+ Click to Enlarge FINE LINES, NO WRINKLES: Taut, almost angular, lines are a feature of the Honda Accord sports sedan and its facelift for 2006 has kept them in place - it's a handsome, purposeful car for drivers who like to drive. Pictures: LES STEPHENSON

January 17, 2006
By Les Stephenson

It's three years almost to the day since Honda launched its Accord Type-S and Executive models in South Africa with a drive through the gloriously sweeping mountain roads of Mpumalanga – now they've had a facelift and, much more importantly, a substantial price cut.

Three years ago the cars were impressive; they still are as performance cars, really drivable performance cars, for buyers who don't feel the social need to join the German mainstream.

And already the next model, though still some years away, is in the pipeline.

So let's get the price cuts out of the way: the Type-S has dropped by R20 000 and the Executive by R25 000 – that's to R255 000 and R225 000 respectively. Even better, the previous model's 60 000km/three-year maintenance plan has been extended to five years and 100 000km.

I've been driving this the latest six-speed manual Type-S for the past few days, pre-launch and one of only two in Cape Town. The car is still stunning; no age wrinkles are showing in its slab-sided, slightly angular design despite it being three years older and it didn't take many kilometres along the back roads of the Western Cape to realise what a great-handling, athletic car it is.

Effortless, quiet – very quiet – and easily able to soak up the potholes, truck-created ripples and other horrors on what now passes as our rural road network. In the city the car's 223Nm (up 3Nm over the previous model) is more than able to keep the Type-S trundling along at 60km/h in SIXTH gear with cruise control engaged.

Power output remains at 140kW at 6800rpm.

"The price cuts have been made possible by a number of factors," said Hiroaki Shibata, MD of Honda SA. "The strengthening of the rand, enabling us to pass the benefits directly to the customer, the increased importance which our parent company in Japan is attaching to the SA market and by a fresh look at what kind of benefits we can offer buyers in terms of ownership experience.

"Honda's highly favourable ratings in independent quality and customer satisfaction studies - top honours, in some cases – mean our customers can rest assured that their Accord will deliver superior reliability and low total ownership costs.

"The Accord nameplate has built a solid reputation since its local introduction in January 2003 and is highly sought after in the D-segment thanks to its driver-focused character, superb quality and exclusivity.

"It enables owners to stand out from the crowd while making a subtle statement about their automotive priorities and personal preference."

New rims for Exec

The new Accord gets new front and rear bumpers, with the lower front and rear panels still made of plastic to resist low-speed damage while the Executive gets an elegant chromed cross-strut in the revised front grille, a re-sculpted bonnet with sharper, more aggressive lines, restyled headlights cluster with smoked glass wraparound detail, changes to the rear lights and a new sill design.

The Accord Executive also gets new 17" rims.

"Changes in the cabin," Honda says, "enhance the premium luxury feel of the Accord."

The instrument panel has been redesigned to include a three-dial cluster illuminated in a different colour. There's a thicker – and very comfortable - steering wheel now carrying a subtle metal ornamental ring around the horn pad.

The gearshifter knob (watch out for that metal after parking on a hot day!) has a new design on both transmissions and the trip data computer, operated by a trip paddle switch below the steering wheel, has been amended to improve functionality.

Staying with tradition

A technologically advanced 2.4-litre i-VTEC engine powers both the six-speed manual Type-S and five-speed automatic Executive with torque increasing slightly from 220 to 223Nm in this latest guise.

"The tradition of revising our model line-up or introducing a new model at the beginning of each year continues," Shibata added, "and we're excited about what 2006 holds for us.

"I'm confident that, with these changes, we can reinforce our position of offering cars that are not only impeccably engineered but also a pleasure to drive and own."