Although Toyota sells the Camry-coupe 'Solara' in the US, it's still yet to see the sun in this part of the world. Nissan on the other hand has brought in the coupe variant of the Altima this year into the Middle East with powertrain offerings in both four- and six-cylinders. The Honda's had the Accord coupe offered here in the region for quite sometime, although that stopped briefly in between. The previous model-year Accord did not have a coupe variant available here in the Middle East. So, Honda included a coupe model to the Middle East portfolio when it gave the Accord a clean-sheet makeover for the 2008 model year and I got to sample this one in the V6 guise.

The Accord coupe test car provided to us by Honda Middle East was a well-equipped model with the 3.5-litre V6 power plant under its belly, 5-speed automatic transmission, leather upholstery and a host of luxury oddments that's standard in this category of cars.

Unlike Nissan's Altima coupe where it deviates a lot in terms of design direction from that of the sedan, the Accord coupe in its metallic-grey paint job was more at home when compared to its sedan counterpart. It bears all the classic coupe proportions - a long hood, chopped off tail section and shorter wheelbase. The high-waist line together with the pronounced lines running from the front tyre footwells all the way to the rear boot lid give it what we would like to call 'understated sleekness'. Simply put, this coupe could stand tyre-to-tyre with some luxury car models available in the market presently.

The current model is Honda's eighth generation Accord and the sedan model has moved up from being a mid-size to – barely – full size (2799mm). But that's not the case with its sportier alter ego and the Accord coupe is retained in the mid-size coupe category (2741mm). Though the coupe, typically, is shorter and smaller inside than the sedan, and remains a mid-size car, it still benefits from the upsizing. The front seats are expansive while the rear seats are roomy enough for two average sized adults – and that is if you are nimble enough to get there! The doors are large for easy ingress and egress, but are susceptible to dings and nudges while parking and exiting from tight parking spots – like the ones mostly found in Dubai!

Move inside and you are immediately welcomed with an array of big, chunky switches and knobs – a refreshing change from what is the norm of the day. And by norm of the day, we mean trying to key-in a myriad of functions via a joystick built into a knob, as in the case of the German trio – BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The use of big, bold buttons with a single straight-forward function brings in ease of use as well as easy accessibility. The overall appeal may not be very upmarket and trendy, but it definitely serves the purpose and for a newcomer it takes hardly any time to get around with the controls useability. If you are one of those who would like to flaunt your new set of wheels among your friends, the way Honda interior designers have presented the interior does send out a powerful message: Take a look at all the techno-wizardry built into my set of wheels!

Having owned a silver 1998 Honda Accord coupe (2.4-litre 4-cylinder) for almost a year and a half, getting comfortable with the 2008 Accord coupe was not much of a deal for me. The layouts and controls were easy on the eye and user friendly. The car sits lower compared to Nissan's Altima coupe (what by far is the main contender in this segment at this point of time) and provides for a bit of that boy-racer look and feel to the whole set-up. We would have liked to have had a manual transmission in this one, but unfortunately Honda doesn't bring them here and so buyers have to be contented with a standard 5-speed automatic box.

Turn the ignition on and you are immediately reminded that it is a another of those super-smooth Honda engines that is powering this one. The 3.5-litre V6 features Honda's latest VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) that shuts off a bank of cylinders to save on gas. The shift from the 6-cylinder to 4-cylinder is hardly noticeable and the same goes to the other way around with power coming in at the slightest flick of the gas pedal. A small green light inside the odometer tells you what mode you are on.

Nail the throttle and you could hear the muted rumbling of the V6 from the twin exhausts (the 4-cylinder gets only one). This one can pass on as a four-cylinder easily with the saving grace being the V6 decals on the bootlid. Floor the gas pedal/accelarator and the engine reacts to inputs quite instantaneously. The vehicle shoots forward with a verve matching the engine's liveliness. The V6 has enough low-speed torque to drive smoothly and pull when the demand for passing arises – especially in a city like Dubai where engine size outshines anything else!

The 271bhp V6 does 0-100km in 5.7 seconds and that's ridiculously fast for a practical, mid-size car. It would have outrun most Porsches at this speed if Honda had that nailed some fifteen years ago! But that doesn't stop this six-cylinder coupe from making any heads turn. For such a car, a 5.7 second acceleration figure is fast to its current segment standards. But the biggest problem area is not the speed but the feeling of being floaty and imprecise at that speed and that awful amount of understeer that creeps in when you try to slow down – not something that would go down well among buyers looking for that sporty indent in their coupe. But still, the Accord coupe V6 will definitely get you where you want to go quickly and safely and with a tinge of understated class.

The Accord coupe V6 is a simple, no-frill car with a solid engineering, reasonable handling, excellent build quality and an adequate sized interior for two-plus-two. With the Accord coupe, you could enjoy the excitement of snapping around a corner and immediately chase that with a feeling of being able to plod along as if you were out for a lazy Friday afternoon drive. Buyers looking for a satisfying blend of ride comfort and decent handling, as well as sharp looks, plenty of standard features and unexpected room inside, could have trouble finding a candidate as strong as the Accord coupe!

Technical Specifications

Body Style : Coupe
Price : Dhs 117,000 (3.5L V6) / Dhs. 95,000 (2.4L 4-Cylinder)
Engine : 3.5-litre V6
Power : 271Bhp @ 6200 rpm
Torque : 340Nm @ 5000 rpm
Transmission : 5-speed Automatic

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