What's the 2.0 i-vtec like to drive

[markquinton]

Hi all

Went to my local Honda dealer today to try out the rear space in the 8th gen accord and it was better than I remember, i'm 6'4" and need room behind me for a child seat etc. Think I realised that I can actually sit closer to the wheel in the accord than I though without feeling cramped. So on the basis that it may be big enough I've had a look on autotrader and seen a few 2.0 i-vtec accords locally that are quite reasoably priced. Seeing as i only live 3 odd miles from work but do the occasionally long journey around the country for work the petrol might be a good options. However looking at the size of the car and knowing what jap petrol cars are like i'm a little worried that i'm going to have to thrash this engine to get it going, I must admit I hate having to work a car really hard when coming exiting roundabouts on dual carriageways etc

Can anyone give me some idea of what the 2.0 engine is like? Is it hard work? I'm stuggling to get my head around the fact it's SOHC and I know it's not right but it automatically makes me think SLOW!!

Thanks guys

Mark

 

[crespo]

Its 155 bhp. Which is more than adequate for every day use. I have never got out of mine and thought Christ that's slow.

Its not going to rip your face off with acceleration but its plenty quick enough to get you out of trouble if needed. 3rd gear will take you from 40 to 80 pretty ****** quick and is very useful for overtaking. Yes you need to work it hard to get the full potential out of it but keep the revs below 4.5k with normal driving and it will reward you with surprisingly good fuel economy.

Acceleration is swift not brutal and it has enough top end to outpace a lot of cars. I have seen the needle touch 140 in mine (although probably more like 135 on gps).

Here is a very good review of the 2.0. http://www.autocar.co.uk/www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTestsHistory/Honda-Accord-2.0-i-VTEC-Executive/217392/


And here is a snippet about the performance.

We achieved a 0-60mph time of 8.0 seconds and a top speed of 133mph, both of which re-set the benchmark for cars in this class. The Toyota Avensis 2.0 we tested recently achieved 8.9 seconds for the 0-60mph sprint and 127mph; even the lusty Mondeo 2.0 can only crack 8.8 seconds and 131mph.

But these figures only tell half the story. A 30-70mph time through the gears of 7.5 seconds slaughters those for the Mondeo and Avensis. The pace seems even more spritely each time you step over 4000rpm, when the VTEC system kicks in. The gearshift is possibly the best we’ve experienced in any mainstream production car, being light, slick, short-throw and precise.

 

[vile]

I drive the 8th gen 2.4 petrol and its sooo fast

 

[nick 9-5]

You do have to work it to get it shifting. Once your in shifting mode it goes quite nicely as the gear change at high revs drops you in a nice place for the next gear. I don't think mines 'slow' but surprised sometimes at how hard it is to keep up with some other cars. The lack of torque (compared to the turbo car I came from) means that if you are in the wrong gear, you can forget a speedy getaway.

 

[Stevearcade]

Ok, I'm talking from a 2.4 perspective here, but I feel it's important you understand i-VTEC engines if you're thinking of buying one. The i-VTEC engines have multiple stages to their power delivery. And getting the power from them is easier when you understand about how they are designed and drive them Accord-ingly (excuse the pun :blush: )

They are designed as the ultimate compromise between fuel economy and power output. At low revs you will get mileage/economy that far outdoes typically expected economies for that engine size. For example my 2.4 will get me over 400 miles on a tank around town and A roads if I barely take it over 2000 revs. Pretty good for a 2.4 I'm sure you'll agree.

The "i" basically refers to the system (it's called the VTC) that changes engine characteristics at low-medium revs. There are 2 stages to this. The first stage of the VTC is that the nodes on the cam shaft move closer together to change the timing of the valves, increasing the aggressiveness of the power delivery. The second stage is a valve that changes the direction/behaviour of air flow on the inlet manifold to give a little more power. You hear these changes on the 2.4 as a slight growl that starts around the 3500-4000rpm area. This gives a nice increase in pulling power whilst supposedly maintaining respectable fuel economy.

Then the good old VTEC kicks in at about 5500, where the cam nodes become locked together and push the valves in nice and deep . You know when this kicks in and it stays there until the car bounces off the rev limiter at 7200. There's a monster growl and great kick back. It's what keeps so many Honda drivers over the years hooked on Hondas. Forget good fuel economy at this stage :lol: .

So to sum up, in my opinion, the engine purposefully doesn't have a consistent power band. There is a sluggish, lethargic quality up until about 3000rpm (although plenty of power and torque for around town cruising, then it pulls very nicely with improved torque for overtaking, and then bang... off you go with the VTEC if you want to treat yourself.

So knowing the relation between your speed and revs is very important and it takes a little while to get accustomed to this. Once you've got it though, you intuitively know what gear to be in for any situation. You can drive the nuts off the car, maintaining decent economy and have a lot of fun. For example, I can be cruising along at under 2000 rpm doing 40 mph in 6th gear, then need to overtake a granny in a Yaris. I think nothing of dropping from 6th to 2nd and Brrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmm I'm past her in a flash then ease of the gas, pop it into 6th and re-engage the cruise control. It satisfies both the boring granddad and the inner boy racer within .

Personally, I'd like to see there be more grunt at 1000 - 3000rpm and for the VTEC to come in about 4000rpm. Basically bring the threshold for the VTC and VTEC lower by about 1000-1500 revs . But then the car wouldn't be nearly as economic and would really drink the petrol to an extent that probably couldn't afford to run the car :lol: .

I can only imagine the 2.0 is like a slightly less grunty version of the 2.4. Although I imagine it's still pretty poky. Heres an old article from when Honda unveiled the i-VTEC engine back in the early 2000s K20A Article. It's based the 2.0 so should be fairly relevant to you.

Hope that's of some help.