JDM Accord Euro-R is the Best Honda Accord We Never Got
Forbidden fruit, shipped across the ocean and ready to be enjoyed.
The car feature about an amazing car/truck/suv that, after three or four paragraphs, can’t be purchased in your market is one we would prefer to do without. We get it, Japan gets all the cool stuff. Thankfully, this video we found by Marcus at Roads Untraveled is just the opposite. Despite featuring the incredibly rare 2001 Honda Accord Euro-R, which was only ever sold in Japan, this video doesn’t disappoint. On the contrary, since Marcus borrowed the car from an importer, this one is for sale.
What, you might ask, makes the Accord Euro-R so special? First off, there’s an H22A under the hood, which is good for 217 hp at 7,200 rpm. Power goes through a five-speed manual to a Torsen LSD. Marcus points out that Honda gave the Euro-R a unique, yet subtle, body kit. Front bumper, side skirts, fender arches, and a rear fascia flanked by a dual-out exhaust. For most, it’s just another Accord, but keen observers will know it’s something special.
Inside, the Accord is sporting factory Recaro seats and a Momo steering wheel. “The seating position and the steering are the biggest two downfalls… for all I can see, the only two downfalls,” Marcus explains. The driver still sits pretty high, like in a normal Accord. The electric power steering was lifted directly from the Honda S2000 and features three settings. Marcus tries them all and notes that there’s little difference. Though it shares steering parts with the S2000, Marcus’s complaint that the steering feels unresponsive isn’t uncommon for electric systems.
One point we disagree with Marcus, however, is his point that the Accord is “bipolar”. Though he presents it as a weakness, what he describes is exactly what we look for in a sport sedan. At low speeds the Accord is perfectly “Accord-like”, comfortable, and quiet. When you get above 5,500 rpm, and VTEC shows up, the Accord really scoots. Though a matter of opinion, we see that as its greatest strength.
Would you daily drive an Accord Euro-R? Join us in the forums and let us know what you think!
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