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obijuan
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I've had Accords since '81 (missing only the 4th gen) and currently have an '08 EX V6 with which I have a love / hate relationship. Never did like the cylinder deactivation as it always felt like the worst case of turbo lag when you kicked down a gear or two - when it finally made up its mind that yup, it finally was time to go, it then proceeded to go like hell, it has been its most annoying trait - along with that back killing lumbar lump in the driver's seat.
So I have been most curious as to what the new gen was like and drove a couple today. No Mt's around so I sampled a Sport cvt and a V6 - my thoughts:
Sport cvt - first time I have driven a cvt and I have to say it worked well and was a pretty interesting device. Off the line there seemed to be a very small lag if you really didn't put your foot into it and off it went. It really seemed to like running at about 2 grand or so around town and at about 40 mph when you toed into it it really got up and went. As with another thread that I read here, it certainly feels like more than the 189 hp they advertise; there's lot's of power above 70 mph. This engine with the cvt certainly seems to be a happy combination. I didn't think I'd like it but it works as well if not better than most of the automatics that I've driven.
Seats: thank Christ they got rid of that lumbar lump in the driver's seat. Overall the seat reminds me of a slightly better version of what they have in a current Civic. It is soft and a little baggy. I have to say that the seats that I had in my old '89 Accord were a lot firmer and a lot more comfortable than what they are doing now. Compared to the seat in my '08 the new ones are softer, different, but more overall I'd rate them as more comfortable.
Ride and noise: I'm really not seeing a whole lot of improvement in either category. If I stretched things a bit I would say the ride is a bit better over lousy pavement. I didn't notice any increase or decrease in wind noise. Tire noise was down a bit.
Great nit to pick- I wonder who the hell decided it was a good idea to put a long chunk of shiny look alike carbon fiber along the bottom of the dashboard on the passenger side? What a load of annoying reflections off of that thing.
EXL-V6 - For some reason the car felt much more solid than the Sport. There was less tire noise than the Sport and the ride felt more fluid with less harshness. Probably the suspension tuning difference for the 6 or the tires / tire size. The overall feel of the car reminded me of my 97 EXL V6. This new one was interesting and quite a different animal than the Sport.
Cylinder deactivation was still there but in its new form is not as obnoxious as the previous gen. Seats were better and more supportive in leather form than in the cloth of the Sport.
The LDW they can keep, it'll be just a pain in the ass. The blind spot camera, now that is something worth having.
After driving the 4 cyl cvt and the v6, I don't think I'll have much issue with the 4 cyl. That being said, it will be a tough choice between going back to a standard or going to a cvt.
I'm really waiting to do a back to back drive of the Touring 4 cyl with cvt and the Touring 4 cyl with the 6 speed. I think it'll be one of those.
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Jet Sitter
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Good luck finding a 6mt.
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A77
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We have manuals being built in November. You didn't mention how bloody fast the V6 is. I kept an S4 at bay. Maybe the V6 is a bit quieter but when not rushed these new accords are way quieter than before. Just the four cylinder is a bit noisy when revved. The 6 speed hesitates a moment before getting its act together, but has serious straight line pace - quickest Accord auto ever, surely. Less road noise, and next to no wind noise in the ones I have tried. Doesnt feel quite as rigid body-wise as the TSX. The suspension does get caught out by sharp ridges - but I have only driven 18 wheel ones so far, which may be some of the culprit. Steers OK for an EPS, maybe slightly better than the TSX. Rides more softly, haven't really tried it handling wise. For a CVT the four cylinder unit works unobtrusively less you rev it when it can get a bit CVTish - but customers who have driven the Altima say it is way better, even than Nissan's latest CVTs.
That passenger mirror camera is a very nice feature - but would be nice to be able to switch it off if you want.
Seats in the front are a vast improvement. Really nice. There's less room in the back - as I have commented before - but still class competitive, just not as palatial as the 8 gen. Nice at last having a button on the truck. Shame no pass through or 60/40.
Looks awesome outside. The Touring's controls are tough to get the hang of - ie AHA, and how the Navi works. Bit of a learning curve - which hasnt been a problem with previous Honda Navi set ups. Still working on it. Not keen on the speckly plastic around the touch screen. Nice backup camera with guidance.
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superchg2
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A77 wrote:
That passenger mirror camera is a very nice feature - but would be nice to be able to switch it off if you want.
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"It is activated by a switch on the end of the signal lever or when you signal to turn into that lane."
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owequitit
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A77 wrote:
We have manuals being built in November. You didn't mention how bloody fast the V6 is. I kept an S4 at bay. Maybe the V6 is a bit quieter but when not rushed these new accords are way quieter than before. Just the four cylinder is a bit noisy when revved. The 6 speed hesitates a moment before getting its act together, but has serious straight line pace - quickest Accord auto ever, surely. Less road noise, and next to no wind noise in the ones I have tried. Doesnt feel quite as rigid body-wise as the TSX. The suspension does get caught out by sharp ridges - but I have only driven 18 wheel ones so far, which may be some of the culprit. Steers OK for an EPS, maybe slightly better than the TSX. Rides more softly, haven't really tried it handling wise. For a CVT the four cylinder unit works unobtrusively less you rev it when it can get a bit CVTish - but customers who have driven the Altima say it is way better, even than Nissan's latest CVTs.
That passenger mirror camera is a very nice feature - but would be nice to be able to switch it off if you want.
Seats in the front are a vast improvement. Really nice. There's less room in the back - as I have commented before - but still class competitive, just not as palatial as the 8 gen. Nice at last having a button on the truck. Shame no pass through or 60/40.
Looks awesome outside. The Touring's controls are tough to get the hang of - ie AHA, and how the Navi works. Bit of a learning curve - which hasnt been a problem with previous Honda Navi set ups. Still working on it. Not keen on the speckly plastic around the touch screen. Nice backup camera with guidance.
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The V6 is definitely a velvet missile.
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Jet Sitter
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Received feedback from my local dealer. According to him, the 6MT will begin production in November.
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