What's In A Name? The 2016 Honda Accord Sport

The 2016 Honda Accord Sport.

You could be excused for thinking the phrase "Honda Accord Sport" is an oxymoron.  Some of you might think the words "Honda Accord" and "Sport" would act like magnets that push each other apart.

As with most things in life, and especially in automobiles, the word "Sport" here is relative.

2016 Honda Accord Sport.

So what do you get when you buy a Honda Accord Sport?  Pretty much what you would get with the base Honda Accord LX sedan, with some important substitutions:

• The 2.4-liter DOHC 16-valve i-VTEC four-cylinder engine breathes a bit better thanks to dual exhausts, bumping the horsepower to 189 from 185.
• The continuously variable transmission (CVT) gets paddle shifters.
• Sixteen-inch alloy wheels become 19s.
• A 10-way power driver's seat with lumbar adjustments comes standard.
• The steering wheel is wrapped in leather.
• LED running lamps and fog lamps are added.
• The rear seat becomes a 60/40 split fold-down.

And the four extra horsepower comes at a price. Compared to the LX sedan, the EPA estimate of 27 city/37 highway slides to 26 city/35 highway.  Still, the fuel economy is prodigious.  In a week of driving, including a 220-mile roundtrip to San Francisco, I didn't burn through a full tank of gas.

2016 Honda Accord Sport interior.

Inside, the accomodations are straightforward.  Red-accented gauges and info screen, no nav, no Apple Car Play, no sunroof. But it never feels spartan. I spent a total of 8 hours in the Accord Sport the day I went to San Francisco and back and never once wished I was in something else.  It was comfortable, capable and economical. 

The base price of $25,965 ($2,960 more than the LX) reflects the above enhancements.With $820 destination and handling, the bottom line for our tester was $26,785.

So is the Honda Accord Sport a true sport sedan?  Not in the BMW sense, no.  It's an excellent counter to Toyota's sport-leaning version of the Camry, the XSE, which comes with a V6, lower gas mileage and a sticker price five grand higher.