Honda Accord or Toyota Avalon??

Owned both. No problems with either. The Honda is nice but with fewer amenities than the Toyota. The Toyota is bigger, more powerful, rides better, and the transmission, no problems. Just leave it in "D" and forget about it. It has a gate shift mechanism if you want to be "sporty".

I think that Honda had some type of issue with their transmission in the past with the Accord and extended the warranty. I can't remember what years that was on but I'm sure they have that problem solved.

In normal driving you will get between 29 and 31 mpg using regular gas in the Avalon.

My wife drives it and this is her second Avalon (05' and now an 07') after the Accord.

If you tend to travel on long trips, the Avalon is superior IMHO, and the rear seats even recline. The Avalon trunk is very spacious as well, and a full size spare tire is stored under the deck.

IMHO, you get more bang for your buck with the Avalon, and your wife will love driving it.

Happy wife, happy life.

Good luck!

Reply to
user
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I am considering the purchase of either the Honda Accord or the Toyota Avalon for my wife's use. Both seem to be very nice cars but good and not good features to each.

On the Honda Accord, I am concerned about the engine which runs on either 3, 4, or six cylinders, depending on driving conditions, speed, etc. They claim this is to increase fuel efficiency. I don't know how long this engine has been used by Honda, but it sounds to me like it could be major expensive problem a few years down the pike. Does anyone know anything about this engine and/or have any experience with it?

I recall that in the middle 70's, that Cadillac came out with a 4,

6, 8 cylinder engine. Apparently it didn't work out because they only kept it the one year. I don't know if it was a problem engine or if it didn't achieve the efficiency expected. At any rate, I am leery about the Honda engine.

As an aside questions: How do they do that, and does it really save fuel?

On the Toyota Avalon, they have a six speed transmission. Again, I don't know how long they have used this transmission or what the service record has been. I also have concerns about expensive transmission problems.

The other problem with the Toyota is the gear shift. It is not just a back and forth lever. It has a deeply notched track for the shifter. It seems to me that this might result in cumbersome shifting. Anyone have any knowledge and/or experience with this six speed transmission?

Thanks in advance for your ideas, suggestions, and experience.

Bob-tx

PS: I am also posting this on both the Honda and the Toyota groups.

Reply to
Bob

Take the Avalon - it's a whole lot better, based on my 2003 XLS experience. And the newer ones are even better.

Reply to
mack

There shouldn't be any problems with this. With newer computers and controls, this should work seamlessly, especially from Honda.

Technology has come a long way since then.

The six-speed is new the to Avalon. It was used in the 2007 Camry, Lexus ES350 and Aurion.

As far as how shifter works, it should be easy to see if it is cumbersome by taking a test drive.

Reply to
Jeff

IMHO, you get more bang for your buck with the Avalon, and your wife will love driving it. Happy wife, happy life. Good luck!

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Did you learn that watching sex in the city..? Or the lifetime channel...What a drone...

Reply to
Charles Pisano

Consumer Reports dropped its recommendation for the V6 Camry because of transmission problems. People have reported the gears still skip (or flare) even after the ECU was reprogrammed or even after a new transmission was installed. So I'd say stay away from the U660E transmission (used with most V6 combo of Toyotas and Lexus).

The Lepelletier design has been around for a long time. GM's 6T/6L Hydramatics are doing fine, I don't know why Toyota is having problems with them right out of the factory. Maybe Toyota didn't pay enough royalty to Monsieur Lepelletier?

GM has been using cylinder deactivation in the past couple of years and will use it in their two-mode hybrids jointly developed with BMW and Mercedez in the future. So you'll see more of this kinds of technologies.

That said, I always say people shouldn't get the first year of car. But if you have to get a new car *right now* then YMMV. Honda has a reliable track recrod and does back its customers but can't say I like the new styling.

Reply to
johngdole

Modern variable displacement engines deactivate cylinders by not injecting fuel in the deactivated cylinders and using variable valve timing to open the valves so that energy is not wasted compressing air. Modern electronics and controls are much more reliable than in the 1970's.

There were some complaints about early versions of the 6 speed transmission used in front wheel drive Toyotas and Lexus, but they seem to have been addressed.

Gate-type shifters are becoming more common as automatic transmissions gain speeds. If the shifter moved in a straight line, the slot would have to be very long to accommodate P,R, N, D, 5, 4, 3, 2, L so automakers use a change of direction so that the shifter travel doesn't have to be so long or have a up-down slot to the slide for selecting gear ranges. The ranges that you select most often, P, R, N, D are still very easy and convenient to shift into.

Reply to
Ray O

The Avalon, Lexus ES350, and Camry V6 share a lot of the same parts. Why is the Camry V6 the one that Consumer Reports is reporting as being the more unreliable? I understand they all share the same engine and transmission. I think it might be prudent to wait a while to see if Toyota has permanently fixed the problem.

Reply to
ray

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