2018 Honda Accord Review | iDSC014

2018 Honda Accord Test Drive with Clinton "The Professor" Quan Honda nailed the styling of its completely redesigned Accord for 2018.  iDriveSoCal contributor, Clinton Quan, picked up a Touring Edition from our friends at Rock Honda for a day-long test drive.  Hear “The Professor’s” analysis of his drive through the foothills after having put the Accord through its paces. ***Transcript*** Recording date – December 27, 2017 Clinton Quan: I got to drive the 2018 Honda Accord Touring, which is the top line trim from Rock Honda. Everything is brand new, all new design inside out. It's got that fast back slope roof design which you see in a lot of cars now. And it really has a premium feel to it which I think a lot of people will really appreciate. It almost looks like a luxury car. I really got to really push the car and see how well it could handle. There's a number of curves up on Highway 138. And this car, it handles really well, especially for a midsize sedan. Tom Smith: Welcome to iDriveSoCal, the podcast all about mobility in the automotive capital of the United States - Southern California. I'm Tom Smith and joining me in this episode is our good friend, The Professor, Clinton Quan. Say hey to everyone, Clinton. Clinton Quan: Hi, everyone. And, hi, Tom. It's great to be back. Tom Smith: Thanks for coming back. Clinton is a buddy of mine. He's a transportation engineer, one of the biggest car guys I know. He keeps his finger on the pulse of everything coming out of every manufacturer, whether that is foreign, domestic, luxury, even exotics. Clinton is also an iDriveSoCal contributor. This is his second go around with us. And we very much appreciate his expertise and joining us today. So the 2018 Honda Accord from Rock Honda is the topic du jour, Clinton gave that a test drive, and he's going to tell us all about it. Clinton Quan: Yeah, I got to drive the 2018 Honda Accord Touring, which is the top line trim from Rock Honda. There are five different trims for the Honda Accord. The base trim is the LX. Then you have the sport trim which has the really nice 19-inch wheels, the mid-level trim the EX, the EXL, which is the same thing but you're getting leather, and then the top of the line trim, the Touring, which is the one I drove. And the Touring is available in both a 1.5 turbo charge engine or a 2.0 liter turbo charge engine as with most of the trims except for the LX. The one I drove has the 192 horsepower engine. It also has 192 pound feet of torque with the 1.5 liter turbo. Tom Smith: The 1.5 turbo is 192/192? Clinton Quan: Correct. So that's easy to remember. Tom Smith: And those two engines are available on all the models? Clinton Quan: It's available on all the trims except for the base trim, which is the LX trim, which would only be available with the 1.5 turbo. Tom Smith: Gotcha. And before we turned the mics on, you were talking about 19-inch wheels and that being a significant aesthetic option, or an aesthetic additive on this year's Touring. Do I remember that right? Clinton Quan: Yes, I believe the previous generation actually had smaller wheels and it was only the sport model that came standard with those big 19-inch rims. And that is actually a very popular model because it looks great with those larger wheels, and you're getting a lot of car for the money. It starts around... I know the previous trim started around $23,000. I believe this new one starts around $24,000, $25,000. Tom Smith: So the 19-inch wheels are available on the sport as well as the Touring? Clinton Quan: Correct. Tom Smith: Okay, and we were talking a little bit more about the trim options in the Honda lineup. Tell us a little bit more about that.