In 2009 Honda will be sending the U.S. one of their fine diesel models. The Diesel Accord will be replacing the Accord Hybrid. The Accord Hybrid didn’t really sell well. They seemed to be over priced, so a lot of them have been gathering dust at the dealerships. This is bad for Honda because these high tech Hybrids are expensive to build and develop. Now what they have decided to do here is bring in the European 2.2 i-CTDi Diesel engine, and make it 50 State legal. The up side for Honda is that the 2.2L Diesel is a lot cheaper to produce then the Accord Hybrid. The upside for you is that the Diesel Accord should be a lot more affordable to buy. Now the 2.2 i-CTDi Diesel is producing 138hp and 250lb-ft of torque. Honda has said that the car has achived 62.8mpg in tests, but it will probably be around 50mpg in the real world.
When fuel costs $4.00 a gallon, the most important statistic on a car is miles per gallon. The diesel engine has proven to be very good at keeping you away from the gas station as long as possible. The main Competitor of the Accord Diesel will be the already established VW Jetta TDI, and in 2010 the Nissan Maxima Diesel will join them. The lower picture is of the European Accord diesel, which looks like a Acura TL. I’m pretty sure ours will look like the normal U.S. Honda Accord, in the first picture on the top.
