Berlin City Honda NH
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2012 Top 10 Cars
HONDA ACCORD
The four-cylinder Accord proves that when Honda plays to its strengths, it is better than anyone at producing vehicles with a supernaturally fine balance of attributes. That this is still true while Honda is widely acknowledged to have lost some of its product magic puts the all-around excellence of the four-cylinder Accord in stark relief. This is a big sedan (without a sunroof, roomy enough to reside in the EPA's Large Sedan category) that's lighter on its feet than many sports coupes you could mention. The primary controls are so perfectly matched to each other that this not-exactly-sporty-looking sedan can traipse along the tightrope of your favorite back road with precision and utter predictability.
It will return 33 mpg on the highway*; a well-equipped EX version costs just one nice dinner more than $25,000 (a little more for the coupe); and it's a more natural heel-and-toe enabler than most sports cars. That's an unparalleled breadth of talent and goodness. Unlike in years past, the V-6 powered Accords do not share in this 10Best prize. Competitors, notably the V-6 VW Passat, play a more convincing premium-family-car riff. Whether this Accord becomes the guiding light for the future of Honda or is simply a star that hasn't quite extinguished yet, we don't know. For now, it shines as brilliantly as ever.
*Based on 2012 EPA mileage estimates. Use for comparison purposes only. Do not compare to models before 2008. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
HONDA FIT
Excellence comes in many sizes, but when the Fit first earned its way onto our 10 Best list in 2007, it alone offered that quality in the B-segment, a size class that was largely an afterthought in the go-go Aughts. Now, the class is bursting with legitimate pint-sized threats from Hyundai, Mazda, Ford, and Chevy, but Honda still wins with best-in-class passenger space and cargo capacity. It also offers the most flingable chassis and a five-speed manual that is among the great ambassadors to the stick. That transmission would no doubt sway even more converts if it had a sixth gear to calm the engine on the highway.
Overall, though, the Fit is not just a triumph over other small cars, it's a triumph of engineering. It makes the minds behind other cars seem lazy. There are so few intrusions into the capacious interior that you'd think the structure consists of a thin layer of aluminum foil stretched over some toothpicks, even though this body shell is astoundingly rigid. All hatchbacks offer folding seats, but the Fit's create a completely flat load floor and open up 57 cubic feet of cargo volume 13 more than you'll get if you flop the back row in a Ford Explorer. In other markets, this tiny Honda is sold as the Jazz, which is appropriate: It exudes all the unflappable cool and versatility of a session drummer.
