2025 Honda Accord Review: The Benchmark Does It Again

Honda didn't build the Accord to turn heads at Cars & Coffee. It built the Accord to handle your commute, your road trip, or if you are like me last week, your Avis rental car on a work trip to Dallas — and to do all of that without once making you regret the decision.

After spending time behind the wheel of a 2025 Accord LX in Meteorite Gray Metallic while navigating the labyrinthine sprawl of the Texas highway system, I can confirm: this car still has the job description completely memorized.

The 2025 Accord slots firmly into the midsize sedan class and makes a compelling case that sedans aren't dead — they just got better while everyone else was distracted by crossovers. The LX is the entry point of the lineup, starting at $28,295 not including the destination charge.

For 2025, Honda reshuffled the trim structure slightly, swapping the outgoing EX for a new SE model, leaving two gas-powered options alongside four hybrid variants, with the Touring Hybrid topping out at $39,300.

Design and Interior

The exterior of the 2025 Accord wears its generation well. A subtle ducktail spoiler at the rear gives it just enough visual edge to remind you it has a personality, and standard LED headlights round out a front end that looks more premium than its price tag suggests. That impression carries right into the cabin.

Step inside, and the first thing you notice is how solid everything feels. Panels fit tightly, controls have satisfying tactile feedback, and nothing rattles or flexes in ways that make you question the build quality, and this is coming from a rental fleet out of DFW.

The dashboard features a clean horizontal layout with a mesh grille cleverly concealing the air vents — a design detail Honda has refined across the current-gen Civic and CR-V family.

Now, about those interior materials: the LX is a cloth-seat situation, and the steering wheel isn't wrapped in leather. That's the honest truth at under $30,000 for a midsize sedan. But here's the equally honest truth — for the price, it's mostly executed well. While the steering wheel feels like you are gripping an iguana, the cloth upholstery feel more like a feature than an omission. It's a base trim that doesn't embarrass itself.

Rear seat legroom deserves a specific callout. Honda quotes 40.8 inches back there, and it shows — taller passengers will be comfortable on longer hauls, though the Accord's gently tapering roofline does nibble into rear headroom approaching six feet. Cargo space sits at 16.7 cubic feet.

One practical note: the turning radius isn’t as tight as I would like. Parking lot maneuvers require a bit more planning than you might expect from a midsize sedan of this footprint. Not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing.

Infotainment

The LX comes with a 7-inch touchscreen, a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, and a four-speaker audio system. Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both standard, along with Wi-Fi hotspot capability and rear USB-C ports for passengers.

Here's where I'll be direct: the infotainment screen is small and at an awkward angle. Rather than angling toward the driver, the display sits more perpendicular — like it's trying to address both front seats equally and doesn’t fully satisfying either. In practice, it means more neck movement than you'd want when glancing at navigation, which is a legitimate ergonomic miss. It's the most notable frustration I had with the cabin.

Audio through the four-speaker system was clean and plenty adequate for a low-volume Jack Johnson soundtrack on the highway, which is also a testament of the cabin noise insulation.

Performance and Driving

Under the hood sits a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 192 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque, paired with a CVT driving the front wheels. The EPA rates it at 29 city / 37 highway / 32 combined.

On the Texas highway, this powertrain is peppy and eager — more energetic than you might expect from a family sedan at this price point. The CVT, often the villain in driving dynamics conversations, is well-tuned here and doesn't produce the rubbery, disconnected sensation that plagues lesser implementations.

The suspension absorbs imperfections without transmitting undue harshness, and the steering is appropriately light for a commuter sedan without feeling completely numb.

Safety: Honda Sensing

Every 2025 Accord — including the base LX — come equipped with Honda Sensing, which is genuinely comprehensive.

Standard features include:

• Forward collision warning
• Lane departure warning
• Lane keeping assist
• Road departure mitigation
• Adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow
• Traffic jam assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Auto high-beam headlights
• Driver attention monitor

Adaptive cruise control is a standout. It performed intuitively on the highway, maintained smooth following distances, and adjusted seamlessly when traffic density changed — exactly what you want when you're getting acquainted with the concrete jungle that is the Dallas highway system for the first time.

One glaring omission: blind spot monitoring is not included on the LX. That particular feature is reserved for the SE and above. In a segment where blind-spot monitoring is increasingly standard, even at entry-level pricing — and in a car that's otherwise safety-forward — this is a meaningful miss.

The LX's rear visibility is good, and the mirrors are well-placed, but there's no substitute for an active warning system when merging in heavy traffic. If this feature matters to you (and it should especially if you live in Dallas), the SE at $30,560 gets you there.

My Verdict

The 2025 Honda Accord LX is a confident, well-built, and genuinely enjoyable midsize sedan that delivers where it counts. The solid interior assembly, impressive rear seat space, refined highway manners, and surprisingly capable turbocharged powertrain make it an easy recommendation for anyone prioritizing value and daily usability under $30,000.

The caveats are real but manageable: a cloth interior at this trim (expected), an awkwardly angled 7-inch touchscreen, a turning radius that requires some patience, and — most notably — the absence of blind-spot monitoring. That last one is the only point that genuinely gives pause. In 2025, leaving it off the base trim of a segment leader feels like a missed opportunity.

But with a price starting at $28295, the 2025 Honda Accord LX is exactly what Honda has always intended it to be: the benchmark. And the benchmark still earns its reputation.