It's got all the raunchy goodness of a one-night stand, with the innocent appeal of a girl next door-alright, a bloody cool chick next door; a little Sabrina the Teenage Witch on the outside and a whole lotta Shirley Manson (Mmm! Shirley Manson!-MP) inside. Sound tempting enough for a test drive? Of course, we're talking about a car.
Even at a tame max boost of 8 psi, the HKS Accord has got game. With a staunch jam on the gas, the turbocharged V-6 satisfies the most demanding urges of masculinity (And even the more demanding urges of femininty. Ahem.-BM) with a brash moment of reckless wheel spin. Passing other cars and foot traffic, the car catches attention, not because of the HKS Power banner plastered down both side panels, but from the company's Super Sequential blow-off valve. What sounds like a sudden rush of flood water not only raises but tugs the hair of all creatures it passes.
On surface streets, pedestrians turn quickly to the purple car and gawk. On the freeway, reactions are less definitive. I innocently pull up to a lane neighbor, rev, and drop the rpms-whoosh. The sound is enveloping and nebulous, like an ethereal fog. Did I imagine it? my neighbor thinks. He looks around: up, down, behind, below. By the time he turns to me, I'm gone.
HKS reports max power and torque outputs at 277 hp and 250 lb-ft. Stock figures hover at the bicentennial mark. Credit the 80 hp jump to the company's GT2510 ball bearing turbo, just one of the impressive brainchildren of the blessed union between HKS and Garrett Turbochargers. Offered exclusively through HKS, the GT ball bearing turbos are engineered with a full ball bearing cartridge system. This means less weight and friction than standard turbos, which translates into quicker spool-up times and faster response. That means slim turbo lag, and that's all that matters to us.
Even with the four-speed automatic transmission, useful boost arrived in a timely fashion. Highway passing (which happens often in this car) was as easy as choosing a passing line, jumping on the gas, and holding on tight. Smiling is optional but unavoidable. Indeed, cruising has never been so enjoyable. Trust us (the entire staff got their rocks off driving this car for a week) when we say this car is fun.
However, if you look down the long line of cars that HKS has directly associated itself with, you'll understand our initial confusion (followed by high- expectations followed by elation followed by-well, you get the point) when we first heard the company was waving its magic wand on something less brutally savage than a Skyline, Supra, or Celica. Why not a Prelude? But look closer, and you'll spot the thread weaving through the Accord and those other longer-legged supermodels: They were all built to perform with the original characteristics of the car intact.
Although the stock Accord V-6 coupe possesses sportier lines than its sedan siblings, it is still a few steps off the pace of a Prelude. Purposely, HKS didn't do much to raise it to that next tier. Instead, the company chose to emphasize those lines more than alter them. So the Accord gets only minor body treatment with the addition of Honda's own ground effects and rear spoiler.
Handling has been improved accordingly with HKS Super Sport springs, 18x7.5 Rays Engineering Versus Turismo wheels, and Z-rated Toyo Proxes T1 Plus tires. Even under spirited highway and city driving, the car stuck like glue, though results weren't as impressive through sharp canyon curves: I had my (admittedly clumsy) hands full with the large-diameter steering wheel. But Honda didn't build this car for Pikes Peak, and HKS honors that design philosophy. The company will most likely let its upcoming Suburu Impreza 2.5RS turbo project car satisfy those fantasies.
Inside the cabin, HKS supports the standard leather interior with state- of-the-art gadgetry. The factory stereo/CD player remains, but below that sits nothing you'll find in most sport coupes: two gauges (boost and EGT), an HKS turbo timer, and an HKS EVC IV boost controller. The turbo timer has 15 preset times, but one of its most exceptional functions is a resetable hour display, which maintains a continuous total of engine running time in hours. The EVC IV features the same level of ingenuity in a more dynamic device. Aided by fuzzy logic, it possesses the ability to learn the vehicle's boost pressure curve. HKS claims that this learning feature allows a maximum reduction in turbo lag without overboosting. Our staff had a hands-off approach to the electronics (mushroom cloud explosions ever-present in our heads) and left both at the levels pre-programmed in by the HKS engineers. And that worked for us.
Maybe it's the sudden realization that my age will never catch up to me. Maybe it's the tempting thought of scaring the hell out of everyone on, near, or beside the road with an Accord. Or maybe it's that the HKS Accord provides all that under the guise of an adult's car. Yes, that's probably it-the primary reason why the HKS Accord is a car I can live with and never be bored.