Latest Cars And Bikes Reviews

Archive for the ‘Honda Cars’ Category

The 2009 Honda S2000 is largely unchanged for what is its final model year. This two-seat convertible comes in Base and CR trim levels. The latter is aimed at club racers and has a removable hard top, track-ready sport suspension, and added body cladding. Base S2000s have a power soft top with heated-glass rear window. The sole powertrain is a 237-hp 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine that teams with a 6-speed manual transmission. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, and an antiskid system.

Honda has announced that the Honda S2000 Ultimate Edition will go on sale from March 2009 in Europe. This limited edition has been produced to mark the end of production for the award winning sports car.

The Ultimate Edition retains its highly acclaimed 2.0 liter 9000 rpm VTEC engine and combines it with a Grand Prix White body and graphite colored alloy wheels. The shade of the paint evokes the color first used on Honda’s 1964 F1 car and many sporting models since. The exterior color combination with the dark metal alloy wheels and unique black S2000 badging gives a fresh look to the timeless shape of the roadster body.

The white exterior will be matched with a red leather interior and complimented by unique red coloring for stitching on the gear lever gaiter. Ultimate Editions will be marked out by their unique numbered plaques on the kickplates, denoting their position in the series

The 2-seater sports car may now be almost 10-years old, but its 240PS 2-litre is still one of the highest output per liter and highest revving engines ever made. In recognition of its incredible power output, the Honda S2000′s engine has won the International Engine of the Year category for 1.8 to 2.2 liter engines five times in its lifetime.

As the name suggests, the Honda S2000 Ultimate Edition will be the last version before global production of the model ceases altogether at the end of June 2009. Since the introduction of the Honda S2000 in 1999 until the end of 2008, Honda has sold 110,673 units worldwide – 19,987 of those in Europe.

The 2010 S2000 is a 2-door, 2-passenger convertible sports car, available in 3 trims, ranging from the 6-Spd MT to the CR A/C 6-Spd MT.  A 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission is equipped to the S2000, producing 237 horsepower and 162 pounds-feet of torque.

The S2000 has a stiff suspension, and comes with a molded top cover (body-colored hardtop optional) and leather-trimmed bucket seats. All-disc anti-lock brakes come standard. The CR trim is also available in 2009, with standard aluminum hardtop, specially designed aerodynamic front spoiler and rear wing, upgraded suspension, and cloth seats with synthetic suede trimmings.

The Honda S2000 Ultimate Edition retains the 2.0-liter VTEC-equipped four-cylinder putting out 237 hp and 153 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed manual transmission, but benefits from a new set of wheels and an optional hard-top. “Grand Prix White” coats the exterior, while a red leather interior, color-matched stitching and numbered doorsill plaques sets it apart from the standard model. Honda will debut the S2000 Ultimate Edition at the Geneva Motor Show this March, with sales beginning in Europe shortly thereafter. Honda hasn’t announced if the U.S. will get its own version special edition S2000, but if the automaker can save a few bucks that can go towards the development of the new model, we’ll be okay with missing out on the “Ultimate.”

With the announcement that the Honda S2000 will cease production after the 2009 model year and its successor in doubt, Honda decided to give the high-revving roadster a special send-off before it shuffles off this mortal coil.

The air conditioning and radio are optional and for additional weight savings the sound insulation, spare tire and jack, and convertible soft top have been removed on the CR.

The 2011 Honda Accord Sedan gets freshened styling, a new trim level, and some new features. Honda’s midsize car comes as a 4-door sedan and 2-door coupe (see separate report). Trim levels include LX, LX-P, new-for-2011 SE, EX, and EX-L. LX, LX-P, and SE have a 177-horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine. EX and EX-L offer the choice of a 190-horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder or a 271-horsepower 3.5-liter V6.

The V6 includes Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management cylinder deactivation. A 5-speed manual transmission is offered on 4-cylinder versions. A 5-speed automatic is available on those and standard on the V6. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, and front-side airbags.

