Honda’s constant neglect towards the Indian Diesel market has been a major point of concern for IAB. With petrol prices sky rocketing day by the day, it is becoming all the more expensive to run petrol cars on the Indian roads. In some cities, the difference petrol and diesel prices is as much as Rs 18-19/liter!
Then there is a question of Brand value. Honda’s recent pricing strategies have clearly shown that the company wants to cash-in on the ‘H’ badge as much as possible. This is further fueled by the immense fanboyism that the company enjoys in the Indian market.
Personally, I feel both the City and the Jazz are overpriced for what they are. Yes, you get Honda’s legendary reliability with both these cars. But when it comes to ‘value per buck’, the rivals have a much better proposition.
In such a scenario, Honda’s adamant stand in not bringing diesel cars and absurd pricing strategies is certainly hurting the company in the D+ segment. The Accord has lost the battle to its arch rival Skoda Superb my miles .
Never once, in a time frame of 7 months, has the Accord managed to outsell the Superb. This also answers the question of Brand vs. Value because despite of so many horror stories floating over the internet, people still prefer the Skoda badge over the Honda badge.
Clearly, the Skoda Superb is a lot more ‘value for money’ proposition than the Accord but at the same time there is one crucial success factor – a Diesel heart. In comes the Euro-bound Honda Accord Diesel that is currently on display at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Euro Accord is certainly a handsome looking brut. The design language is so much better the new civic or even for that matter the recent half hearted facelift of the Indian Accord. The Euro Accord has been caught testing on the Indian Roads a couple of times. So clearly, Honda has something on cards.
Coming to the important part – the Diesel Engine. It is a 2.2L i-DTEC diesel that outputs 148 bhp and 258 lb-ft of torque, but with CO2 emissions of only 138 g/km. The engine will most certainly be the party piece of this car.
Of course, it comes with many bells and a host of whistles such as new headlights, a sportier grille, re-profiled cooling ducts and fog lights. It also has active cornering headlights with High Beam Support that uses a CMOS camera sensor to detect oncoming traffic and automatically activate the low beams – very, very crucial for Indian drivers if you know what I mean.
So do you think the Honda Accord Diesel can change the game for Honda in the D+ Segment?
