The engine gets Honda's Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system, as well as a SOHC i-VTEC valvetrain, and during cruising or coasting it can operate on just three cylinders to help boost mileage. This year the engine gets improvements aimed at reduced wear and improved longevity, and the cylinder head gets a new 'tumble port' intake design, while the exhaust manifold is now cast into the cylinder head itself. That oddly, leaves the Toyota and Honda the only ones standing with V-6 offerings in a recently redesigned mid-size sedan.Īnd there are some indications that Honda plans to offer the V-6 for many more years. Cyr, vice president for corporate planning and logistics at American Honda, at a recent preview of the upcoming Accord. “We plan our engines around our customer, and it was still something that the customer very much wanted,” said Art St. Honda officials said that they believe there's still significant demand for a V-6 mid-size sedan, and that going to a turbocharged four instead was not the answer as it didn't meet the sum of all needs for drivability as a premium engine, combined with better efficiency. And it's 4 mpg better on the highway than the Toyota Camry.

It's also 3 mpg better on the highway then either the 2013 Nissan Altima V-6 or the 2013 Volkswagen Passat five-cylinder.

That's better than the 2013 Chrysler 200 Sedan or 2013 Dodge Avenger Sedan with their four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic, and essentially tied with both the Hyundai Sonata Turbo and base Chevrolet Malibu (both of those get 22/34 mpg). On top of that, it also runs on regular unleaded gas, and meets ULEV2 standards. Yet here arrives the 2013 Honda Accord, with its step-up engine a V-6-a large, 3.5-liter at that, making 278 horsepower-and it's rated an almost incredible 34 miles per gallon highway (21 mpg city).

Honda accord 3.5 v6 vtec horsepower