2003 Honda Accord EX V-6 Sedan

High-stakes gambling can encompass many forms. In the auto game, the most pressure-packed roll of the dice involves making major changes to an extremely successful vehicle like the Accord. Regularly accounting for annual sales in excess of 400,000 units, this iconic middle-American road warrior remains the single most important player in Honda's corporate portfolio. With that kind of ante on the line, it's no surprise that recasting the sedan and coupe stablemates for the 7th time turned into one of the most ambitious programs in the company's history. Although our first encounter with the new Accord was confined to several prototype variants, it appears that Honda managed to tread an extremely critical path with remarkable finesse in moving this pivotal project from concept to reality.

The Accord design team mounted a 1-2 punch designed to complement its well-established practical attributes with a shot of genuine emotion.

Given the sedan's primacy among Accord sales, we concentrated on the four-door side of the ledger. The existing tri-tier lineup of DX, LX and EX trims continues, although entry-level versions are apt to remain fairly rare commodities. Seeking to reach a slightly younger buyer group without alienating an extremely loyal current owner base, the Accord design team mounted a 1-2 punch designed to complement its well-established practical attributes with a shot of genuine emotion. Visually, that meant taking a far more adventurous route with respect to sheetmetal on both body styles, but particularly on the more utilitarian four-door.


The most distinctive part of the new Accord's exterior treatment involves a subtle blending of convex and concave contours to replicate the look of an organic surface. While far from radical, this atypical melding does add a more sophisticated flair to the sedan's overall profile. Coupled with other aero-optimizing and noise-abatement measures, restyling the wrapper trimmed the coefficient of drag from 0.33 to 0.30 and helped make the Accord's cabin considerably quieter.


Beneath that new skin lies an all-new unibody with nearly 27 percent more torsional rigidity. Although only 0.1 inch longer than its predecessor and remaining an EPA midsize offering, the '03 Accord gains an inch more wheelbase (107.9 inches) and 1.2 inches of extra width. This minor reproportioning program nets more usable room in both front and rear quarters plus a completely flat floor. In addition to more twist resistance, substantially reengineered front/rear subframes do an even better job of isolating the passenger compartment from both noise/vibration and intrusion in case of a crash.

Inside, the Accord sports an all-new dash that's highlighted by an LCD analog gauge cluster. The front buckets are larger, simpler to adjust and more robustly framed and bolstered.

Inside, the Accord sports an all-new dash that's highlighted by an LCD analog gauge cluster. Honda is the first automaker to fit these classy-looking instruments in a model at this price point, and we suspect it won't be the last. The overtly stylized central portion of the dash panel contains the air/heat and audio controls, and in top-grade Accords, an optional navigation system. Factory installed, this equally new "touch by voice" package is destined for use in future Honda and Acura models. DVD-based, it has a 7-inch diagonal display, is three times as fast as the system in the Odyssey and holds nearly twice as much specific location information. Along with tactile/aural activation capabilities, this advanced navi setup also offers 3-D graphics, split-screen capability and integrates both audio and heat/air conditioning functions. Raising the game one step further, the new Accord's dealer-installed accessory roster has been expanded to include a new rear-seat DVD entertainment package.