2003 Honda Accord Sedan - An Obsession with Continual Progression

Honda's Accord has always been near the top of its midsize class which is no small feat. After all, there are more cars vying for midsize dominance than any other automotive category. So what makes the Honda so good? Outstanding build quality, near infallible reliability and a truly rewarding driving experience. What did it lack? If you've read some of my earlier articles on the subject you'll know the only ingredient I felt missing was distinctive styling. That said out with the old and in with the new.

The 2003 Accord sedan is anything but bland. It makes its unique statement without being outrageous, stimulating discussion without offending. What I first noticed is how much better it looks in the metal than in photographs. Why don't pictures do it justice? Mostly due to a variety of complex curves best experienced in real life 3-dimension. Also, getting up close allows a full appreciation of the cars amazingly narrow body panel gaps. They've been reduced from 5.0 to 3.5 mm for the front door to fender, 5.5 to 4.0 mm for the front to rear door and 4.0 to 3.5 mm for the rear door to rear fender. Gaps between the bumpers and fender panels have been reduced to less than 1.0 mm or 'zero' in engineer-speak. While this improves aerodynamics to an impressive 0.30 coefficient of drag it also looks sensational.