KEY POINTS:
Honda New Zealand managing director Graeme Seymour spent a good deal of the media presentation for his brand's latest model talking about the Government's proposed fuel economy standard of 170g of C02 per kilometre for light vehicles - which will be in force by 2015 - and the "tradeable credits" scheme that may be used to implement it.
Under that regime, carmakers will get credits for every passenger car they sell under the 170g limit - which could be onsold to brands with thirstier vehicles that don't meet the standard.
While the prospect of a 170g limit sends the heads of certain car companies into a quiet corner to cry - the current industry average is 210g - Seymour seems gleeful at the prospect. Honda, he says, will be far enough below the limit across its range to have credits to flash around.
Good for them, but it was also an odd way to introduce what is undeniably the brand's largest and least economical sedan, the Accord V6.
Or perhaps there's a point to be made there, too. While the new Accord V6 is even more grunty than the previous model, with 202kW/340Nm (up 14 and 18 per cent respectively), it also boasts a high-tech fuel-saving technology called Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) that enables the 3.5-litre powerplant to run on three, four or all six cylinders depending on load and required performance. The VCM system operates automatically and is indiscernible to the driver.
But how economical is it? That's yet to be established. In mandated Australian design Rules (ADR) testing, the Accord V6 manages 10.0 litres per 100km - impressive for a big car, but only as good as the Toyota Aurion V6 (9.9l/100km) and only 10 per cent better than the Holden Commodore SV6 (11.3l/100km).
Perhaps VCM is at its best in real-world driving. But that was hard to ascertain on the long media-launch drive as only one of the three models being offered by Honda New Zealand has a trip computer, the top sat-nav-equipped ver-sion, which has a different information screen set-up. The omission of a trip computer from a large car, whose unique selling proposition is supposed to be fuel economy, might seem either absurd or suspicious. It's neither, says Honda, but a specification quirk from the factory the company is trying to iron out for future variants.
As it stands, the only encouragement you get is a green "Eco" light that comes up on the dash from time to time. But it doesn't necessarily tell you the VCM is working, admits Honda - it simply indicates the car is operating in an economical fashion.
Aside from the eco-trickery, the new Accord V6 is very similar in character to the previous one - quick, devastatingly smooth and really quite bland.
All three models (tagged VS/VL/VN by Honda New Zealand) have the VCM engine and noise-cancelling technology, and all drive through five-speed automatic gearboxes with a manual-shift mode. Stability control is also standard on all versions.
Prices start at $42,000 for VS, and run through $46,500 for the leather-trimmed VL and $49,500 for the top VN with integrated satellite navigation.
As before, buyers can add a Sport dress-up kit to any model ($3000), or opt for an even more aggressive-looking Mugen model for a further $7500 (or a total of $10,500 over the model it's based on).
While the Accord V6 - essentially an American model, although it's built in Thailand for our market - is the biggest-selling version across the globe. The smaller, sharper and stylish Accord Euro is still the star performer in the Kiwi line-up.
There's a new one of those on the way, too. Expect to see it in the third quarter of this year.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
