STYLING | 8 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
slightly shorter and stockier, with sharper lines and angles, with the coupe taking a few more styling chances than the four-door
Edmunds
The 2013 Accord's center stack is dramatically less complicated than the old one, which looked like someone sneezed at it with a mouthful of buttons.
Automobile Magazine
It doesn't look as portly as its predecessor, and that's a huge step in the right direction.
Autoblog
Honda clearly walked that line between repeat-buyer expectations and finding its mojo with the current market when setting the Accord’s design and styling. You won't find a radical redesign here in the 2013 Honda Accord, but it's classy and sophisticated and makes sense for the Accord's mission.
With a so-called “man maximum, machine minimum” approach, Honda established packaging (seating front and back) first and then drew an attractive form around that.
What they ended up with, from the outside, looks merely evolutionary. Walk around this new 2013 sedan—even with the badging removed—and even those who don’t know cars would be likely to call it out as an Accord. But on the other hand, there's a lot of interest in the side sheetmetal, including some expressive lift—giving the car more of an aggressive, wedge-like look even if the greenhouse is mostly level—and creasing that flows around and into the contours of the taillamps.
The “Dynamic Intelligent” look isn’t stunning or head-turning, but at the same time, it maximizes the greenhouse and looks especially interesting in side shots and closeups—and it isn’t at all slab-sided.
Coupes have essentially the same interior as sedans from the seats forward, but with a tail that has a little more of a lift at the back, for a wedgier, more dynamic stance. You give up some practicality, but you gain a performance look.
Inside, Honda aims to make it luxurious and modern, and a rather low instrument panel—pushed as far forward, and out at the corners, to maximize space—but with important controls placed quite high within it. While trims and materials do get a more premium look as you rise up the ladder to the top Touring models, both EX-L and Touring trims get a touch-screen audio system that introduces the need for two separate screens and we think ends up adding clutter and complexity to the interior look.
Conclusion
The design of the 2013 Honda Accord maximizes interior space, yet it's classy and well-proportioned.
