Honda Inspire for the Japanese market unveiled!
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The US domestic market Honda Accord (and our Asian version as well) is known as the Honda Inspire in Japan, because the Japanese Accord follows the smaller and sportier European Honda Accord.
Soon after the US market Accord was unveiled, comes the Japanese 5th generation Honda Inspire. There are two variants – the 35iL and the 35TL, and both come powered by the new 3.5 liter i-VTEC V6 engine with cylinder deactivation. The J35A is a SOHC motor and produces 280 PS at 6,200rpm and 342Nm of torque at 5,000rpm.
This engine features a cylinder deactivation system called Variable Cylinder Management. It allows the engine to either run on the full 6 cylinders, or either 4 or 3 cylinders, depending on driving conditions. This means either a 2.3 liter V4 or a 1.75 liter inline-3 engine. A little green ECO light denoting economy mode will light up on the dashboard when VCM is activated.
The front of the new Honda Inspire is similiar to the US model Accord, featuring HID-equipped headlamps and a bold trapezoidal grille. The rear is slightly different, with two extra strips of red taillamp area on the bootlid stretching from the taillamps to the number plate holder. This is probably what our Asian Honda Accord’s rear end will look like, instead of the USDM rear end design.
Safety features include a standard airbag system which includes driver and front-passenger i-SRS airbags, front-seat i-side airbags, and side curtain airbags. The body uses Advanced Compatibility Engineering which ensures the passengers are protected during a collision. The top of the range 35iL model has Honda’s CMBS (Collision Mitigation Brake System) and E-pretensioners.
CMBS determines if there is a danger of a collision and alerts the driver. If a collision is imminent, CMBS activates the brakes to reduce speed automatically. E-pretensioners retract seatbelts automatically before a collision occurs.
The new Honda Inspire is bigger than its predecessor not only on the exterior but on the interior as well. or rear passengers, the tandem distance (a measure of the distance between front and rear seats) has been increased by 25mm and the floor lowered to provide a more natural seating position. Knee space has also been increased by 35mm, while the couple distance for front occupants has been widened by 40mm.
A thinner floor frame and slender fuel tank are employed along with optimized exhaust system layout to achieve a 15mm reduction in floor height. The trunk has been made 54mm longer to create a spacious 510 liter capacity.
More photos after the jump.
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December 26, 2007 @ 7:13 pm
Looks like the Inspire adopts a higher nose height design like the Sonata which also mimicks the Audi A6. Overall a very conservative design, which caters to the mass consumers mostly.
Technologically and safety features, are quite common now with current new models.
Hm, nothing interesting or inspiring here.
December 26, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
Never mind inspiring, this Accord is too bulky and at best, bland for my liking. Wonder what engine size we will be getting here. A 2.4 litre engine will be ok but a 2.0 litre will be underpower I suppose.
December 26, 2007 @ 7:54 pm
Looks abit like Camry too..
December 26, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
Wish honda can price this new accord competitively.
It amazes me Nissan Grand Livina 1.8L and Honda Stream 1.8L has a RM50k difference.
If RM20k to RM30k then it is fine. But RM50k is just too much.
December 26, 2007 @ 8:26 pm
Nice car….nice price….nice road tax…..nice fuel consumption…..but my wallet aint nice enough.
December 26, 2007 @ 8:29 pm
Nice. Very macho-looking uncle car to fight camry.
But what’s with the small rear spoiler? It’s bugging my eyes. Maybe it would be better-off if they designed the rear without needing it in the first place.
December 26, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
Camry’s design advances, matures and refines with each version, Accord’s another thing. This one is – fantastically, utterly, fascinatingly, shockingly BORING.
December 26, 2007 @ 9:08 pm
saw the car in thailand motorshow. looks much better in real life.
on the livina and stream, unlike the livina, the stream is full imported hence the higher price tag. also, if you’ve driven both cars before, you will also know that the stream is one step above the livina in terms of specifications..etc.
December 26, 2007 @ 9:40 pm
Much better looking car than the Camry.
Camry is just as dull as always.
December 26, 2007 @ 10:13 pm
a coo and angry front..love it.
December 26, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
Is it fine for Honda to play it safe with the Accord and make it bland.
honda has plenty of other (sedan) cars if you want excitement.
You have the Euro Accord/TSX, and the slightly more upmarket TL if you wanted a bit more flair.
Can’t exactly blame honda when our market is so small. I think Honda is playing it very smart in giving us the larger American Accord instead of the more sporty Euro Accord. Shows that they understand our demographics very well. A typical accord owner here is usually well off, in the executive/manager mid 40s family man. Both the Euro accords and TL’s target demographics is either below or above that. This is even more apparent that Toyota has responded with the Auris instead of the American Camry.
December 26, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
Never mind how it looks or didn’t. What is the drive like?
December 26, 2007 @ 10:35 pm
after so much success with the civic and new CRV……they just ruined it.
hope it doesnt replace the accord euro. that current accord euro design is top notch and modern for 4-5 years. car is still the class leader though i suspect will finally be superseeded by the mondeo and more problably the mazda 6 2008 which has been tested to be a better drive than the mondeo.
all this while the usdm model had to cycle through so many ugly models. prcied cheaply and came with lousy non-honda quality engines.
December 26, 2007 @ 11:54 pm
Honda is so fond of BM’s hoffmeister kink….
December 27, 2007 @ 12:34 am
The main brake lamp clusters are mounted so far off at the edges. I wonder if that is such a good idea for alerting drivers trailing behind the car to perform an emergency brake operation should this Inspire do the same.
December 27, 2007 @ 12:40 am
Malaysia should have this within 6 months time?
December 27, 2007 @ 1:28 am
Nice interior, but pretty bland exterior.
December 27, 2007 @ 2:12 am
I have seen the car in Thailand. It looks so much different in real. It came with reverse camera, bluetooth, navigator, a/c vent at the back and a lot of new features(Not sure malaysia will get the same spec)
December 27, 2007 @ 2:35 am
Stretch rear lamp INSPIREd by BMW 7 series …and spastic vers of hoffmeister kink. Dash also abit BMW-ish notice the placement of screen, stretch wood, cd insert, vent shape.
December 27, 2007 @ 6:45 am
A tit-for-tat against the Korean? Look like Honda really adapt the Sonata look.
Well, it really inspired by the Beemer actually. Even Lexus has done it before. Stock clearance time for the current Accord.
December 27, 2007 @ 7:51 am
BYE BYE CAMRY …
December 27, 2007 @ 8:15 am
Honda always had main 4 sedans in its lineup
Civic , Accord, Vigor/Inspire/TL, Legend
Now that the new Accord is as large as the TL, I wonder how the next TL is going to be like, especially since that the Legend has somewhat downsized itself. The Acura TL is what the Inspire should have been.
December 27, 2007 @ 9:04 am
Cun.
December 27, 2007 @ 10:35 am
i dont think the lowest price will be 130+ itll go far beyond that….
December 28, 2007 @ 9:52 am
body shape lining side etc like M5 BMW….nice.
December 28, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
got abit like the current generation of honda accord here .
December 28, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
much better than the camry
December 28, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
nothing to impress!
doesn’t have those WoW effect as compared to thier ‘07 Civic….
December 30, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
the design, is good enough to compete with the currently beautiful camry.
clever move honda!