2023 Honda Accord Debuts in the US

Following its teaser weeks ago, Honda USA has officially unveiled the all-new 2023 Honda Accord. This 11th gen Accord is set to go for the midsize sedan crown, which currently rests with the 2021 Toyota Camry.

One of the biggest changes aside from its brand-new look (we’ll get into that later), is obviously the powertrain offerings. Replacing the 252 HP 2.0-litre turbocharged mill offered prior is a new 2.0-litre Atkinson in-line 4-cyl mill paired with a dual-motor hybrid electric system. This new hybrid powertrain serves up just 204 HP, but torque has improved 335 NM – a somewhat sensible move to improve the Accord’s fuel economy without sacrificing much.

Aside from the hybrid setup, Honda USA still offers the standard 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cyl mill for its lower spec variants, which still outputs 192 HP like its previous iteration.

Honda took a similar approach in designing the new Accord as it did with the new Civic, choosing to tone things down a little here. It boasts a slightly more ‘reserved’ yet modern and clean look, but still retains the Accord-ness.  The hammerhead-like front fascia of the 10th gen Accord is now replaced by a rather big centre grille, flanked by similar-looking LED headlights.

The rear fascia mirrors its C-segment siblings, featuring trapezoid-shaped taillights with segmented LEDs akin to those found in the Civic FE. Branching out of said lights are LED bars that go across the back – only to be separated by the iconic ‘H’ emblem. A blackened rear ‘diffuser’ gives a sportier, modern look, as well as helping to make its rear silhouette appear wider.

The side silhouette of the 2023 Accord showcases a curvy, slanting roofline that ends just right at the bottom end of the sedan – a la Audi’s ‘Sportback’.  While the new Accord’s powertrain went on a diet, the same can’t be said on its overall size. Measuring 71 MM longer and 12 MM wider, the 2023 Accord is technically a bigger car.

Of course, the growth in overall size also brings forth a larger cabin than before too. The interior features much improvement and more ‘continental’-style finishing. Again, things are akin to the Civic FE here, especially with the dashboard layout featuring a 12.3-inch central infotainment display – the largest Honda has ever offered. However, said display is exclusive to the range-topping spec only, with the lower bracket models getting the smaller 10.2-inch ones.

The massive 12.3-inch infotainment display also comes equipped with Google software, with Google apps and Google Assistant voice command available as default. Honda’s Over The Air (OTA) updates enable all of the 2023 Accord’s computer systems to get latest updates instantly.

The 2023 Honda Accord will be offered in six trim levels in the US, starting with the baseline LX and followed by the EX – both come with non-hybrid 1.5-litre mills. The rest of the trims, including the range-topper Touring spec, come standard with the 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain.

Fellow Malaysians, don’t get too excited yet, this US-bound Accord might not be the exact model that we’ll be getting here to replace the existing 10th-gen model that’s still on sale since it debuted back in 2018.

With its official price yet to be unveiled, what do you think of the US-only 2023 Accord? Would you prefer the new Asian-spec Accord to look like this US one, or would you rather see it sport a different look? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…