10 Things You Need To Know About The 2015 Honda Accord

2015 Honda Accord ・ Photo by Honda

The 2015 Honda Accord is kind of like the all-star quarterback who shuns the spotlight, preferring to trade in the glitz and glamour that comes with relentless excellence for the respect of peers and accolades from those in the know.  The car isn't flashy, and it doesn't come with an eye-popping price tag, but the Honda Accord is routinely recognized as one of the best mid-size family sedans (and coupes) on the market - a reputation that's backed up by decades of strong sales and a long reliability streak. 

Let's take a look at 10 things you need to know about the 2015 Honda Accord.

1. The 2015 Honda Accord Comes In Coupe And Sedan Editions

Looking around the mid-size family segment today, you'll find very few - in fact, exactly one - two-door versions of popular four-door sedans.  The 2015 Honda Accord Coupe is a rarity, a throwback to the days when you could order a Camry (the Solara) or an Altima coupe alongside the more staid sedan edition.  The bonus for buyers is a styling upgrade over the standard version of the car, and one that doesn't ask you to give up much practicality or comfort in terms of suspension tuning or interior room. 

Photo by Honda

2. The 2015 Honda Accord Is Roomy Inside

Taking a look at the 2015 Honda Accord's cabin reveals a respectable amount of passenger room regardless of whether you order the four-door or two-door body style.  Sure, there aren't any other mid-size coupes in the Accords class to compare it to, but the Honda two-door gives up only four inches of legroom in the rear and only a half inch of headroom when contrasted against the spacious sedan.  It actually offers the same amount of rear legroom as you would find in a Ford Transit passenger van, which puts the Accord coupe in good company.

3. The 2015 Honda Accord Offers Five Trim Levels

Trim availability for the 2015 Honda Accord depends on body style and engine selection, but for the most part you are looking at LX, Sport, EX, EX-L and EX-L with Navi editions as the backbone of the Accord ordering process.  The LX edition is restricted to four-cylinder sedans, and it features dual automatic climate control, 16-inch rims, power windows and door locks, Bluetooth connectivity, a CD player, a rearview camera, and Internet radio.  Moving on to the Sport trim (again four-cylinder sedan-only) introduces a dual exhaust system, larger 18-inch rims, a trunk spoiler, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a power driver's seat, while the EX steps down to 17-inch wheels but provides a sunroof, heated mirrors, and keyless entry and ignition. 

The Accord EX-L brings leather seats, a driver's memory feature, and a power adjustable passenger seat to the table (along with seat heaters up front), and it also comes with a louder stereo system, a six-inch touchscreen, and satellite radio.  EX-L with Navi installs a navigation system.  Special trims are also available such as the LX-S (four-cylinder coupe), which provides larger rims and more stereo speakers, and the Touring (V-6 coupe-only), that offers LED headlights and adaptive cruise control.

4. The 2015 Honda Accord Features Frugal Four-Cylinder Power

The 2015 Honda Accord's entry-level four-cylinder engine is a 2.4-liter unit that can be relied on to produce 185 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque in all but the Sport edition of the car.  The Accord Sport benefits from a dual exhaust system that frees up four additional ponies and a single extra lb-ft of torque.  Fuel mileage for the 2.4-liter is listed as a respectable 27-mpg in stop and go driving and 36-mpg on the highway.  This helps to make the Accord one of the most frugal four-cylinder mid-size sedans on the market.

5. The 2015 Honda Accord Also Offers A Stout V-6

If you're more interested in power than temperance, the 2015 Honda Accord's available V-6 is an appealing option.  The 3.5-liter mill has been tuned to provide 278 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque, which is in line with its main rival - the Toyota Camry - and its similarly-sized six-cylinder engine.  Of course, efficiency hasn't been entirely left by the wayside with the larger, more robust engine choice, as the Honda Accord's V-6 is rated at 21-mpg around town and 34-mpg on the highway, which is just a couple of miles per gallon below the four-cylinder while cruising.

6. The 2015 Honda Accord Can Be Had In Two Hybrid Editions

Eco-minded mid-size sedan shoppers can go the extra green mile and choose a hybrid edition of the 2015 Honda Accord.  The Honda Accord Hybrid balances low fuel consumption with performance by pairing a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a single electric motor, a combination that's good for 196 total system horsepower.  This version of the Accord Hybrid posts 50-mpg in city driving and 45-mpg on the highway, numbers which are impressive on their own but which are actually just the tip of the iceberg when examining Honda's mid-size hybrid strategy. 

The Plug-In Hybrid version of the Accord maintains the same power output but adds a much larger battery, allowing for wall charging as well as 13 miles of electric-only operation.  When used in standard hybrid mode, the PHEV version of the car features an EPA estimated fuel mileage of 47-mpg in city driving and 46-mpg on the highway.

7. The 2015 Honda Accord Comes With Two Transmission Choices

The 2015 Honda Accord presents shoppers with a choice between three different transmission options.  Standard with four-cylinder editions of the car is a six-speed manual gearbox, and it's available with both the coupe and sedan Honda Accord body styles.  Optional with four-cylinder Accords is a continuously-variable automatic gearbox, which is the most efficient setup offered with the car.  Six-cylinder versions of the Honda Accord sedan benefit from a six-speed automatic transmission, while V-6 Accord coupes can choose a six-speed manual transmission for a sportier driving experience (albeit one that sips fuel at a more accelerated rate).

8. The 2015 Honda Accord Delivers LaneWatch Technology

The 2015 Honda Accord features a unique blind spot monitoring system that the company has dubbed 'LaneWatch.'  LaneWatch consists of a camera that is positioned on the right side of the car, and which activates instantly once the right blinker has been triggered.  An image of the area immediately beside the car is shown on an eight-inch LCD screen that comes standard with the feature (which is offered on the Accord EX and above).  The goal is to go beyond the standard blinking light or warning tone that comes with most blind spot monitoring features, and in climates where the camera won't be routinely obscured by snow, ice, or road salt the feature is much appreciated.

9. The 2015 Honda Accord Boasts Excellent Crash Safety Ratings

The 2015 Honda Accord has been awarded high scores in crash testing by both the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  The latter has awarded the Honda Accord sedan and coupe a five star rating in the overall crash safety department, while the IIHS provided the Accord with a rating of 'Good' in every single crash test with the exception of the new small-overlap frontal impact evaluation.  The sedan scored 'Good' in this test, but the coupe managed 'Acceptable,' which is one rank below.

10. The 2015 Honda Accord Is Affordable Across The Board

The Honda Accord has always counted value as one of its primary drawing points, and the 2015 model is no different.  The Honda Accord sedan starts at an MSRP of $22,105, and tops out at just under $35,000, while the Accord coupe adds roughly $1,500 to that starting point but actually checks in under the sedan at the top end (due to the absence of the all-out Touring trim from its order sheet).  This makes the Accord less expensive than the Toyota Camry and the Nissan Altima, and only marginally more expensive than the Ford Fusion (which doesn't offer a V-6 option).