Wednesday, 18 March 2009

HONDA ACCORD VOTED SA CAR OF THE YEAR


HONDA SAYS: Honda’s sleek, stylish and technologically advanced Accord 2.4 i-VTEC Executive sedan has won the coveted South African Car of the Year title for 2009. The innovative four-door received the accolade – one of the most coveted in the local motor industry – after an exhaustive nomination and evaluation process involving members of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.

The Accord was one two finalists from the Honda stable (the trend-setting Jazz hatchback was the other), and one of nine finalists. The award was announced by the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists at a glittering banquet attended by the who’s who of the motor industry, and followed an exhaustive nomination and evaluation process.

“The Accord’s victory in the SA Car of the Year contest is particularly sweet, given the highly competitive market conditions, and the widely held expectation that the title would be bestowed on a compact contender,” says Honda SA managing director, Yoshiaki Nakamura. “While buying trends are favouring smaller, more economical models, the Accord is a perfect example of how space, performance and luxury can be combined with frugality, efficiency and value to deliver a highly desirable and relevant motoring package.”

The Honda Accord’s victory is Honda’s second in the SA Car of the Year contest. The current Civic four-door sedan was honoured with the award in 2007.
The brand has also been represented as a COTY finalist several times. The go-anywhere CR-V sports utility vehicle was a 2008 finalist, while previous versions of both the Accord and the Jazz also achieved finalist status.

The Accord sedan range currently offers a choice of 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre petrol engines, as well as a recently announced i-DTEC turbodiesel option, while transmission choices include a six-speed manual, as well as five-speed and six-speed automatic gearboxes.

Pricing starts at R270 900, which includes a three-year/100 000 km warranty, and a five-year/90 000 km service plan.

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