Julian Edgar, 50, has been writing about car modification and automotive technology for nearly 25 years. He has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinders; single turbo, twin turbo, supercharged, diesel and hybrid electric drivelines. He lists his transport interests as turbocharging, aerodynamics, suspension design and human-powered vehicles.
The best and worst elements in new car design…
It never rains but it pours.
After not testing any new cars for a while, this week is the fourth in a row in which I have had new Honda vehicles. The Hondas – Accord, Jazz and two Accord Euros of different specs – have all been interesting cars.
They’ve been interesting because each of the designs has had some major positives – and some major negatives.
The 3.5 litre V6 in the Accord is simply a magic engine – powerful, free-revving, fuel-efficient with its cylinder shut-down technology, and with a glorious sound as it heads for high revs.
But the steering of the car is amongst the worse I have ever experienced in a new car, and the dry road grip is simply terrible.
The Euro? Especially with the Luxury’s huge wheel and tyre combination (try 235/45 Michelins on 18 inch alloys!), the car has got enormous grip. Handling – enhanced with the steering-assist stability control – is excellent and the 2.4 litre engine is quite adequate.
But the Euro has stupidly appalling rear seat space, and in the base model the boot volume is much compromised by the use of a standard spare wheel in a car clearly designed just for a space-saver.
The Jazz? Breathtaking packaging, a car that is roomy for three or four people and their luggage. We travelled over 750 kilometres in the car with two adults, a four-year-old and a lot of camping gear. And we never felt at all cramped. Excellent fuel economy, too.
But the steering takes more than a passing look at the Accord’s system, resulting in a slow ratio around straight-ahead.
These days car companies are large enough that individual teams work on each car design. But in the case of these Hondas, it’s as if no-one had an overview of development, picking out elements of the designs that were so good that everyone in the company working on cars should know about them.
Otherwise, how on earth could a company simultaneously release cars that have the best in steering – and the worst? The best in packaging – and packaging that’s simply godawful? The best in grip – and grip that is miserable?
I can only reflect on how stunning a Honda would be that actually took each of the best elements that the company is currently producing and combined them into the one car….
on September 30th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I think one of your answers lies in the markest these cars were designed for and in… You say it yourself:
“those who value driving dynamics will hate it; those that want a smooth engine and good response (but slow down for every corner) will love it. ” – sounds like the Yanks to me (no offense meant to US readers – just that you have an incredible network of billiard-table smooth roads, without many corners), and the Accord Euro, well, this one’s even easier…
on October 1st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
The 3.5 litre V6 in the Accord is simply a magic engine – powerful, free-revving, fuel-efficient with its cylinder shut-down technology, and with a glorious sound as it heads for high revs.
But the steering of the car is amongst the worse I have ever experienced in a new car, and the dry road grip is simply terrible.
So we need some more articles on improving steering, especially in powerful FWDs, which is what we are getting more and more of these days.
on October 1st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Two points – I don’t think the poor steering of the Accord has anything to do with its power, and when we have done stories on improving steering (especially in electronically altering weight), the articles have not proved very popular.
on October 2nd, 2008 at 6:31 am
Julian, I don’t suppose you’d know if of any companies that still have a single central design team? Maybe Porsche or one of the other smaller players?
on October 2nd, 2008 at 7:37 am
I imagine Ford in Australia has.
on October 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 am
I liked the changing steering weight article. (Which I’ve just noticed you’ve rerun this week, coincidence?)
But then I also liked the heavy-gear-stick-knob article, so clearly I’m out of touch.
on October 2nd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Yes, just coincidence.
I don’t think that people realise how different a car can be to drive with revised steering weight, and revised gearchange feel. You could swear that, with altered steering weight, much more than just that aspect of the steering has been changed.
on October 2nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Just adjusting the steering wheel position makes significant difference to feel.
on October 28th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I would say that the reason people are not responding well to the steering weight adjustment articles is because people like me for example don’t want to play around with one of the vital components of the car. It’s nice and all but if I do it wrong I’m straight off into the ditch.