Living with the 2011 Honda Accord SE for a Week

 2011 Honda Accord SedanEnlarge Photo

Considering the copious amounts of pressure being put on makers of all traditional family sedans by the 2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2011 Kia Optima as well as the upcoming 2012 VW Passat and soon to be revitalized Chevy Malibu, it is no wonder that Honda has added some new features and revamped the look of the 2011 Accord family sedan. Now, the Honda is an older design among most of the competition but it has stood as our favorite family sedan until even now against all of the myriad family sedans that we have tested recently.

Well, stay tuned even after we review this all new 2011 Honda Accord SE because Insider Car Reviews is going to compare this Accord SE with every family sedan that we have tested or will test this year for a week. (Note: That will include Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Mazda6, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Ford Fusion, 2012 VW Passat, Chrysler 200, Subaru Legacy and hopefully a Chevy Malibu. We do try our best to be thorough but if interested in that model, keep checking our sister website TheCarConnection.com for their first review.)

This 2011 Honda Accord SE model we got to drive is positioned below the EX version we tested a year ago with its slightly more powerful 190 horsepower motor (the SE nets 177 horsepower) yet the SE model made up for that by giving us some of the best in class leather seats we have experienced. Also, possibly thanks to some re-engineered transmission internals for 2011 that made the Accord more fuel efficient, this SE model felt just as fast as last year’s EX model. Below the SE lie the LX and LX-P trim levels (check out the Honda.com website for specification details on those models. The mythological Accord DX model no longer exists on Honda price sheets.)

Sure, brand new models always hold the thrill of impressing your snooty neighbors by having the newest toy on the block but a family car needs to be looked at as a bit more serious of a financial investment. Decade’s worth of proven engineering excellence, peerless refinement, and an inimitable fun to drive attitude as well as the best interior comfort and ergonomics in its class all go a long way towards explaining why Honda sells so many Accords.

  2011 Honda Accord Sedan

Bulletproof reliability and residuals that don’t require the manufacturer guarantee them with gimmicks (cheap knock at Hyundai) all prove that the Accord offers tremendous value no matter which trim level you pick. But once you hear what Honda is practically giving away its luxury laden SE model for just $23,370, you may want to rethink that Sonata. Please. We beg you. Rethink the Sonata. 

For that price you get a 2.4 liter 177 horsepower/161 lb. feet of torque 4-cylinder and the aforementioned and upgraded five speed automatic which helps this Accord return EPA estimates of 23 city/34 highway. In our hands we got 25.4 miles per gallon over a week which is excellent considering how we drive and us 3 miles per gallon better than the last 2011 Sonata we tested.

Other standard features include full leather seating surfaces, air conditioning, power everything, alloy wheels, a 160-watt audio system with 6-speakers that delivers terrific sound (but lacks a USB/iPod connectivity function that comes with EX models), 8-way power driver’s seat, a power passenger seat, heated front seats, cruise control, tilt/telescoping steering wheel and floor mats. Although we love the full integration of a USB port to listen to our iPod, Honda does give you an auxiliary input jack with every SE and not everyone cares about their iPod as much as we do.