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Car Forum / Australian Car Forums / General Car Topics (Australian group) / April 2004New Honda Accord
Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! A close friend was looking at the Vectra very seriously and I offered to help her choose a car in that market, she is yet to decide the final outcome, but we test drove AccordEuro and the Mazda6 and she now will not consider the Vectra... Didn't have time for the Liberty and she had no intention of looking at the Camry, but the Liberty would be worth the look too in my opinion. The AccordEuro was a delightful car, certainly one which any owner would be delighted with, but on the test drives we took I found the ride not as nice as the Mazda and handling was definitely in the Mazda's advantage also. Steering and the auto box were in Mazda's favour, BUT on the other hand the Mazda only has four speeds to its gearbox as opposed to the five speed unit in the Honda. The Mazda's seemed to be smarter and quicker with its gear changes and was hard to find it in the wrong gear. Honda's tiptronic shift is incorrectly switched. Power advantage is strongly in the court of the Honda, but the Mazda does not feel sluggish by any means (neither feel blindingly quick mind you). Interior ergonomics was slightly nicer in the Honda, but trim quality was poor (big holes in the trim on the demo we had). Exterior the Honda has just the right blend of classy and sporty, where the 6 has more of a sporty look. While I love the look of the 6 now, I wonder if it will date quickly? Overall if it were my moolah I would be leaning to the 6, but if the Honda dealer was willing to play with the price I could easily be swayed... my friend (who is the actual purchaser of the vehicle) has not yet made up her mind, but seems to be coming to the same conclusion ... Simon. > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! > A close friend was looking at the Vectra very seriously and I offered to > help her choose a car > in that market, she is yet to decide the final outcome, but we test drove > AccordEuro and the Mazda6 > and she now will not consider the Vectra... Why not?  SignatureMarco Spaccavento rbgemini@iprimus.com.au > > A close friend was looking at the Vectra very seriously and I offered to > > help her choose a car [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Why not? I agree,i rather like the Vectra but it has not sold all that well even with a price cut,great value for a pure breed German designed vehicle The *simple* problem it has a Holden badge on it,that would turn off a whole bunch of punters no doubt. If it had say a BMW badge on it the buyers would most likely be lined up to buy it Perhaps Holden have to take a leaf out of Toyotas book and start a new brand like Lexus [Caddy perhaps?] CDIHL > -- > Marco Spaccavento > rbgemini@iprimus.com.au > > > A close friend was looking at the Vectra very seriously and I offered to > > > help her choose a car [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > CDIHL Sorry for those who own Vectras but unfortunately all comparo reports so far have given an ordinary write up of the Vectras. For those who want a comparison of the 6, Euro, Vectra and the Camry, Wheels has a 2004 car comparo yearbook which has a reprint of this comparo. It's on newsagents shelves at the moment. Personally I have only test driven the 6 and thought it was pretty good. Still the Euro has had so many good reports (coming 3rd in Wheels COTY) that if it is a couple of grand cheaper (to be lineball with the 6 in base model pricing), I'd choose it. Cheers. She currently owns an Ashtray errr Astra and loved it, and is a big Holden fan, but she was unimpressed with mainly the el-blando styling which while ok in a classy kinda way is no more inspiring than a toaster. There were plenty of other negatives including the price, ride, and even the salesman thought she should look at the Honda and Mazda competition - honestly he didn't think it was a worthy competitor and I think she appreciated his honesty... > > A close friend was looking at the Vectra very seriously and I offered to > > help her choose a car [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Marco Spaccavento > rbgemini@iprimus.com.au Just make sure his boss doesn't find out! > She currently owns an Ashtray errr Astra and loved it, and is a big Holden > fan, but she was unimpressed [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Marco Spaccavento > > rbgemini@iprimus.com.au > She currently owns an Ashtray errr Astra and loved it, and is a big Holden > fan, but she was unimpressed [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > didn't think it was > a worthy competitor and I think she appreciated his honesty... If we're talking about the Vectra four, then I'd have to agree - the engine isn't up to the standards of the other two and the interior also looks and feels pretty cheap - it's miles behind the Vectra CDX (although it is about $10k cheaper or so). SignatureMarco Spaccavento rbgemini@iprimus.com.au Yeah she was only considering 4cyl. vehicles. The interior we looked at - the only one in stock was a CDXi (which was the final piece needed to turn her off the Vectra she was going to buy - she hated the luxo one!). > > She currently owns an Ashtray errr Astra and loved it, and is a big Holden > > fan, but she was unimpressed [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Marco Spaccavento > rbgemini@iprimus.com.au <| J Doe |> did write on 25Apr2004 at 11:55:44 AM > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! They are NOT as fast as the salesjerks tell you. Proof of this was forced on a salesjerk near here a few days ago. This one had a big go just when he thought I was changing gears in a manual (admittedly quite rapid) car. 