2018 Honda Accord
After back-to-back wins for its Civic compact car, Honda has unseated Honda as our Overall Best Buy with its new-for-2018 Accord midsize sedan.
As evidenced in our first review, it became clear the Accord would have a shot at claiming our top award after our first week with the car: “From the bold new look to the long list of useful tech, the totally redesigned 2018 Honda Accord is the most advanced, most sophisticated midsize sedan on the market. The new turbocharged engines are powerful and efficient. The driving-assist features are numerous and excellent. And the robust infotainment system is our new favorite in the segment.”
While the Accord is just one of 12 segment standouts to take home a 2018 Best Buy Award, the midsize sedan segment in which it competes has long been a sweet spot of needs, wants and value. Midsize sedans are roomy, comfortable, efficient and increasingly feature-filled, but sell for far less than the average new car. That’s why smart shoppers interested in getting the most car for their money very often find themselves driving midsize sedans. And while the new-car landscape continues to shift to SUVs, from a features-per-dollar perspective sedans simply offer more value than their SUV counterparts.
In the case of the 2018 Honda Accord, you get a lot more. A base Honda Accord LX has a low starting sticker price of $23,570, but boasts a number of standard features you won’t find on some $50,000 vehicles. The Honda Sensing suite of driver-assist and safety technologies has been enhanced and expanded, and it’s now standard on every single Accord in the lineup. Our favorite Honda Sensing features are the adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow and lane-keeping assist functionalities. Adaptive cruise control watches the vehicle ahead and adjusts speed accordingly, even in stop-and-go traffic, while lane-keeping assist helps with the constant little corrections required to steer a car straight down the highway.
Other features included for $23,570 are dual-zone climate control, push-button start, 7-inch LCD screen, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, LED headlights, and a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that combines above-average power with class-leading fuel economy.
But the heart of the Accord lineup is the top-selling EX trim level, which starts at $27,470 and adds a moonroof, heated front seats, 8-inch touchscreen, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic monitoring, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, and keyless entry.
The top-line 2018 Honda Accord Touring takes it over the top with a head-up display, wireless phone charging, built-in Wi-Fi and a segment-first adaptive damper system that actively optimizes ride and handling. With a starting sticker price of $33,800, the Accord Touring will cost just about as much as the average new car.
And all this goodness is on top of the Accord’s renowned reputation for providing years of trouble-free, cost-efficient ownership. That reputation results in excellent resale value, which translates to lower depreciation costs, which means you can pay a little more for a Honda Accord and still spend less in the long run over the course of a full buy-own-sell ownership cycle. The best for less, indeed.
Value without compromise is as rare as it is desirable, and it’s why the all-new Honda Accord is our Overall Best Buy for 2018.
More 2018 Honda Accord
Build and price your own 2018 Honda Accord to see this week’s Fair Purchase Price, 5-Year Cost to Own and more, or check out the Accords for sale today at dealers near you.
More 2018 Best Buys
