The Honda Accord has been one of the final holdouts in a sea of midsize sedans powered by 4-cylinder engines. It has held onto its V-6 engine for longer than anyone could have imagined, but that changes for 2018.
The 2018 Honda Accord will arrive with two turbocharged inline-4 engines and wave goodbye to the smooth-revving V-6 engine. The first is a 1.5-liter direct injected DOHC turbocharged engine with dual variable cam timing. The second is a 2.0-liter direct injected DOHC turbocharged engine with i-VTEC. The former can be found in many 10th-generation Honda Civics scampering about. The latter also happens to power the 2017 Honda Civic Type-R. (Read our colleague's first drive report over at The Car Connection.)
You read that correctly: the turbocharged, VTEC-infused 2.0-liter engine from the Type-R will also serve as the hotter engine for the 2018 Accord. Though, don't expect it to also produce the Type-R's 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Honda will certainly detune the engine for the Accord.
Both engines may be paired to a 6-speed manual transmission, while the 1.5-liter engine gets a CVT option; the 2.0-liter engine instead receives a 10-speed automatic option. It will also be the first front-wheel drive car to feature a 10-speed automatic.
Honda also confirmed a new Accord Hybrid will arrive with the brand's two-motor hybrid technology. The system foregoes a conventional automatic transmission and the engine can directly drive the wheels at times. It's kind of like a Koenigsegg, but only kind of.
Honda plans to launch the 2018 Accord in late fall of this year, meaning we'll learn more about the car, and potentially see it unveiled, this summer.
