They say that the sedan segment is on its last legs, but that’s not quite true. Yes, trucks and SUVs are dominating the market, but sedans are still bringing in plenty of money. In fact, the Honda Accord Sport 1.5T is earning the Japanese automaker plenty of attention from critics.

It has sharp looks, an affordable price, and a fierce ride that is drawing consumers in who are looking for a more sporty ride. MotorTrend was highly impressed with the Honda Accord Sport, and here’s why.

What does the Sport trim bring to the Honda Accord?

The Sport trim might be just one step above the base LX trim level, and in many cases, you don’t actually get a lot more for the extra money you’re expected to pay. In this case, the Sport trim actually offers quite a bit more. 

On the exterior, you get 19-inch wheels, a lip spoiler, LED fog lights, and chrome exhaust tips. This isn’t a huge change from the LX, but it gives just enough change to give the 2020 Honda Accord a little something extra.

Like all the trim levels, you’ll get the Honda Sensing Suite, which offers collision mitigation braking system, road departure mitigation, lane departure warning, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and traffic sign recognition. You also get an 8-inch touchscreen, smartphone integration for both Apple and Android devices, as well as a superior audio system.

The Honda Accord Sport 1.5T comes with a continuously variable-speed automatic transmission. If driving a car with an automatic doesn’t seem very sporty to you, then at no extra cost to you, there is an option to go with a six-speed manual transmission. 

How much more will you pay for the Sport trim?

The LX trim starts at $23,870. For that price level, you get the Honda Sensing suite. Unfortunately, you can forget about getting coveted tech options like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, or a decent speaker system. Honda isn’t offering them on the LX trim, which is why you might want to upgrade.

The Sport trim starts at $27,460, which is about $3,600 more than the LX. If you add in the 2.0-liter engine, the price goes up to over $30,000. While that might seem tempting, MotorTrend didn’t seem to think that the extra costs were worth the added power the 2.0-liter engine would bring you.

The question is, do you actually want to pay more? If you prefer your car to have the bare basics, then no. If you prefer to have some of the latest gadgets and keep up with the changing trends, then there is no question that the Sport trim is more than worth the extra costs. 

What do the performance specs look like?

All trim levels on the 2020 Honda Accord are equipped with a 192-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, except for the Touring trim. This doesn’t give the Accord an astonishing amount of power, and it certainly isn’t going to win you any races, but it’s more than adequate for daily driving.

If you’re looking for more power, then you can upgrade to the new 2.0T engine. It gets 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. You can also pick your transmission. The 2.0T engine can be paired with either a 10-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission.

All models appear to have some great fuel economy, so if the cost of gas is a concern for you, then the Honda Accord might be exactly what you’re looking for. It gets 30 mpg in the city and 38 on the highway. If you opt to go for the manual transmission, then you can expect 26 mph city/35 mph highway.