Throttle House continues to demonstrate that the Honda Accord with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is capable of impressive performance. This time the family sedan goes up against a Ford Mustang EcoBoost, Subaru WRX, and Volkswagen Jetta GLI.
All of these vehicles pack a turbocharged four-cylinder. The video doesn’t show the WRX’s cabin, but all of the competitors appear to have an automatic gearbox.
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The first race is from a standing start, and the Jetta and WRX get to use their launch control systems. Unfortunately, the VW wears some truly awful tires and ends up in last place by a huge margin. The other three cross the line fairly close together. The Mustang wins, but the Accord is right behind the Ford. The WRX is nipping at their heels.
Next, there’s a race without launch control. The results are the same, but the Mustang wins by a larger margin. The WRX starts pulling late but not enough to beat the Accord. Once again, the GLI isn’t anywhere near the rest of the pack.
Finally, there a run from a roll. The Accord takes an early lead, but the Mustang eventually moves into first place by just a little. At the finish line, these two are nearly side by side, and the Ford wins by a nose. In a surprise, the GLI takes third and is only a small distance behind the Honda. The WRX is a distant fourth.
These results indicate again that the Accord with its larger available engine is capable of impressive performance in a straight line, especially with a modest claimed output of 252 horsepower (188 kilowatts) and 273 pound-feet (370 Newton-meters). The hosts also admit that if there’s even a bit of snow on the ground, then the Subaru would become much more competitive.