'06 Accord Coupe vs. Sedan

Hi, Bill!

I'll be pleased to contribute impressions of my daily driver, a white

2004 Accord EX-L auto Sedan 4-cyl, now with 23K pampered miles.

I purchased this car because of its high reliability and resale value, the amount of interior space (front and rear) and ergonomics [I am

5'4"], the comfortable seating position, a long list of standard features (i.e., moonroof, heated seats, 6-CD in-dash stereo, side-window and seat airbags), ease-of-use of the radio and climate controls (and a handsome dashboard), and a remarkable efficiency and power of this VTEC engine. Among the cars I test-driven before this purchase 18 months ago included the VW Jetta, the Nissan Altima, the Toyota Camry (twice), the Toyota Corolla, and the Honda Civic sedan (twice). In particular, I felt that the dashboards of the Toyotas and Nissan, and to some extent the Civic, were each designed to be operated by a third-grader.

Over the past 18 months, my mileage with the Accord has varied between

26 city and 32 highway, which is excellent for this type of car. I even managed 35.95 and 36.04 mpg, respectively, on two 200-mile highway commutes without A/C and a steady 65mph on each trip. I have a PC software program that keeps track of mileage and maintenance. I have used only 87 octane gas from Exxon or BP/Amoco. I am constantly trying to set a new mileage record between fillups, but 36.04 is my best number (395 miles on 10.96 gallons, 4/8/2005 -- the car had 14,806 miles at the time).

My Honda dealership service department has been stellar and has treated me especially well. Every holiday season, I order a few boxes of fresh Florida citrus and ship the oranges and grapefruit to the dealership, for everyone in the sales and service departments. I wish more customers were like me, as the dealership treats me right. I could go on about the various instances the dealership has been helpful to me (free detailing of the entire car, etc.) but I'm getting off topic here.

My car has been flawless mechanically, and I hope that you will also become a fellow Honda owner. If you see me on the road, please give me a thumbs-up on the Accord!

Paul

I ordered a 2006 accord EX-L with Navi 4cyl in a 5 speed manual. (had to order because NO ONE had a 5 speed 4cyl with a navi) I was comming from a

2001 maxima SE (also a stick) so I looked at a bunch of cars here are my thoughts.

looked at the altima in my search, tough to find as a stick but drove my aunts 05 auto. it was ok, but I really think they priced themselves out of this group. to get all the things I got in the honda it woudl of cost me over 30,000. (to add navigation you have to add all these other packages, might not be your case if your going without nav)

like I said I owned a 2001 Maxima SE. I LOVED that car. I got rid of it because I could only get an average of 22-23 mpg out of it and it needed premium (I knwo it doesn't NEED premium, but after using 1 tank of regular, I'd never use anything else in it) I don't like the new ones (04-present) after driving one I was disappointed what nissan did to this car after the

03 model year. I just think the altima (same size car, same engine) is a better buy (but still too expensive vs the competition)

I can probably sum this up in 1 word, boring. the car does what you need it to do, good on gas, reliable, but it's just plain looking and not that fun to drive.

never drove one so I really can't comment.

I also drove a Jetta TDI and 2.5. VW did some wierd things, my brother girlfriend got a 2005.5 (05 but newer body style) and it's nice, problem is when looking for an 06 they took OUT a bunch fo things (no auto climate control, no heated wiper nozzles and mirrors as well as the trip computer) and it was mroe expensive than the 2005.5 counterpart. but now if you look at VW's site, they DO come with automatic climate control doesn't make sense. the TDI version I dorve I had a ball in, I spun tires (unintentionally mind you) in both 1st and 2nd gear. that thing just took off the line. then you look and the car says 100hp and you can't believe it (yes 100 HP but a HELL of a lot of torque, low end torque) but with the gas prices where they were, they were selling the TDI's for sticker, wern't moving on them at all, so I decided to pass becuase I refuse to pay sticker for a car.

Mazda 3 I drove both the base model and the S model. the base model was just that basic. VERY stripped, had manual mirrors, windows and seats, I was shocked when I got in it. but it is cheap and good on gas, and was pretty fun to drive. when I stepped into the S model it was a world of difference. more responsive engine (at some sacrafice of gas mileage) but power everything. Cd changer, moonroof and sattelite radio.

after driving all these cars I decided to go with the honda because of gas mileage, reliability, and overall value (fully loaded 4 cyl with a 5 speed stick and navigation for 24,800) no one else can touch that. the ONLY problem I have is that honda, who say "safety for everyone" apparently think traction control is only for V6 powered cars. I dont' understand why it's not even an option on 4 cyl models. sorry for the long post I hope any of this helps, keep in mind this is just my opinion, best advice I can give is Drive Drive Drive and research research research. good luck to ya!

-Nick

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[lots of interesting comments, thanks, snipped]

Traction control on a 4-banger with front wheel drive? You must live in a snowy climate, then... otherwise, if you spin the wheels just ease off a little ;)

haha yes I live in Rhode island we already got snow once this year (luckly I was in florida at the time, hehe) that was one advantage I saw the jetta having was that it comes standard with traction control. I just figure honda could at LEAST make it an option.