Honda Accord NT - a quick drive around the block

Those nice people at Honda New Zealand can't help themselves, they keep calling and asking if I want to drive their new cars.

This time it was for the Honda Accord. I could take a pick of the V6 or the 4 cylinder.

to be more exact the 2.4 litre, 4 cylinder, 16 valve, EarthDreams i-VTEC, chain drive DOHC, which I really did choose over the 3.5 litre, 6 cylinder, 24 valve, EarthDreams i-VTEC, belt drive SOHC.

Because, well in the event that I was going to have a new car it would be the more normal 4 cylinder one.  The actual cost difference between the two is only $5,000 though, $55 as opposed to $60,000.

So what were the 'bells and whistles'? The ‘NT’ name for the top-specification Accord stands for Navigation and Technology.

Included in the technology package is Honda’s Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS).

This is a bundle of things including adaptive cruise control (which works between 30-180km/h),  You set a cruise speed, and then a distance to the vehicle in front, the car then brakes or accelerates to match the object in front. It's like magic.

There's also something called Collision Mitigating Braking System (CMBS) with audible/visual alerts and initial braking activation. I activated this once on an on-ramp manoeuvre, got a few beeps and some yellow flashing lights.

Best though is the Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS). The car recognises the lane markings, on the motorway, for instance, and then keeps the car in-between those lines. Steering itself. Like magic. Seriously you could take both your feet off the pedals and hands off the wheels, the car would continue as usual.

You'd be daft to do that, but in the interest of a test I did. Weird experience a car steering itself, and then accelerating to keep a gap, or breaking, it would do both things.

However, the lane keep thing only works where there are clear lanes to keep to.

There is also a unique blind spot monitoring system that shows the view from the left-hand door mirror in the centre-console colour screen that is displaying the sat-nav map.

The centre-conole display also changes to the reversing camera view too, but it's worst feature is on start up and a warning that you're supposed to be responsible and makes you click a button before it changes into something more useful.

I believe the steering is a fly-by-wire affair, which would make the LKAS more probable.

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="6468,6469,6470,6471,6472,6473,6474,6475,6476"]

Anyway, I had the car for an hour. It was magnificent. It's comfortable, quiet, and it accelerates a dream. the technology works, I'm sure the technology I didn't use works like the BlueTooth connection.  The user manual would be an interesting read.

Funniest thing? The mag with curb damage.

Annoying things? The connection for  your media device is in a cubby hole, very design, but not the best.

Interesting thing? Keyless start, you can keep the key in your pocket, the car detects it. No idea how it works if someone else jumps in the car and drives off, does the car detect that the key isn't in or near the car and stops? I'm sure the Honda boffins have thought that through. However if the keys aren't in your pocket they're a bit awkward a shape nd size to put in the centre console. Nit-picking.

Completely enjoyed this car, the multi-adjustable seats through the flappy-paddle gear-box with both sports and normal settings. You can have sports and eco at the same time it seems.

It also has Driver and Passenger specific air con settings, which is handy, and the quite ride might be due to  the Active Noise Cancellation technology

Fuel consumption says 8.1 car said 10.1 and it wasn't being driven gently, or as gently as you would if you owned it.

Would I like to own it, I really would. Would I spend $55,000 on a car? That's the doubtful thing, and I have no real idea of what comparable cars in this price bracket there are. But then I'm not looking for a new car at the moment.

Would I encourage you to drive this car. Absolutely. It really is a stunner. So many technology things in one car, so much car, so much fun.

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Honda CRV – a quick drive around the block

The nice people at Honda let me have a new Honda CRV for an hour today. They let me have, not surprisingly, the top of the range CRV-Sport,a  "luxury" 2.4-litre, 4WD Sport  no less.

It's a Honda. It has that over engineered for people Honda-ness going for it. Everything in it's place, everything for a purpose. It's a very pretty car, lois of nice rounded edges and curves. and a little shark fin on the roof!

Climb inside - there are a bazillion seat settings, I know that once you get it right it's right, but faffing and fiddling when you're in motion isn't the best way to start a drive. eventually I figured it out to lower the seat, tip the front of if it down, move it back, adjust the lumbar setting, and then move the steering wheel down and out. It's how I like it, the next person in will hate it. MrsPdubyah would have a mild panic every time she got in, it might do Honda well to have a memory system if they're going to invest in electrickery of this sort for seats.

First order of the day - It doesn't have a sat-nav. This appears to be a cost save, since the display  is used for showing you how loud the stereo is, and then doubles as a reversing camera screen. And whilst I am on reversing camera it's a camera with some grid lines on it but no audible warning just to let you know that what you're seeing is right. My Current car has no camera but an audible warning, it is possible. Perhaps someone had switched it off. I'd be keen to have it switched back on again.

And whilst we're on the radio and the "premium" sound system I turned up the volume to maximum. Loud enough without making your ears bleed. Then I had to stop and get out to do something. I got back in and of course the volume was set to ears bleeding now, I would have thought that Honda would have a reset to default volume option on their "premium" stereo's. (again my current car has this it's a magnificent feature)

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"] English: Honda CRZ Hybrid at the 2010 Washington Auto Show (D.C.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

It has the same trick steering wheel that is in the CRZ, little buttons to push here and there, some obvious some not so. And it has a flappy paddle gear-box. But oddly only 5 gears. And I loved the seamless way that the gearbox works. I was intrigued that in the "sports" mode that I could go from 1-though-5 at the speed I was driving, I'd be hoping that there is some failsafe in the system that prevented you driving everywhere in 1st for instance, or trying to pull away in 5th.

