Honda has announced that the 10th generation of its Accord sedan will make its debut for 2018 and will be fully revealed later this fall. That timing shouldn?t come as much of a surprise (the car has been on a lockstep five-year product cadence), but two decisions break with recent tradition: First, the V-6 is being booted from the lineup in favor of a new turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four. Second, the new Accord sedan will offer more ways to get a six-speed manual gearbox, making it available with either nonhybrid engine?not just with the base engine as in today?s model.
There?s other big news under the hood: Every Accord but the hybrid will use a turbocharged four-cylinder. The new base engine is a turbo 1.5-liter four that?s essentially the same engine used in the current Civic and CR-V. Those who don?t choose the manual will get a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), while the automatic option for the 2.0-liter turbo models is Honda?s own 10-speed automatic?a version of the transmission in the new 2018 Odyssey, with the same ultrawide ratio spread, although using a different final-drive ratio and distinct torque-converter calibration. Honda hasn?t yet released specs for the new 2.0-liter turbo. Chief engineer Junji Yamano confirmed that it uses the same block as the 2.0-liter in the Civic Type R, but said much else about the engine is different?including the turbocharger hardware and its ability to run on regular gas.
Next Generation Honda 2.0-liter d...