2013 Honda Accord Coupe

Honda has a lot on the line with their new ninth-generation Accord, as two natural disasters took a chunk out of 2011 production for this perennial top seller. There’s also the looming dark cloud of intense competition, with an impressive updated 2012 Toyota Camry, the stunning 2013 Ford Fusion, a promising new Chevrolet Malibu, and the pending redesign of the Nissan Altima. And then there’s the still strong-and-fresh Hyundai Sonata that’s been nibbling away at market share.

Honda is usually a conservative company and that’s reflected in this new Accord. The styling isn’t a big departure from the current model. When Honda rolled out their eighth-generation Accord Coupe concept in 2007, we thought it would be the harbinger to a more stylish Accord sedan. It didn’t. We’ll try not to be fooled again. This coupe looks a lot like the current model, but with some added character lines on the haunches. In a tough economy, playing it conservative means not tampering too much with success.

During the unveiling, Honda’s spokesman talked a lot about fun, mentioning it eight times in the press conference. The new Accord will be lighter, lower, and a bit shorter - all steps in the right direction - while retaining its spacious cabin. But not much was said about the steering or suspension. The Accord will very likely move to electric steering with this generation. Problem is, Honda hasn’t really done a good job with tuning electric steering yet. The Acura TSX, Acura TL, and Civic all have vague on-center feel that robs them of fun. We’ll see if Honda breaks that string with the Accord.

Honda is also claiming best-in-class fuel economy, like almost every other manufacturer. They’re working to achieve that with a new 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine linked to a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Ford made the same claim on the same day at the same show; we’ll see if their whiz-bang 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder coupled to a conventional automatic can outduel the more mundane-sounding Honda powertrain.

2013 Honda Accord Coupe

Despite adding direct injection, the new Honda 2.4-liter has a relatively modest performance bump (181 hp, 177 lb.-ft. torque) to their current 2.4-liter (177 hp, 161 lb.-ft. torque). Honda is also sticking with offering a V6, while many competitors are moving away from that decreasing-volume family car segment.

The biggest news here is that Honda will offer the Accord as a plug-in hybrid. That’s a significant leapfrog in technology, as the company currently doesn’t sell a full hybrid system here, instead relying on their less-expensive (and also less-fuel-efficient) IMA light hybrid system. A clever feature will allow the driver to actively choose when to use the stored battery power. For instance, the car can run on the highway on gasoline and then be switched to the 10-15 miles of electric-only range for the final urban part of the commute. You don’t have to use up all of the battery range up front.

This Accord will offer a full suite of available electronic safety devices, including an enhanced blind spot system that shows an image of what otherwise lurks unseen. That will be optional, but a rear camera will be standard. Honda also stressed driver visibility from a large window greenhouse area. Other sedans would do well to follow those ideas.

While other automakers are pointing to the fences, Honda’s diligently working to steadily raise its batting average. We’ll see how that approach plays out when we buy an Accord or two this fall to test.

See our complete 2012 Detroit auto show coverage, and our show profile of the Accord.