Thakid22
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I just saw the pic of the silver Accord 4-door in another thread. I'm not crazy about the "mild" redesign, but it is growing on me. If they give the Sport Accord, the TSX SE treatment... I may just grow to love the exterior.
9th gen Interior... It's Ok. And I am sure it is a marvel of space efficiency and ergonomics. However it, at least to my eyes, is a bit staid. I find it only marginally (if that) more luxurious, sporty, or cohesive, than what can be found in the current Accord. I am *HOPING* there is something in the actual materials used, that will lend it a more expensive feel than what is displayed in the prototype photos. In any event, I think Malibu, Fusion, Mazda6, and Sonata's interior will be "prettier" and certainly more sumptuous. The Camry's interior doesn't look too hot in photo's, but a trip to the local Toyota merchant left me pleasantly wow'ed by Camry's new interior redesign. Again, I'm hoping Accords new interior will similarly surprise me. We'll see.
9th gen Suspension: I have a feeling this will be the first Accord (sans Crosstour) that will avoid the all too familiar "Honda road noise" complaint from customers and reviewers. Just a hunch I have. Now, the Double Wish Bone business... All of my previous Accords had it, and I wish they would implement the same design in the new Accord. But if struts are the new order of the day, it's not a deal breaker for me IF... Honda has maintained the athletic dynamics for which the Accord has been known. Actually, I'm more concerned that Honda does NOT do what they did with the 6th gen Accord. Back in 98 they allowed for way too much dive/lift in the suspension system. Stroke the brake pedal of a 6th gen and the nose dives down, and the tail lifts up. This was the single most thing that annoyed me in my 6th gens. 3rd gens, 4rth gens, 5th gens, all had minimal levels of fore/aft body motion during stops/acceleration. Honda reduced this significantly in 03 with the 7th gens, and made further efforts to reduce it on the 8thgen. Watch a Sonata make a panic stop, the car stays almost completely level. Very little dive/lift. I love it. Especially, since most of my driving is done in town. To me, a car with little dive/lift feels very premium. BMW, G35, Lexus IS/GS/LS, VW, Sonata/Optima,Altima, Regal/LaCrosse/Civic, all very little dive/lift/squat and I would love to see Honda step the Accord up a bit in this regard. It kind of amazes me that the media never once mentioned the excessive fore/aft pitch in the 1998+ Accords. I feel that is a part of "handling". The 98-02 Accord and the corresponding CL/TL felt downright sloppy in regards to fore/aft pitch. Camry/oldTaurus/and many American cars have always been soft in this manner. I feel dive/lift is just as bad as body roll, if not more, while being harder and more costly to cure. Anyway, my fingers are crossed!
The feature content seems to be very solid. The Accord should be a nice car. As a matter of fact, it will be nice. But I am saddened as I come to grips with the fact that these new Honda/Acura's are no longer my ideal vehicle. Everybody is jumping Honda's ass about the "incremental styling advances."
In reality it's not a bad tactic at all, provided that you start with something pretty decent in the beginning. I wish honda had shown such restraint in the redesign of the 04-08 TL. Honda was selling those as fast as they could make them. The new one, not so much.
As a long term Honda customer, fan, and enthusiast, I eagerly await the upcoming slew of Hondacura's. Maybe, just maybe, they'll build my perfect car once again. At this current moment though, the 2004-2008 TL is the model I most highly regard from Honda.
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Gfn8r
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Thakid22 wrote:
I just saw the pic of the silver Accord 4-door in another thread. I'm not crazy about the "mild" redesign, but it is growing on me. If they give the Sport Accord, the TSX SE treatment... I may just grow to love the exterior.
9th gen Interior... It's Ok. And I am sure it is a marvel of space efficiency and ergonomics. However it, at least to my eyes, is a bit staid. I find it only marginally (if that) more luxurious, sporty, or cohesive, than what can be found in the current Accord. I am *HOPING* there is something in the actual materials used, that will lend it a more expensive feel than what is displayed in the prototype photos. In any event, I think Malibu, Fusion, Mazda6, and Sonata's interior will be "prettier" and certainly more sumptuous. The Camry's interior doesn't look too hot in photo's, but a trip to the local Toyota merchant left me pleasantly wow'ed by Camry's new interior redesign. Again, I'm hoping Accords new interior will similarly surprise me. We'll see.
