Archival Road Test: The 1979 Honda Accord 4-Door

Originally published in the March 1979 issue of Car and Driver, this archive test highlights the 1979 Honda Accord 4-door sedan. In the late 1970s, Japanese manufacturers were dominating the small car market in America, with brands like Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Honda building compelling vehicles. Among them, the Honda Accord stood out as the best, albeit the most expensive. The four-door sedan offered a mix of European small-car sizing and American-style velour comfort and features, appealing to both foreign-car enthusiasts and American-car loyalists.

The 1979 Accord four-door sedan featured Teutonic seriousness and restraint in its styling, available only in silver or burgundy. It conveyed a strong signal of quality, though its high price tag could shock buyers who associated small cars with cheapness. Standard equipment included an AM/FM radio, steel-belted radials, a tachometer, a centralized warning system for ajar doors or deck lids and brake light function, a maintenance reminder, a fuel-reserve warning light, fully reclining front bucket seats, rear-seat headrests, a remote trunk-lid release, a trunk light, a vanity mirror, lighted ashtrays in both rear doors and the right front door, and a console-mounted lock for the rear doors with its own warning light. Controls featured a positive and accurate five-speed transmission shift linkage, power steering with variable boost, and stalk-operated headlights, high-beams, overtaking flasher, and windshield wipers with two speeds plus an intermittent mode.

Inside, the front seats accommodated drivers and passengers up to 6 feet 3 inches tall without compromising rear passenger legroom. Front headroom was sufficient for most hats, though rear headroom was less generous. The front buckets were comfortable and orthopedically correct, paired with a firm rear seat covered in plush dark red upholstery fabric. On the road, the Accord cruised effortlessly and quietly at 75 or 80 mph, delivering a smooth and supple ride, though it lacked the low-end torque and initial launch dig of a Ford Fiesta and did not handle quite as well as a Rabbit or Fiesta.