely popular Honda Lanewatch® camera is very much there in both the top trims! This is more of a convenience feature, which simply means you can get a wider view of the right lanes, while changing lanes, even when you have a stiff neck. But what is equally useful is the new multi-angle rear view camera.”

Will you miss the 2.0T?

The 2.0T is the absolute top of the line wearing a SPORT badge. It has the full Honda Sensing package, navigation, an 8” screen and 18” wheels. However, you can find a matching package with the 1.5T engine in the EX version, complete with leather seats, navigation and Honda Sensing package, but with 17” wheels and a missing ‘sport’ button on the console. This top spec costs 15,000 dirhams more than the ‘Sport’, which gives you a Sport button ready at right hand and an extra inch of wheel dia.

For those who don’t wish to miss the familiar gear stalk, the 1.5 T is good news. Instead of the gear selector buttons on the 2.0 T console this one still works with a gear you can hold on to! So most people aren’t going to miss their habit!

In terms of driving, the 1.5 T makes the most use of the turbo charging as it is available on a wider range – 1600 to 5000 rpm – while the 2.0 T makes its strong torque present only from 1500 to 3500 rpm. In terms of fuel economy too, the 1.5 L Turbo is way ahead, as to be expected!

Two recent favourites

Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are two all-new automobiles that impressed me on their first drive in 2018. How do they compare? Just when the Toyota Camry has brought back a six-cylinder in the Camry Grande, Honda has replaced both its NA engines with Turbocharged ones, but it has delivered power and efficiency that match up.

The Accord 1.5 T is not a cheap car but offers good value with a more powerful and fuel-efficient drive than the 2.4 L engine. In the other camp, the base version of Camry available in our region might find it straining its staying power. Pricewise, both start in the 90 grand bracket. In the higher range, the Toyota Camry has a larger engine with 300 horses and 367 Nm torque but the turbo-four star of Honda Accord isn’t necessarily any less thanks to a similar torque that is available early. On pure driving merit, the V6 Camry could tease and please the driver a little more. [Read my first drive of Camry on Dubai autodrome tracks] But the Accord has sculpted a more refined cabin and has thoughtfully brought all that is lacking in the new Camry – namely, cabin tech. Well, the game is getting better. Now, over to ever-striving Mazda to up the ante!

[Featured images are actually of a 2.0 T but that would be how the 1.5 top trim look. Sorry, lost the 1.5 T images. ]