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owequitit
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Our dealer got an Orchid White EX-L V6 sedan in its first shipment of 2013 Accords, and I was in getting my other sun visor replaced under warranty so I decided to check it out. Interestingly, our 2009 Accord is an EX-L V6 in Diamond White Pearl with tan leather, so this was almost exactly the same car color wise.
Here is what I observed on inspection (driving impressions to follow):
1) The interior material quality seems to be about on par with the 2009. It is a little better in some areas and not quite as good in others, but overall Honda did a MUCH better job of hiding the cheap stuff. The styling is also much better and makes the car feel both more upscale and not as wide as before. The top of the dash was not as soft as I expected, but it was a nicely grained grippy rubber material that felt good to the touch. The rest of the dash plastics were about the same as what the 09 has. I am INFINITELY happy that they put black carpet and plastic from the lower seats down, because the major shortcoming of tan was that it always showed dirt. I found the seats to be slightly less supportive in terms of "sporty" driving, but overall they didn't feel as weird as the seats in the 09. They must have worked hard to re-contour them because they just felt transparent. I like the perforated leather, but am not totally convinced the leather is actually of better quality. It felt great, but would take a little time and wear to see if it holds up better than the 8th gen has (which has been better than all of our other leather Accords).
I thought the center stack was much more thoughtfully designed, although the sliding arm rest will be missed. The extension on the driver's side made up for some of that, but IMO, the lid feels cheaper than the Civic's (which is VERY ironic). However, I noticed that Honda kept the textured door pillar plastic, and the headliner material is the same. But they also replaced the sun visors with a fabric unit that doesn't feel anywhere near as cheap as the 8th gens (which rendered a cheap "snapping" sound anytime you stowed them). Not sure about the location of the USB/Aux input simply because you would have to put your audio device in the console or drape the chord across it, to get to the center console bin. I never leave my iPod in the car anyway, so for me that wasn't a huge deal.
The turn signal/windshield wiper stalks DEFINITELY feel cheaper, with a less substantial and refined "click" to them. They don't feel as strong either. The steering wheel was very nice and the black trim (where the previous car was painted silver) looks better, but is ultimately still a little cheap looking. A minor complaint though. The chrome coating on the door handles looks so much better though that it isn't funny. The gear shift handle also feels very substantial, although the "leather" covering the knob didn't feel that great to me. I did notice also that the NAVI knob felt a lot better than the old one, as did most of the other switch gear (with the exception of what I mentioned).
The only other odd thing I observed about the interior was the gauge face. The speedometer was using the Civic trick of trying to make a 2D face look 3D. I found it odd, because the rest of the cluster otherwise looked great. I can see the complaints about the edge mounted speedo needle, but I adjusted after a very short time.
The back seat was about the same, but I definitely do notice the additional legroom. Considering I am 6'0" and have a 32" inseam, it seems just slightly ridiculous that I have 5-6" of knee room with the front seat set for myself. I sit closer than most people my size, but still, even with it adjusted for a more relaxed seating position, I still had like 4" of knee room. Since it didn't increase the size of the car, I don't mind, it just seems like a lot of space.
The keyless entry was OK (still not totally sold on it being a "must have" feature), but I thought I would note that it unlocks by touching (no need to press black button), although you do still need to push the button to lock it. I also find it silly that Honda's remote windows still only go down. It is just silly for them to not be able to be rolled up with the key FOB as well, and IMO, it renders the feature close to useless because you have to individually close everything back up. Honda: learn from VW here. However, the anti-locking features of the car were pretty cool. We were messing with the trunk zone to see where it would not let you lock the FOB in the car, and it is literally the size of the trunk. Speaking of trunk, I didn't think it seemed much bigger than the 09, but the return to an essentially flat load floor will be GREATLY appreciated.
2) Exterior wise, I think Honda nailed it. IMO, the Genesis feeling goes away nearly completely in the flesh. There are some similar lines, but overall, the Accord looks more crisply tailored (the Genesis has softer lines), and it looks much smaller than the Genesis. In fact, it looks much smaller than the old Accord even though it isn't. It pretty much proves that actual size is only part of what the eye perceives and that the 8th gen LOOKED bigger than it actually was. I thought the car had a really nice theme, and the paint quality on this Orchid car was fantastic. The headlight trim (black) looked fantastic and much more complete than all of the seperate inserts of the old car, and the projectors made it look much sleeker. I also really liked the chrome trim in the lower grill splitter, and thought the overall bulk of the front end was much improved while still maintaining lineage. The car got many stares when I test drove it (a couple in another Honda even stopped to look at it while I pulled over to check something out). If there is one benefit to the loss of DBW, it would be bulk of the front overhang. The LED DRL's also look very nice, although I wish EX-L's had HID lights (an easy enough fix ;).