9th gen Suspension: I have a feeling this will be the first Accord (sans Crosstour) that will avoid the all too familiar "Honda road noise" complaint from customers and reviewers. Just a hunch I have. Now, the Double Wish Bone business... All of my previous Accords had it, and I wish they would implement the same design in the new Accord. But if struts are the new order of the day, it's not a deal breaker for me IF... Honda has maintained the athletic dynamics for which the Accord has been known. Actually, I'm more concerned that Honda does NOT do what they did with the 6th gen Accord. Back in 98 they allowed for way too much dive/lift in the suspension system. Stroke the brake pedal of a 6th gen and the nose dives down, and the tail lifts up. This was the single most thing that annoyed me in my 6th gens. 3rd gens, 4rth gens, 5th gens, all had minimal levels of fore/aft body motion during stops/acceleration. Honda reduced this significantly in 03 with the 7th gens, and made further efforts to reduce it on the 8thgen. Watch a Sonata make a panic stop, the car stays almost completely level. Very little dive/lift. I love it. Especially, since most of my driving is done in town. To me, a car with little dive/lift feels very premium. BMW, G35, Lexus IS/GS/LS, VW, Sonata/Optima,Altima, Regal/LaCrosse/Civic, all very little dive/lift/squat and I would love to see Honda step the Accord up a bit in this regard. It kind of amazes me that the media never once mentioned the excessive fore/aft pitch in the 1998+ Accords. I feel that is a part of "handling". The 98-02 Accord and the corresponding CL/TL felt downright sloppy in regards to fore/aft pitch. Camry/oldTaurus/and many American cars have always been soft in this manner. I feel dive/lift is just as bad as body roll, if not more, while being harder and more costly to cure. Anyway, my fingers are crossed!
The feature content seems to be very solid. The Accord should be a nice car. As a matter of fact, it will be nice. But I am saddened as I come to grips with the fact that these new Honda/Acura's are no longer my ideal vehicle. Everybody is jumping Honda's ass about the "incremental styling advances."
In reality it's not a bad tactic at all, provided that you start with something pretty decent in the beginning. I wish honda had shown such restraint in the redesign of the 04-08 TL. Honda was selling those as fast as they could make them. The new one, not so much.
As a long term Honda customer, fan, and enthusiast, I eagerly await the upcoming slew of Hondacura's. Maybe, just maybe, they'll build my perfect car once again. At this current moment though, the 2004-2008 TL is the model I most highly regard from Honda.
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Good point about the 6th-Gen squat/dive. Never drove the 4-bangers, only the V6s. That one showed its size a little in handling--that was when the Accords were growing a bit, but that trait was resolved in the 7ths, though I could really feel it when I tested an 8th-Gen V6, along with more difficulty in fitting the car into parking spaces, etc. (The VGR steering is a big help on the 8th-Gens in low-speed maneuvers!)
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owequitit
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Thakid22 wrote:
I just saw the pic of the silver Accord 4-door in another thread. I'm not crazy about the "mild" redesign, but it is growing on me. If they give the Sport Accord, the TSX SE treatment... I may just grow to love the exterior.
9th gen Interior... It's Ok. And I am sure it is a marvel of space efficiency and ergonomics. However it, at least to my eyes, is a bit staid. I find it only marginally (if that) more luxurious, sporty, or cohesive, than what can be found in the current Accord. I am *HOPING* there is something in the actual materials used, that will lend it a more expensive feel than what is displayed in the prototype photos. In any event, I think Malibu, Fusion, Mazda6, and Sonata's interior will be "prettier" and certainly more sumptuous. The Camry's interior doesn't look too hot in photo's, but a trip to the local Toyota merchant left me pleasantly wow'ed by Camry's new interior redesign. Again, I'm hoping Accords new interior will similarly surprise me. We'll see.
9th gen Suspension: I have a feeling this will be the first Accord (sans Crosstour) that will avoid the all too familiar "Honda road noise" complaint from customers and reviewers. Just a hunch I have. Now, the Double Wish Bone business... All of my previous Accords had it, and I wish they would implement the same design in the new Accord. But if struts are the new order of the day, it's not a deal breaker for me IF... Honda has maintained the athletic dynamics for which the Accord has been known. Actually, I'm more concerned that Honda does NOT do what they did with the 6th gen Accord. Back in 98 they allowed for way too much dive/lift in the suspension system. Stroke the brake pedal of a 6th gen and the nose dives down, and the tail lifts up. This was the single most thing that annoyed me in my 6th gens. 3rd gens, 4rth gens, 5th gens, all had minimal levels of fore/aft body motion during stops/acceleration. Honda reduced this significantly in 03 with the 7th gens, and made further efforts to reduce it on the 8thgen. Watch a Sonata make a panic stop, the car stays almost completely level. Very little dive/lift. I love it. Especially, since most of my driving is done in town. To me, a car with little dive/lift feels very premium. BMW, G35, Lexus IS/GS/LS, VW, Sonata/Optima,Altima, Regal/LaCrosse/Civic, all very little dive/lift/squat and I would love to see Honda step the Accord up a bit in this regard. It kind of amazes me that the media never once mentioned the excessive fore/aft pitch in the 1998+ Accords. I feel that is a part of "handling". The 98-02 Accord and the corresponding CL/TL felt downright sloppy in regards to fore/aft pitch. Camry/oldTaurus/and many American cars have always been soft in this manner. I feel dive/lift is just as bad as body roll, if not more, while being harder and more costly to cure. Anyway, my fingers are crossed!
