What's new from Honda?
By Lucy Lazarony • Bankrate.com

Reliable, dependable Honda is really shaking things up this year with a radical redesign of its best-selling Accord, the introduction of an eco-friendly version of its Honda Civic and two brand-new sport utility vehicles, the full-sized Pilot and the youth-oriented Element.

The Honda Accord, the best-selling passenger car in America in 2001, gets the most dramatic redesign in its 27-year history in 2003.

What's so different about the 2003 Accord?

How about a sleeker exterior, more powerful engine -- a 240-horsepower V-6 engine is available -- loads of luxurious touches and more space inside?

Accord

The 2003 Accord is available in coupe or sedan, each with a very distinct look. The only styling feature the two models share is the headlights.

A Civic Hybrid may look like a Civic and drive like a Civic, but under its hood you'll find Honda's patented gasoline-electric Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) technology. The result? Impressive gas mileage and squeaky-clean emissions.

Thanks to its 1.3-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine and 10-Kilowatt electric motor, the Civic Hybrid can squeeze 650 miles from a single tank of gas. Introduced in April, the new Civic hybrid sedan achieves gas mileage of 46 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway. The five-passenger Civic Hybrid comes with an automatic or manual transmission and has a starting MSRP of $19,550.

Honda's takes aim at Generation Y with its boxy, rugged and unconventional Element sports utility vehicle. The all-new Element is almost all 90-degree angles, and includes a removable sky light, side cargo doors and a clamshell tailgate that opens wide enough to accommodate mountain bikes, surfboards and camping gear for four active twentysomethings.

Its wash-and-wear seats, which adjust to 64 different positions, and its easy to wipe floor are designed for the mess and the chaos of an active, outdoor lifestyle. It arrives in December.

Honda takes a much more traditional tack with the introduction of its all-new 2003 Pilot, its first full-sized SUV. With seating for as many as eight passengers and lots of storage space and compartments inside, the Pilot is targeted toward active families on the go.

And how's this for a nice touch? There's theater seating inside so little folks sitting in rows of seats behind the driver can see the road too. As for power, a 240-horsepower V-6 engine is available. Prices for a 2003 Pilot start at $26,900.

-- Posted: Oct. 1, 2002

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