2020 Honda Accord Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Recognizing that some people may not dig the front styling, and others might not like the rounded roof line, you cannot help but appreciate this car as one of the most stylish Honda Accords in history. Remember, this is supposed to be a mainstream family sedan, not a downright sexy fastback with an upscale appearance.

This is especially true when the Accord is wearing the 19-inch alloy wheels that come with the Touring, Sport 2.0, and Touring 2.0 trim levels. Other versions of the Accord have 17-inch wheels in various designs and finishes, and they don’t lend the sleek four-door sedan as much visual presence. But 17-inch tires are less expensive than 19-inch tires when replacement time comes, so from a long-term value perspective, they’re the smarter if less appealing choice.

Honda offers the 2020 Accord in LX, Sport, EX-L, and Touring trim levels, with Sport and Touring available with an engine upgrade. A Honda Accord Hybrid is also available, covered under a separate review. Prices start at $28,705 for the Accord LX and range up to a $40,405 MSRP. Our 2020 Honda Accord Touring test car was priced at the latter MSRP, not including a destination charge of $1,700.

All primary touch points are soft, the leather feels good, and the matte-finish simulated wood looks like the real deal. Quality rules inside of a 2020 Honda Accord, that’s for sure.

In a nod to fuel efficiency, most Accords have a standard turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine making 192 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 192 lb-ft of torque between 1,600 rpm and 5,000 rpm. It uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with front-wheel drive. This year will be the last one that Honda offers an optional 6-speed manual gearbox with Sport trim.

While the standard engine is adequate for the task at hand, people seeking maximum fuel efficiency will love the Accord’s 212-horsepower hybrid powertrain. It’s really impressive and during examination earlier this year it averaged 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres during a week of driving.

Speed freaks, however, are going to want the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. Paired with a ten-speed automatic transmission, it generates power specs of 252 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 273 lb-ft of torque between 1,500 rpm and 4,000 rpm. Economy and Sport driving modes, as well as a set of paddle shifters on the steering wheel, help to adjust powertrain calibration to personal preferences. And if you hurry, you might still be able to find an Accord Sport 2.0T with a six-speed manual transmission in dealer stock. But once they’re gone, they’re gone.

If we had to summarize the Accord 2.0T’s drivetrain in a single word, it would be “whoosh!” This is a quick car, and it could really use an optional all-wheel-drive system because the front tires have trouble getting all of the power to the ground when you’re really standing on the accelerator pedal. That's often a problem with powerful front-wheel drive cars.

Use the Economy driving mode, and the Accord 2.0T turbo is actually pretty relaxed as it focuses on maximizing efficiency. Switching to Sport mode makes a significant difference in terms of powertrain response, making the Accord even more pleasurable to pilot. During testing on the driving loop, we used both modes and wound up using 8.6 L/100 km. That’s better than the Natural Resources Canada fuel consumption estimate of 9.1 L/100 km in combined driving.

In addition to being quick, the Honda Accord Touring is plenty of fun to drive. Most Hondas are, even if people don’t buy them primarily for that reason.

Equipped with segment-exclusive adaptive dampers, the Honda Accord Touring 2.0 beautifully controls body roll, dive, and squat, and the sticky 19-inch tires bite hard in corners and, with judicious use of the accelerator pedal, pull the car around and out in thrilling fashion.

At the same time, the ride is compliant over pavement undulations, soaking up pavement heaves and dips. This softness, though, forces a driver to limit velocity over speed humps. The Accord could travel no faster than 30 kilometres per hour over the ones running past a local elementary school.

The steering isn’t fast, but it is accurate and properly weighted if just a tad bit heavy in terms of effort level. It’s easy to place this car exactly where you want it.

Where Honda could improve the Accord is in the braking department. Brakes warmed up a bit and started to grumble as we came down the from the mountains. Otherwise, they were perfect, and they’re so expertly calibrated that, if you’re so inclined, you can actually use them to trail-brake and rotate the car as you enter a curve.

What’s great about the Honda Accord is that it's lots of fun to drive, if that’s the kind of a car you want, but it is also a docile daily driver.