'Cept I didn't really do the change, and just just stayed with the old gear and floored it. The look on the passengers face was, as they say, 'priceless'. My bet is he didn't buy the car. Maybe you'll get a smarter salesjerk. SignatureToby quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur Warning: All posts to be treated with a grain of salt. By Order K.K. > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! Okay, this is outta left field: if you want real sports performance (0-100kmh in 6.8s, 0-400m in 14.8s) in a practical package, look no further than Subaru Forester XT turbo....... At any price, this is eyeball-flattening stuff. For around $40k, it's phenomenal! Rob > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! Post from a few days ago,exact topic http://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/news/blankstory.asp?ID=5991 I would rather a base 2.4 Camry and near $15k in my pocket CDIHL When I purchased my Honda Accord Euro I test drove the Mazda 6 first, The two things I noticed about the Mazda in comparison with the Mazda. Honda Auto gearbox is far superior to the Mazda one. Mazda felt really "gutless" in comparison to the Honda. I am really happy with my Euro, and really cant fault it. > > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > CDIHL > When I purchased my Honda Accord Euro I test drove the Mazda 6 first, > The two things I noticed about the Mazda in comparison with the Mazda. > Honda Auto gearbox is far superior to the Mazda one. > Mazda felt really "gutless" in comparison to the Honda. > I am really happy with my Euro, and really cant fault it. When it is all said and done that is all that matters,as long as YOUR happy with it,bugger what the rest think Still if it is $40k driveaway i would be hard pressed to pay about another $15k over a basic 2.4 Camry CDIHL > When I purchased my Honda Accord Euro I test drove the Mazda 6 first, > The two things I noticed about the Mazda in comparison with the Mazda. > Honda Auto gearbox is far superior to the Mazda one. > Mazda felt really "gutless" in comparison to the Honda. > I am really happy with my Euro, and really cant fault it. I am surprised that you feel the Euro's box was better? Certainly the fifth gear was a big advantage but just on two fifteen minute test-drives I was able to see a significant difference in the intuitiveness of the box's Honda's box tended to hunt for gears and its changes seemed achingly slower than Mazda's while the Mazda would drop down or hold gear the Honda would change and change back wasting time, power and momentum. I find an indecisive auto box frustrating to say the least. Both have the manual overdrive which overcomes dumb-as-dog-sh.t auto's but at least the Mazda has the shift the right way round so that changes go with the momentum of the driver. The fifth gear is the BIG advantage of the Honda and even if it is an overdrive gear the 6 just needs it. > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! Something with 2 doors. SignatureBen Thomas Apparently less than 10% of accidents are caused by drivers exceeding the speed limit. > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! Depends on what you're after... Accord Euro has edge on handling at expense of ride 6 has better ride at expense of handling but higher NVH NB Both these have limited rear seat space. Vectra CD has good ride but handling below the Accord & 6. But all these cars are 4 pots - if you want performance then check out the Vectra CDX (V6) - unfortunately available in auto only. pyro > Depends on what you're after... > > Accord Euro has edge on handling at expense of ride > 6 has better ride at expense of handling but higher NVH > NB Both these have limited rear seat space. I think the 6 has the edge in handling too as well as ride. For example, if you start from standstill on a sidestreet and plant the foot as you turn onto a road the 6 offers little wheel spin at all - something a FWD just shouldn't do, whereas when "testing" the Honda the dealer had the traction/stability control coming on all the time, and while I managed without losing control that much and it returned a spirited feel, its understeer was far to noticeable for my RWD loving self. Both felt neutral enough for FWD vehicles, but the 6 was better balanced - not outstandingly, mind you, but just a little better. SL > I think the 6 has the edge in handling too as well as ride. > For example, if you start from standstill on a sidestreet and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > that much and it returned a spirited feel, its understeer was far > to noticeable for my RWD loving self. The 6 offers little wheel spin because it lacks the torque to spin wheels anyway. And of course it doesn't have either TC or SC anyway. Sure the Euro has only marginally more torque but with the five speed it is likely to get more torque at the wheels - hence more chance for wheelspin and therefore TC/SC intervention. The engine is probably the biggest issue with the 6 ... 207Nm just isn't enough for some excitement - particularly through an old 4 speed slushbox. pyro Is she hoping for the euro accord luxury auto for $40,000 drive away? > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! >Is she hoping for the euro accord luxury auto for $40,000 drive away? Ugh. Why _pay extra_ for auto when you can get what I hear is a very nicely made 6 shifter? If auto was standard I would be paying extra for the manual... :P j SignatureJørgen Sundvor Smith mail: jorgen%smith.net "J?rgen Sundvor Smith" <NOSPAMjorgen@smith.net> wrote in message > Ugh. Why _pay extra_ for auto when you can get what I hear is a very > nicely made 6 shifter? If auto was standard I would be paying extra > for the manual... :P Good for you. Some people (myself included) would rather eat worms than drive a car with a clutch pedal, and I would think anyone who pays extra for an auto is doing so because they *want* one. Regards, Noddy. >Some people (myself included) would rather eat worms than drive a car with a >clutch pedal, and I would think anyone who pays extra for an auto is doing >so because they *want* one. Ok, that one got me square in the jaw :) Good argument. j SignatureJørgen Sundvor Smith mail: jorgen%smith.net > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! If you are spending around the $40k might as well check out the 'love or hate look' of the new Maxima,great car for the money but just watch them lizards as they will try to talk you up to the luxo editions CDIHL So what did you decide on? What did you think of the opposition? Please lets us know how you went. > Time for a new car around the $40,000 mark > Looking at the Honda Accord/Euro > > Thought/opinions/flames welcome ! |
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