Overall, from a purely styling standpoint, I think Honda did an excellent job. While there are still some very minor details that sort of make me scratch my head, overall, the execution was great.
The test drive:
1)The car starts and idles very quietly. I found it to be an extremely smooth operator. It is definitely quieter in every situation I could get than the 9th gen (sometimes significantly so). There is definitely still some noise, but rather than being intrusive, it is well distanced in the background. I frankly don't like rolling tombs, so I found it to be more than acceptable.
2)The ride quality was good, and an excellent compromise between firm and supple. The 9th gen was a little too firm, and the 7th gen MMC was a little too firm. This car is about perfect and about the same as a pre-MMC 7th gen, from what I recall. I didn't get a chance to try the handling, so I can't comment on how it does with McStruts versus DWB.
3)I thought the steering was pretty good. Definitely a lot more feel than my 09 Si, but not quite as good as the hydraulic setup on the 8th gen. However, part of that could be the amount of effort, as it is significantly lighter than the 8th gen's steering. I found it to be direct though, and with a fair bit of communication compared to older Honda EPS setups. Just an interesting note, while poking around under the hood, I noticed that at least the V6 has rack assisted steering versus the more common column assisted steering. Perhaps this is why it feels pretty good.
4)The brake pedal I did NOT like at all. It reminds me of an older Toyota or Ford product where there is an extreme amount of travel before anything happens, and then it doesn't happen at the rate you feel it should. This was one area I noticed immediately that made the car feel a lot less confident. I found myself having an "oh crap" moment during deceleration when approaching an intersection twice. Compared to Honda's traditional setup of a very firm pedal with easy modulation and instant response, this is something they need to address immediately IMO.
5) I found the power train to be absolutely fantastic. The engine is unquestionably more energetic than the 8th gen's VCM unit, and the transmission is very eager to go when necessary. Whereas the 7th gen's transmission was borderline telepathic when it came to downshifts, I always found the 8th gen to be lazy. The 9th seems to go back closer to the 7th gen, in that it will peel down gears nearly instantaneously. Once it does, it does so with butter smoothness, and it has none of the gear spacing issues that the 5AT had in the 7th and 8th gen.
The engine is very hushed until you toe into it, at which point it still has the nice and aggressive tone I have always loved about the J-series. Again, I think the sound is more on order with the 7th gen which was a little more vocal under throttle than the 8th gen. However, since it sounds so good when you are being aggressive with it, again, I see that as a good thing. It makes it a little more engaging. Interestingly, also when poking around under the hood, I noticed that Honda has switched to composite valve covers on this engine, but has chosen to keep the metal intake manifold. That might be one major reason this engine still sounds so good.
6) The other thing that really stood out was the outward visibility. The 8th gen was a pretty big improvement on the 7th gen (especially in rear quarter visibility), but this car easily increases that over the 8th gen. In fact, I thought it felt a lot like my 4th gen Accord in that the pillars just aren't an issue. I think it contributes to the car feeling a lot smaller than it is, which is another plus I noticed. I think the 8th gen drives smaller than the 7th did in many ways, but this car handily beats both. You get the space, but with the visibility and maneuverability of some older Accords. Bravo Honda.
Technology:
This car was NAVI equipped, versus our current car which is not, but I still really like Honda's navigation systems. The database was much more complete, the clarity was fantastic, and the integration with the car's other systems was fantastic. I like being able to basically run the entire car with voice commands.
The connectivity stuff was pretty awesome too, but it would definitely have a learning curve associated with really getting comfortable with all of it. Also, as a blessing and a curse, I noticed that there were multiple ways to execute a lot of the features. Good because you can probably find your way through it, bad because you may not do it the same way twice for awhile.
All in all, I wish I had more highway time to resolve the suspension issue, but as far as I can tell, the car represents a better Honda than the old car. More in ambiance than anything, but I MIGHT be able to look passed the suspension issues based on everything else like I did with my Si. We will have to see what it feels like on a more extensive test drive, but overall, it seems to be a hit.
