Honda's redesigned 2018 Accord will follow an industrywide trend of using turbos and advanced transmissions to aid power and performance without sacrificing fuel economy when it goes on sale this fall.
Honda detailed the change in powertrains on the latest Accord on Friday. They includes the nameplate's first-ever turbocharged engine and the elimination of an optional V-6 engine.
The base Accord will use a 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine paired with a continuously variable transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox.
The previous Accord's optional V-6 engine has been replaced by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that's largely the same as the engine in Honda's new Civic Type R.
The upmarket Accord's turbo engine will be paired to a ten-speed automatic transmission -- a first in the industry for a front-wheel-drive car -- or a six-speed manual.
Honda didn't disclose horsepower or estimated fuel economy ratings for any of the new Accord models. The 1.5-liter four-cylinder is used throughout the Honda Civic and CR-V lineup, where it makes as much as 206 hp. The 2.0-liter turbo is very similar to the one in the new Civic Type R where it's tuned for 306 horsepower.
Honda said all of the gasoline models' transmissions and engines used in the Accord will be built in the U.S.
The two-motor powertrain in Honda's Accord hybrid will also get an update, though Honda was mum on details.
The redesigned 2018 Accord is switching to a new modular platform that already underpins the latest Civic and CR-V and its design is expected to evolve into more of a fastback sedan setup, based on recent spy photos. More details will be announced in the coming weeks ahead of the car's fall on-sale date.
"Just as the new Honda Civic injected new energy into the compact car segment, we expect this all-new 2018 Accord will make people rethink the midsize sedan," Jeff Conrad, general manager of Honda, said in a statement.
Like the redesigned Toyota Camry going on sale soon, Honda will launch the Accord into a midsize sedan market facing stiff headwinds.
U.S. sales of midsize sedans have plunged 18 percent through May of this year, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Accord deliveries are down 7.3 percent.
Incentives and inventories are building up as consumers increasingly flock to crossovers and rising used-car inventories dampen demand for new sedans.
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