Leather upholstery and heated front seats are standard on the SE and EX-L. A navigation system is also available on the EX-L, and versions so equipped are priced as separate models. Navigation-equipped cars now include a rearview camera. Driver-seat memory is newly standard on the EX-L V6. This report is based on evaluations of the 2010 Honda Accord Sedan.

The 2010 Honda Accord Coupe sees no major changes. Accord comes as a 2-door coupe and 4-door sedan (see separate report). Trim levels include LX-S, EX, and EX-L. All are available with a 190-horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder. The EX and EX-L offer a 271-horsepower 3.5-liter V6.

The V6 includes Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management cylinder deactivation on models equipped with the automatic transmission. A 5-speed automatic transmission is available on all. A 5-speed manual transmission is offered on 4-cylinder versions. The EX-L V6 is available with a 6-speed manual. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, and front-side airbags.

Leather upholstery and a wireless cell-phone link are standard on EX-L models, but are not available otherwise. A navigation system is also available on the EX-L, and versions so equipped are priced as separate models.

The 2011 Honda Accord Coupe receives freshened styling and some new features. Honda’s midsize car comes as a 2-door coupe and 4-door sedan (see separate report). Trim levels include LX-S, EX, and EX-L. All are available with a 190-horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine. The EX and EX-L also offer a 271-horsepower 3.5-liter V6. The V6 includes Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management cylinder deactivation on models equipped with the automatic transmission.

A 5-speed automatic transmission is available on all; EX-L V6 models gain steering-wheel paddles for 2011. A 5-speed manual transmission is offered on 4-cylinder versions. The EX-L V6 can be equipped with a 6-speed manual. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, and front-side airbags. Leather upholstery is standard on EX-L, and a wireless cell-phone link is standard on the EX and EX-L.

A navigation system is also available on the EX-L, and versions so equipped are priced as separate models. A rearview camera is newly standard on navigation-equipped Accord coupes. Also newly standard on EX-L V6 models is a driver-seat memory feature. This report is based on evaluations of the 2010 Honda Accord Coupe.

The Accord is Honda’s midsize car, which was completely redesigned for 2008. With more dramatic styling and an increase in size, the new Accord sedan offers the most room and comfort ever offered by an Accord. The latest-generation Accord includes three firsts for Honda in North America: next-generation Variable Cylinder Management, interface dial controller and dual-chamber driver’s and front passenger’s side airbags. Offered in both sedan and coupe versions, the coupe receives more aggressive styling to differentiate it from the sedan. The Accord was first sold in the U.S. in 1976 as a compact car and has grown larger and more luxurious, moving into the midsize category in 1998.

Since initiation, Honda has offered several different body styles and versions of the Accord, and often vehicles marketed under the Accord nameplate concurrently in different regions differ quite substantially. It debuted in 1976 as a compact hatchback, though this style only lasted through the 1980s, as the lineup was expanded to include a sedan, coupe, and wagon. By the Accord’s sixth generation in the 1990s, it evolved into an intermediate vehicle, with one basic platform but with different bodies and proportions to increase its competitiveness against its rivals in different international markets.

For the current generation of the Accord released for the North American market in 2008, Honda again has chosen to move the model further upscale and increase its size. This pushed the Accord sedan from the upper limit of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines as a mid-size car to just above the lower limit of a full-size car, with the coupe still rated as a mid-size car.

The 2009 Honda Fit is redesigned, gaining size and power in the process. It remains Honda’s smallest car, despite adding 2 inches in wheelbase and 4 inches in overall length vs. the 2007-08 Fit. Base and Sport models return, both powered by a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 117 hp, an increase of 8 hp.

A 5-speed manual transmission is standard and a 5-speed automatic is optional; Sport models with automatic add steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles. Sport models also get subtle aerodynamic body add-ons, upgraded trim, and 16-inch alloy wheels in place of the base model’s 15-inch steel wheels, which supplant the 14s used previously.

Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system (new for 2009), front side airbags, and curtain side airbags. Newly available are a navigation system and a USB port for digital music players.