2018 Honda Accord 2.0T is as fast as the first gen Acura NSX in a straight line

The 2017 Honda Accord V6 Hybrid was pretty quick but now that the 2018 Honda Accord 2.0T is out, it’s even quicker yet. And that means it just about matches a first gen NSX in a straight line.

Honda made sure that even though they downgraded the engine size of the 2018 Honda Accord’s optional engine from 3.5L to 2.0L, they gave it a turbo and made it faster than last year. According to a recent thread on Temple of VTEC on some informal straight line acceleration tests that popped up earlier this week (Nov. 28, 2017) it looks like that the 2018 Honda Accord 2.0T is about as fast as the first gen Acura NSX, in a straight line at least. Check out the video that peaked my interest in this little factoid below.

In 1989, the Honda Accord had, at best, 133 HP with the pinnacle of the Acura brand, the NSX, coming in at a whopping 270 HP. Today, the Accord has 252 HP and 273 lb-ft and the Acura NSX 573 HP and 476 lb-ft. But what if you lined up the new Accord against the first gen NSX?

When Motor Week tested the 1991 Acura NSX they achieved a 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds and a quarter mile run in 14 flat. With 0-60 times and quarter mile times coming in for the 2018 Honda Accord 2.0T, their numbers aren’t too far off. Motor Trend is on the record for getting to 60 MPH in 5.7 seconds and down the quarter mile in 14.3 seconds. In that aforementioned independent test, that 2.0T Accord laid down a 5.3-second blast to 60 MPH and a 14 second flat on the quarter-mile with a faster run in the cards given a nicer surface track.

It’s safe to say that the Accord now is just as fast as the NSX. Throw a couple of corners at the old NSX versus the new Accord and my money would be on the NSX. But as it stands, today’s engines are a leap in terms of technology compared to the engines of yore.

A simple comparison of combined MPG can speak to that. The 1991 NSX had a combined 22 MPG. The new Accord bests that with a combined 27 MPG. But you’ll probably have to stay out of the power band to get those numbers.