In this, our inaugural TOVA Feature Car article, I want to show-case an excellent alternative to the JDM Accord Euro-R. As Honda fans outside of Japan knows well, the Accord Euro-R is a JDM-only model and features a 'R-tuned' engine and chassis combination that offers a very high performance variant of the JDM / Euro Accord. Unfortunately as we also know painfully well, we can all but only drool at the car because this Accord Euro-R, being an exclusive Type-R model, as usual is offered by Honda as a JDM only model. In this case, the Accord Type-S featured in this article is an alternative which while admittedly not Euro-R standards, still offers a very high level in itself. And more importantly, it is not the exclusive domain of the JDM only. This Accord Euro-R alternative is available in most major Honda markets in the world, being mainly marketed as the Accord Type-S (Japan, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand) and alternately as the Acura TSX in the U.S., with Asia being the major market not getting this excellent model.

To show-case the Accord Typs-S, the best choice would be the new JDM Accord Type-S that have just been introduced by Honda in the JDM Accord MMC last November. This new Accord type offers a sports suspension with 17 inch tyres which is currently being used in the Accord Type-S sold in the European market. The new Accord Type-S offers high speed stability and comfortable ride quality along with high performance. This feeling of luxury with performance is completed with improvements in internal cabin furnishing and equipment.

Key features of the new JDM Accord Type S

• The 200ps K24A DOHC i-VTEC engine from the mainstream Accord 24TL together with a 5speed AT equipped with S-Matic manual sequential shifting override option.
• New 17 inch aluminium rims exclusively developed for the Accord Type-S
• 225/45R17 tyres.
• Revised 'sports tuned' suspension adopted from the Euro Accord Type-S featuring
  • stronger springs
  • revised optimised damper rates
  • stronger anti-roll bar
  • harder suspension bushingsadopted
• New fog-lights
• New 'sports' front grille
• New aero body-kit
• VSA is made a standard option
• 8 way powered seat with new leather seat design offering superior body support
• New large diameter luninescence meters.

The engine features a 7,100rpm red-line. The car also comes with HID headlights as standard. To complete the sporty packaging, offered as options are a leather bounded MOMO sports steering wheel as well as semi-bucket RECARO front seats (both driver and front passenger).

As a performance oriented model, he Accord Type-S makes plenty of sense, in fact, in many ways, offering more sense than even the Accord Euro-R as a performance sedan. Because it does not bear the exclusive 'R' badge, Honda has taken a more 'luxury' route with this model. Let's be realistic here. The Accord is frequently marketed as a luxury full-size sedan. In many countries, an Accord is the highest grade model Honda markets : e.g. most of Asia and even most of Europe. Importantly, Honda has packaged the Accord Type-S as a 'luxury performance' car, with the emphasis on performance, and then only adding luxury to the car. This means the luxury options are meant to enhance ownership quality of the car and does not compromise the performance, unlike the Asian ET1 Civic 2.0 i-VTEC for example. The packaging of the Accord Type-S in fact makes it a most viable alternative to compete against the more basic BWM 3-series variants : the 320 and 325is and to compete successfully.

In the end, to be completely honest, if I am to settle for a performance sedan, it means that I am already making a compromise for practicality that a 4 door sedan offers. And such a compromise can often be sweatened by the more luxurious trim and equipment levels that a car like the Type-S can offer. I will be blunt here. If performance is truly the criteria by which I am choosing my next car, it will most definitely not be a sedan. The S2000 will by my preferred choice. By correlation, if I am to choose an Accord for my performance car, I personally will most certainly expect some form of luxury from it.

Some key specifications of the new JDM Accord Type S