The all-new 2018 Honda Accord was just revealed in the United States. Slated to hit U.S. showrooms in late 2017, the new Accord looks like a liftback, but is actually a sedan with a larger cabin and a smaller boot opening.
When we attended the Honda Meeting 2017 press conference in Japan, at the carmaker’s Tochigi R&D centre, we got an unexpected taste of some of the company’s latest products. The cars on hand to drive were the much-hyped Honda Civic Type-R, the new Honda Clarity range of hybrid/electric vehicles, and a Honda Civic Dynamic Study prototype. While our time with each of them was limited to a few minutes, if you ever get your hands on these on the same day, you’d have a completely different view of Honda as a carmaker than you would when walking into a local Honda showroom.
We drove this new Honda CR-V just before heading out to Japan to drive, among other things, a Civic Type-R. While the two cars are miles apart, it is easy to forget that Honda has always been a clever engineering company, given that we don’t see the company’s most popular creations at showrooms here. However, the new CR-V actually has a lot of engineering poured into it, for the benefit of regular folks rather than just enthusiasts.
Honda exclusively invited us to an international press meeting in Japan where President & CEO Takahiro Hachigo discussed the future direction of Honda as part of their 2030 Vision plan.
In a bid to do their bit to save the environment, car manufacturers have turned to many alternate propulsion choices for their cars. Honda chose to go with hydrogen fuel cells to power their Clarity Fuel Cell model a few years ago. And now, they’ve come up with two additions to the range, namely the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid and the Clarity Electric, to utilise other more popular green propulsion methods.
Honda is adding to their portfolio of redesigned models with the introduction of the all-new 2017 CR-V in the UAE and GCC. Completely different, yet familiar as a CR-V, the compact crossover has some new tricks up its sleeve.
The new 2018 Honda Civic Type R has set a new lap record for a front-wheel-drive car around the famed Nurburgring racetrack in Germany.
Expanding the currently-popular Honda Civic family, the new Civic Si has been added to the line-up with an updated engine in the United States. The Si slots in between the standard Civic and the hot Civic Type-R. Honda claims the new model to be the “fastest, most powerful Si yet” even though its power output remains the same.
It’s hard to believe we’ve had the Honda S2000 for five years now. It’s harder to believe how little we’ve driven it due to lack of time. However, despite what some people believe, a sitting car also requires maintenance. And the tyres on the S2000 have expired by now, as per the RTA.
Of all the hot hatches that came from Japan, the Honda Civic Type-R has been the most successful in carving a cult status for itself. After four generations of ground-breaking models, there is now a new one. Honda is showcasing the road-ready version of their 2017 Civic Type-R at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.