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MGP999
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Sounds like alot of your negatives are based on what separates and Acura from a Honda. For example,my Acura has a much more specious center console that even has a light inside, the glove compartment light that is not only in my Acura, but was also in my 03 Accord is gone. The interior plastics are not as well padded as the Acura but the steering wheel and leather shifter felt just as good as my Acura. Unfortunately, I do keep my Ipod in the car and in the Acura, it has a covered bin so I will have to finagle some way to make it less visible until I can get the windows tinted. The perforated leather is pretty much on par with my Acura and comes in handy during the hot months, it is however harder to clean because dirt gets trapped in the holes. I have found out that the key-less entry is a must have for me so I don't have to go fumbling in my pockets with an arm full of heavy stuff and you can close the windows with the key, but you have to put it in the keyhole and turn to the left, which can be a bit inconvenient. As far as the ride, I agree with everything you stated and the brakes definitely could be better but I can get use to them so long as they stop effectively during an emergency (which According to several reviews, they should be fine just not as good as the competition overall). All in all this car has almost everything good my 7th generation had and almost everything that I wish my 7 generation did with some Acura luxury mixed in.
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CivicB18
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Very informative review Owe. I recently sat in and observed a few with a 2013 white Accord Sport 4 dr. Like you stated the paint quality was excellent as previous Accords and Hondas in general have a pretty thin layer of paint/clear coat applied. On the Sport I looked at the paint was much thicker and the finish had very little orang peel. The clear was very good too as the finish was very glossy even moreso than my diamon white pearl TL. I guess I need to drive several trims to get a better feel of the Accord as the only thing I didn't like was the design of the door panels. Not enough detail for my taste as I really like the 7th gens detailing on the leather equipped models as they had the stitching running at an angle like the 07-08 TL-S.
~Patrick
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owequitit
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CivicB18 wrote:
Very informative review Owe. I recently sat in and observed a few with a 2013 white Accord Sport 4 dr. Like you stated the paint quality was excellent as previous Accords and Hondas in general have a pretty thin layer of paint/clear coat applied. On the Sport I looked at the paint was much thicker and the finish had very little orang peel. The clear was very good too as the finish was very glossy even moreso than my diamon white pearl TL. I guess I need to drive several trims to get a better feel of the Accord as the only thing I didn't like was the design of the door panels. Not enough detail for my taste as I really like the 7th gens detailing on the leather equipped models as they had the stitching running at an angle like the 07-08 TL-S.
~Patrick
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Yeah, the paint quality on all 3 cars seemed really good. Our 2009 White Diamond Pearl EX-L actually has really good paint quality too, and this car's Orchid White was at least that good.
Also, I agree about the door panels. The half blackish/half tan upper seems a little weird to me. The 7th and 8th gen dark top half and pleated bottom half worked better IMO. Of course the gathered leather on the door panels of the 6th gen was pretty nice as well.
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superchg2
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Excellent Review!
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benbess
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Many thanks for this detailed review!+++++
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xBeastx
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Thanks for the detailed review! It was really fun reading it! I can't wait to stop by my dealer and check one out in person.
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TurkMan71
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owequitit wrote:
1) The interior material quality seems to be about on par with the 2009. It is a little better in some areas and not quite as good in others, but overall Honda did a MUCH better job of hiding the cheap stuff.
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Overall I agree, although I was a little surprised by the small plastic trim panel immediately above the power windows/locks/mirrors on the armrest...VERY cheap feeling and sounding. It's in an out of the way spot and I can imagine it getting clawed by fingernails lots of times hence the necessity for hard plastic in this location...but it was a bit jarring in relation to an otherwise classy setup...
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owequitit
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TurkMan71 wrote:
owequitit wrote:
1) The interior material quality seems to be about on par with the 2009. It is a little better in some areas and not quite as good in others, but overall Honda did a MUCH better job of hiding the cheap stuff.
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Overall I agree, although I was a little surprised by the small plastic trim panel immediately above the power windows/locks/mirrors on the armrest...VERY cheap feeling and sounding. It's in an out of the way spot and I can imagine it getting clawed by fingernails lots of times hence the necessity for hard plastic in this location...but it was a bit jarring in relation to an otherwise classy setup...
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I didn't notice that, and spent a fair bit of time poking around. Perhaps if I am in the neighborhood I will go check it out.
Also, it occurred to me that Honda also slightly upped the quality on the carpet. Not much, but it has a bit more nap to it than the 8th gen. A trivial detail to many, but I wanted to let any Honda employees reading that such things are noticed (if nothing else, at the first attempt to clean up a mess). It still far pales in comparison to the very high quality carpets of old, but again, it is an incremental step in the right direction.
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A77
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nice write up - I can't see or feel or measure any increase in space in the back - and there is definitely less rear headroom. I am 6'3". I have both cars in front of me. Other than that, the slightly odd unaligned dash controls, the sparkly touch screen surround (wtf), this is a fantastic car. The trunk appears smaller - but still huge and flat floored thankfully. Front seats are MILES better than the old ones.
As for needing the key to be turned to close the windows - as opposed to button pressing - Honda justifies this by saying it is a safety feature - people are more likely to check no kiddies have their fingers in the way.
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