For all intents and purposes, the 2020 Honda Accord sedan is a full-size car. Especially when lined up against its nemesis, the Toyota Camry, the Accord supplies significantly more rear-seat legroom and cargo space. Of course, an argument could be made that a Toyota Avalon is just as spacious on the inside (if not the trunk) as an Accord, but the Avalon’s base price is nearly as high as a loaded Accord Touring.

In any case, the Accord’s standard 12-way power driver’s seat is very comfortable, supplying plenty of thigh support, softly padded armrests, and standard heating plus ventilation available on the Touring trim. Sadly, the passenger-side front seat is not as lucky because Honda doesn’t provide a seat height adjuster on that side of the car.

The Accord’s back seat is exceptionally comfortable. Wide doors make it easy to get into and out of the car, the rear cushion and backrest adopt a natural seating angle, and thigh support is plentiful. With the EX-L and Touring trims, the outboard positions are heated and the Accord supplies rear air conditioning vents. Quick-charge USB ports are a dealer-installed option.

Trunk room measures an impressive 473 litres. That’s enough that you can store full-size suitcases on their sides, making the Accord perfect for long family road trips. The only complaint here is that Honda doesn’t provide a handle or grip to use to swing the lid shut.

Inside the cabin, Honda provides plenty of storage space, the instrumentation is a model of clarity, and the controls represent the very definition of proper ergonomic design. The layered dashboard drops down and away from the windshield to make the car feel even bigger inside than it already is.

In short, the Accord’s interior is a great place to spend time. Unless you’re in the front passenger seat.

Why Honda doesn’t use the Accord’s available 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system in all of its vehicles is a genuine mystery. It is the best one they have, complete with volume and tuning knobs, easily accessed main menu shortcut buttons, lovely graphics, and sensible steering wheel controls.

Plus, it comes with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, as well as text-messaging support. A ten-speaker premium audio system is standard starting with Sport trim, and if you upgrade to Touring trim you get HondaLink subscription services, a Wi-Fi hotspot, a navigation system, and wireless device charging.

Unfortunately, the Accord’s infotainment system does not support natural voice recognition. Instead, you must use specific prompts and pathways in order for it to recognize what you are saying and respond accurately. Do so and you’ll find success.

A head-up display is standard with and exclusive to Touring trim, and it remains visible even when you’re wearing polarized sunglasses. It is faint but visible. And speaking of visibility, the Accord is easy to see out of, helped by a reversing camera with multiple viewing angles.

Named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and five stars in every assessment conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 2020 Honda Accord is an exceptionally safe car.

Furthermore, Honda includes its Honda Sensing collection of safety features and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as standard equipment on every trim level. Honda Sensing equips the Accord with forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, and a traffic sign recognition system. Automatic high beams are also standard.

While this is commendable, Honda reserves what is arguably one of the most useful driving aids for the Touring trim. We’re talking about blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, which studies have shown consumers appreciate more than other kinds of ADAS. Most lower models get Honda’s LaneWatch system, which projects a camera view of the right side’s blind spot onto the infotainment screen when that side’s turn signal is activated.

Also, Honda Sensing could use some added refinement. The adaptive cruise control could be smoother when reacting to changes in traffic ahead, and the forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems gave false alerts due to shadows and construction-zone lane modifications. The lane departure warning system also wobbles the car’s steering wheel to notify the driver, when a vibration would be a better solution.

The 2020 Honda Accord isn’t the best deal in a new family car. The standard warranty coverage is average at best. Lease payments are low because the car holds its value well, a bright spot in an otherwise dim cost-effectiveness picture.

But, at the same time, the 2020 Honda Accord demonstrates that perhaps such things are not the true measure of value. From the way it looks and feels to the way it drives and protects, the Accord is a car that immediately conveys that it can go the distance, providing a decade or more of faithful, useful, and enjoyable service. More than a mere appliance providing transportation, the Accord weaves itself into your life like a good dog that becomes an indispensable companion.

And there is plenty of value in that.

Note: Images show a US model.