The feature content seems to be very solid. The Accord should be a nice car. As a matter of fact, it will be nice. But I am saddened as I come to grips with the fact that these new Honda/Acura's are no longer my ideal vehicle. Everybody is jumping Honda's ass about the "incremental styling advances."
In reality it's not a bad tactic at all, provided that you start with something pretty decent in the beginning. I wish honda had shown such restraint in the redesign of the 04-08 TL. Honda was selling those as fast as they could make them. The new one, not so much.
As a long term Honda customer, fan, and enthusiast, I eagerly await the upcoming slew of Hondacura's. Maybe, just maybe, they'll build my perfect car once again. At this current moment though, the 2004-2008 TL is the model I most highly regard from Honda.
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I had the same exact complaint with our 6th gen V6. It just drove a lot like a Buick. I didn't notice the dive/squat as much, but I do know it really rolled over on its tires when cornering with any sort of haste. Even on some of our mountain interstate sections it was fairly unstable with regard to staying in its lane because there was just so much weight shift it didn't want to stay still. Couple that with the delay reactions, and it was more like herding it than driving it.
However, where the 6th gen really shone was in its ride quality and road noise. It was definitely the quietest Accord we have owned, and it had exceptional ride quality. I really think that a lot of that Accord's issues were related to tire size and selection, since it still had relatively high-profile, narrow tires but gained a fair bit of weight and size.
Handling wise, my favorite was our 2006 EX-L V6, which I had no complaints about, but it was pretty hard in terms of ride quality. The excessive noise didn't help either. Our 2004 is a little smoother and quieter, but doesn't handle quite as crisply. Our 2009 EX-L V6 is a little softer than the 2004, but Honda did do a good job of minimizing body motions by really lowering the roll center and CG (which I believe is still among the lowest in class).
If Honda could get ride quality of the 2004 with handling of the 2006 and the noise level of the 2002, I would personally be happy. Don't think struts will do it, but that is my target.
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Thakid22
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6th gen ride quality was pretty good. Darn good at times. Smooth pavement ride was stellar. I even found rough roads to be more than sufficiently smoothed out. But I did take issue with roads that were only slightly marred. On these just barely imperfect surfaces, I felt there was more vibration transmitted than necessary. It mainly was felt as vibration of the steering through the steering wheel and in the floorboard. It was kind of weird, smooth roads were ultra smooth. Bad roads were relatively smooth, but I could feel bumps I couldn't see on almost perfect roads. My 98 EX V6 Sedan was the worst offender, in this regard. I replaced it with a 00 EX V6 Coupe that seemed to ride simultaneously smoother, firmer, and quieter despite the 2doors having stiffer shocks and larger wheels and lower profile tires from the factory. My brother bought an 01 EX V6 Coupe that was even smoother, while having steering that was more fluid. Driving many different examples of each generation Accord, leaves me quite impressed with some of the published and unpublished tweaks Honda makes from one year to the next.
My experience with the 7th gen Accord is all positive. I love the ride of all the 4's and 6's I've driven.
Do you guys have a preference as to steering effort or weighting? I love a vehicle with somewhat weighty steering. Again, it's one of those things that just feels "premium" to me.
G35, BMW's, 07+ MMC TL, Charger, Audi, VW, and many others...
Accords have always had good steering feel, in my opinion, but I'd love to see a bit more heft added to the effort.
If Honda gives me the fundamentals I need, I don't mind heading to the aftermarket to fine tune the finished product a bit. Honda has is solely responsible for my dislike of Michelin tires. Those are the first items ditched after delivery of any of my Accords. MXV4 Energy, hated em. MXVM, hated them, a bit less. A new set of shoes almost transforms the Accords grip/noise characteristics.
owequitit wrote:
I had the same exact complaint with our 6th gen V6. It just drove a lot like a Buick. I didn't notice the dive/squat as much, but I do know it really rolled over on its tires when cornering with any sort of haste. Even on some of our mountain interstate sections it was fairly unstable with regard to staying in its lane because there was just so much weight shift it didn't want to stay still. Couple that with the delay reactions, and it was more like herding it than driving it.
However, where the 6th gen really shone was in its ride quality and road noise. It was definitely the quietest Accord we have owned, and it had exceptional ride quality. I really think that a lot of that Accord's issues were related to tire size and selection, since it still had relatively high-profile, narrow tires but gained a fair bit of weight and size.
Handling wise, my favorite was our 2006 EX-L V6, which I had no complaints about, but it was pretty hard in terms of ride quality. The excessive noise didn't help either. Our 2004 is a little smoother and quieter, but doesn't handle quite as crisply. Our 2009 EX-L V6 is a little softer than the 2004, but Honda did do a good job of minimizing body motions by really lowering the roll center and CG (which I believe is still among the lowest in class).
If Honda could get ride quality of the 2004 with handling of the 2006 and the noise level of the 2002, I would personally be happy. Don't think struts will do it, but that is my target.
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