2023 Honda Accord review

2023 Honda Accord Review:

The Honda Accord is one of the best midsize sedans you can buy. It has a roomy, upscale interior with plenty of room to seat four adults. The Accord also has one of the most generous trunks among midsize sedans, offering plenty of space for a week's worth of groceries or a family's luggage set. There are a pair of available engines: a turbocharged four-cylinder and a hybrid. Both of these engines are plenty powerful, with the hybrid offering the promise of great fuel economy. The redesigned Accord also comes standard with lots of the latest tech, including many useful driver aids. But keep in mind that the very best tech, including Bose® audio, Google Built-In, or even heated rear seats are locked away in the Accord's most expensive trims.

• Technology

• Comfort

• Cargo and storage

• Ease of use

• Driving

What tech does the 2023 Honda Accord have?

Connectivity

Drivers interact with either Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™ on a seven-inch touchscreen on lower-end LX and EX trims, while higher trims use a bigger 12.3-inch touchscreen. If you prefer to plug in your phone, don't worry—there are two USB-C ports in front and, if you're ditching modern tech and using a flip phone, there's good ol' Bluetooth® as well.

Infotainment

The seven-inch screen in the Accord LX and EX trims is decent, but there's no doubt the 12.3-inch screen is more desirable. Both are responsive and easy to use when you're driving, but having more screen real estate means the icons are bigger and easier to touch. While most functions go through the screen, the icons are easy to tap, and it's a sensible layout. Honda has also included a physical volume knob.

The Accord is available with Google Built-In, which is a smart technology that brings powerful Google search, mapping, and other features to the car's interior. However, Honda reserves it only for the most expensive Touring trim. The same goes for the excellent Bose® audio system, although the audio on lower trim levels is fine.

Driver-Assist Tech

Honda bundles a surprisingly comprehensive set of standard driver-assist features across every Accord, including the base LX. That includes features like lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control, as well as more advanced features like traffic jam assist, which helps make commuting easier. Pleasingly, they all worked fine in Edmunds' testing, and Edmunds editors particularly liked the use of physical buttons to activate the system.

How comfortable is the 2023 Honda Accord?

Front Seating

Front seat passengers in the Honda Accord will have no shortage of headroom, even in cars equipped with a moonroof. SE and higher trims get a power-adjustable driver's seat. The seats themselves are comfortable enough day to day, but some Edmunds editors thought the driver's seat needed better padding for long drives and wished for a bit more legroom. The Accord has heated seats for the EX and higher trims and seat position memory for EX-L, Sport-L, and Touring trims, but only the Touring gets ventilated seats.

Rear Seating

The Accord's sloping roofline means ducking a tiny bit extra to get in the back seat, but aside from that, it's arguably nicer than the front. There's plenty of headroom once inside, and unless an NBA center is driving, there's plenty of legroom, too. The seatback angle is just right. Heated seats are available, but only on the top-line Touring trim.

Ride Quality and Interior Noise

Even with the big 19-inch wheels on upper trims, the Accord manages to have a smooth and comfortable ride. Pavement imperfections mostly disappear, with only the biggest potholes intruding. Luckily, the Accord isn't too soft either, so at highway speeds the car feels buttoned-down, which helps reduce car sickness for anyone with a sensitive stomach. Wind and road noise is also kept to a minimum, especially on Touring trims with their sound-absorbing side windows.

Does the 2023 Honda Accord have good storage?

Cargo

The Accord has the best trunk space of any midsize sedan, with its 16.7 cubic feet notably bigger than other similar sedans. Best of all, it's not just a paper difference, but usable space. The wide trunk opening makes it easy to fit large objects, and there's enough room for four suitcases. If you need to haul longer things like skis, the rear seatbacks fold in a 60/40 split, so you don't sacrifice all of your rear seat space.

Storage

Inside the Accord, Honda's reputation for excellent space utilization remains intact. There's a big, deep bin under the center console armrest, cupholders big enough for a large water bottle, and generously sized door pockets on all four doors. A cubby in front of the shifter is used for storing and wirelessly charging your phone. Rear seat passengers have storage space in the front seatbacks, along with cupholders in the fold-down armrest. If you can't find a place for all your stuff in here, you simply have too much stuff.

How easy is the 2023 Honda Accord to use?

Entry, Exit, and Car Seats

The Accord's big doors make it easy enough to get in and out. Just note that, like any sedan, the Accord sits lower than an SUV, so if you have mobility issues, it may be a tiny bit more difficult. Still, it's simple enough in front. In the rear, the sloping roofline intrudes slightly, but ducking makes it easy to avoid bumping your head.

The Accord can easily handle two child booster seats in the rear. The lower anchors are easy to find and use, and there's enough space for even larger seats. The same is true with rear-facing child seats, although here, too, the lower roofline upon entry might make things a little more challenging.

Interior Layout and Visibility

The Accord eschews the trend of screens everywhere for a more traditional layout, with instruments clustered under a hood in front of the driver and the touchscreen mounted within easy reach on top of the dash. While it may not be as high-tech as some competitors like the Hyundai Sonata, there's no question that it works well. The instruments are easy to see and read, and the configurable digital display has enough modes without overwhelming the driver with choices. The center touchscreen is easy to see and use, and there are physical controls for the climate system, a refreshing change from cars that put everything in the touchscreen. Visibility is also quite good, with plenty of glass area and a well-designed backup camera. Curiously, Honda does not offer a 360-degree surround-view camera system for the Accord.

What’s the 2023 Honda Accord like to drive?

Driving

Any driver can appreciate how nicely the Accord drives. There's plenty of power from the standard 192-horsepower 1.5-liter turbo engine, but the available hybrid's 204 horsepower and additional torque mean it's really the one to get. The hybrid is responsive to the gas pedal, smoothly accelerating from a stop and delivering plenty of power for passing on the highway. The Accord is nimble around corners, and the brakes are among the more powerful in the class, stopping the Accord in short order during panic stops. One feature Edmunds' editors really liked was the ability to adjust the regenerative braking level, which gives you additional control on how much the car slows down when you take your foot off the gas. It also allows for quicker recharging of the hybrid battery. Adjustable regeneration is a common feature on pure electrics but unusual—and welcome—in a hybrid.

Fuel Economy/Electric Efficiency

Fuel economy depends on the engine you choose. The standard 1.5-liter turbo gets an EPA-estimated 32 mpg in combined city/highway driving, which is pretty good for a large-ish sedan. However, it's the hybrid that really shines, with up to 48 mpg for the EPA's combined city/highway estimate. During testing, however, Edmunds found that the Accord generally didn't quite match its estimates; as the saying goes, your mileage may vary.

EPA Fuel Economy Estimates