It has, currently, keyless entry and keyless ignition, but the salesman tells me that as they move to a new factory overseas this might disappear. As an older generation driver things like keyless ignition are still smoke and mirrors, and it's a feature that should be there, just to show that the car is leading edge of something.

There is an "eco" mode button that lights up a green leaf thing on the dashboard. This makes the transmission mode softer, and assists in economical driving. And you can tell the economy by the way the green ring appears around the speedo when you drive, Green is good, white for a fright? There didn't appear to be a red ring to indicated lead-footery. Then again the green ring of confidence seemed to be in attendance most of the time I drove it.

And on demand 4WD, as if you're likely every to take this more than curb parking. Off-road as in parked in my garage perhaps. or for parking on the grass verge at the sunday farmers market.

It accelerates to warp speed maximum (And a bit) really quickly, smoothly and without drama when entering the motorway, and has really good mid-range acceleration. I love the acceleration and the response I got, good stuff.

It's also very very quiet and comfortable, I couldn't pick up any road noise inside the car. Then again I did have the sunroof open :-) but when it wasn't it was a comfortable quiet cockpit.

What do I not like so much? Stereo, Lack of sat-nav, lack of audible reversing proximity sensor. I didn't understand the drama of the "eco" mode, I didn't really get the green-ring of confidence around the speedo, and the drivers wheel buttons are a bit faffing and fiddly.

What do I like? It's easy to get into, it has new fangled keyless start and a flappy paddle gearbox. It has great acceleration.

However this is a much much better car than the current CRV, by any measure. At 10 liters per 100 kms that I drove it's not too thirsty for something of it's size.

Could it get me in trouble? It could, it drives to the maximum speed limit quickly and then it'll keep going.

To the chase then, would I own one? at just under NZ$50k there is a lot of competition for the money. I don't think I'd be a comfortable Honda car driver, I'd be disappointed that I'd turned into Captain Slow.

The CRV is good at what it's good at, but it doesn't bring anything but "safe" to the game, which you might like or you might despair of. It's not quirky in any sense that I could define, and although you don't necessarily want a car that challenges you, you might want one that let's you be in a bit of command over it and not the other way around. It's a driving pleasure not a driving experience.

Drive one at the first opportunity you can, it really is remarkable how different and how much nicer this is then the car you have, just how quiet, how smooth and balanced it is, and how much thought Honda have given to getting you from A to B in comfort.

You won't be disappointed. Having driven one I'm not.

Honda CRZ - a quick drive around the block

MrsPdubyah had a call from Honda NZ, "would we please go drive one of their new cars?" She declined but knowing I'm an easy touch made them ring me. Of course yes, I'm always a bit keen for a bit of a thing.

They offered the Insight, I laughed, but I did say that I'd be keen on the Honda CR-Z, and so it came to pass, for a jolly entertaining and rewarding hour.

They had a white one available so I sat myself in had the pre-flight lecture and took off.

Initial thoughts: There are a few things missing inside, like an arm-rest - which is a big deal if you're a commuter having to sit for an hour or more in traffic, somewhere to rest your arm is important - to me.  And the view from the rear-view mirror is somewhat obstructed by the strange high boot lid design, not the end of the world, but restricted.

The steering wheel was a confusion of switches and buttons, some not so easy to get to, and some that did things that I didn't really get.

The dashboard! What can I tell you! it was like being in Tron - the movie.

The rev counter / speedo came in glorious blue. If you're being frugal the circle around the speed indicators turns green, if you're driving it with a lead foot it goes red, mostly it stays blue, a veritable disco dashboard.

The CR-Z has heaps of in drive view options  on the dashboard if you keep tapping the buttons, some I got  - like distance travelled, average speed,  but others not so much, technology for the sake of it, or that fact that I hadn't read the user encyclopedia. I had a look at it, not in it.

You can select - on the move - one of three drive modes, Eco, Normal and Sport. And the computer sorts it out. Accelerator bursts of energy are augmented from the battery - oh yeah it's a hybrid - should you need it, and it has a flappy paddle gearbox.

In the Eco/Normal mode if you flip the flappy paddle, say to change gear to overtake, it changes to that gear for 90 seconds before reverting back to automatic mode. In sport if you  change gears with the flappy paddle then you're driving it in manual mode, it doesn't switch back (I'm sure it has over-rides to make sure it doesn't blow up). Very trick, 7 gears, very smooth, and very fast. Very fast.

And talk about economical - I drove it a bit harsh and it peaked at 5.9 liters per 100 kms. No wonder it's only a 40 litre tank! I could get used to that economy on the commute.

Weirdest feature - the auto-stop. Honda have the technology that cuts the engine when you stop at a junction or lights, release your foot from the brake and it's instant on and away you go, not ideal in some circumstance but interesting, very trick, and a bit confusing at first.

Worst thing - it has 4 seats, and unless your passenger has no legs - no way - not ever- would you get anyone else in the back of the car. Worst thing (2) I have no idea where the front of the car was, it disappears over the front of the bonnet somewhere into neverland. I didn't even attempt to reverse.

Missing Feature: no GPS. I'm sure it'll get one eventually, but for the sake of a couple hundred dollars it seems a little odd.

Would I buy one? at $45,000 it's a big ask, but if you do it'd be very rewarding to drive, it handles surprisingly well, and it would be cheap to fill and run. Is it practical? not for a family man no. Unlike other Honda cars I've driven this one has a bit of personality and verve. It's looks will not suit everyone and is controversial, but then that's never stopped Honda in the past.

The Honda CR-Z then, 8 arbitrary stars out of 10 arbitrary stars, drive one you'll get it.