Our Cars (dream or actual)
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i cannot comment on the offloading as we do ours in Jun for australian dealership's EOFY sales. USA honda's confuse me. when is it an acura not a honda and vice versa? but i've admired the older accords especially with the older 06 Euro R versions that we get over in singapore. Honda's are generally very reliable and they're definitely up there with toyota in my books. However, I can give you 1 decent competitor to think about which is the Mazda 6. (assmuming that you haven't)
i feel has the Mazda 6 is the best value in it's given it's interior quality that for a japanese manufacturer, has it's standards on par with the european models. the major disappointment i have is the CVT that most manufacturers use know which really dulls the driving experience and some units can be quite slow to react to a downshift or upshift. AFAIK mazda is the only Japanese manufacturer to stick with a traditional 6 speed automatic.
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Built like tanks and I like how they look actually. If you can get a good deal, it's a no brainer. Does Honda have the same service as Toyota where you can look up the car's maintenance history by its VIN #?..
I believe most people in the US use carfax to get a vehicle history report for things such as recalls and accidents, but I don't know if that includes a maintenance history.
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I don't know how much the Sport model adds to the base price, but I agree that it does look a bit less generic. If you like it, and the price is appropriate, go ahead and get it. With basic preventive maintenance, you should easily get 200k miles out of it, and 300k isn't unrealistic.
The spoiler and such are purely cosmetic and don't add any extra benefits for me over a standard Accord but those things do stand out. When I was married my ex-wife and I bought a 2010 Honda CRV together and she still has it. Likewise, I want something reliable and nice to look at.
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Not knowing your budget, It’s hard for me to weigh in, but the 2018 Accord Sports are available with a 6sp manual and you can elect to get the same engine at the Civic Type R (although it is tuned for 240 hp, not 300).
Overall, The accord is a phenomenal product - bulletproof, very safe, and great residuals. Plus the Sport models are fun as hell to drive.
With that being said, what Louis said is very true - in 2016, Honda started moving nearly all automatic transmissions to CVT. While CVTs have been growing in reliability, Honda was not exactly at the forefront of the CVT development.
If you decide you prefer an automatic, and do get a CVT, I would suggest tracking down a high mileage version and see how the transmission handles (not suggesting you buy the HM one, but it will also show you where the west and tear areas are). Then you can feel more confident that you are buying something you will still enjoy in 5 years.
Another option - the new Camry really is an amazing product. Great looks, interior upgrades, and decent package options. Considering my FIL bought my wife a base economy Camry in 2009 for $9,800 and we traded it in for $7,200 in 2014 after 130k miles and 2 accidents, I’d say Camrys are up there in residual as well.
The Mazda 6 is also a great product, but you have to buy a upper level package to not feel like you bought junk, and they depreciate quite quickly (at least in here the states), so if you decide it’s not what you like, you won’t make much money back.
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Not knowing your budget, It’s hard for me to weigh in, but the 2018 Accord Sports are available with a 6sp manual and you can elect to get the same engine at the Civic Type R (although it is tuned for 240 hp, not 300).
Overall, The accord is a phenomenal product - bulletproof, very safe, and great residuals. Plus the Sport models are fun as hell to drive.
With that being said, what Louis said is very true - in 2016, Honda started moving nearly all automatic transmissions to CVT. While CVTs have been growing in reliability, Honda was not exactly at the forefront of the CVT development.
If you decide you prefer an automatic, and do get a CVT, I would suggest tracking down a high mileage version and see how the transmission handles (not suggesting you buy the HM one, but it will also show you where the west and tear areas are). Then you can feel more confident that you are buying something you will still enjoy in 5 years.
I'm thinking i'd like to stick to around $15k-16k budget wise. A brand spanking new Honda isn't necessary for me, especially given their reputation, so an older model would suffice. I'd prefer automatic since i'm shit at driving stick. An odd thing i've read about the '15-'16 Sport models (and maybe even the newer versions) is that they're apparently only available as 4 cylinder and don't come in V6. Not a deal breaker but kinda odd.
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Another option - the new Camry really is an amazing product. Great looks, interior upgrades, and decent package options. Considering my FIL bought my wife a base economy Camry in 2009 for $9,800 and we traded it in for $7,200 in 2014 after 130k miles and 2 accidents, I’d say Camrys are up there in residual as well.
^^ when they released this end of last year/ early this year, i thought damn. the new camry and corolla has got that menacing look to it's design aesthetic. and the lines look sexy as hell too. unfortunately, i cannot really comment on prices as i wouldn't know the car prices and second hand market well..
maybe even consider what you need/looking for - rear legroom, big boot, safety features(blind spot, lane departure warning and the likes, electronics (keyless entry,led headlights, infotainment systems and such) etc..
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^100% this.
With kids in the backseat, you need to make sure you have enough room for car seats, etc. something we found we needed to ungraded to full size Sedans for.
But you only have 1, so you should be fine lol [emoji23]
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^100% this.
With kids in the backseat, you need to make sure you have enough room for car seats, etc. something we found we needed to ungraded to full size Sedans for.
But you only have 1, so you should be fine lol [emoji23]
I watched a couple of youtube reviews for the 2015 Accord Sport and one thing they have a lot of is plenty of backseat space. My son has graduated to a booster seat so it's not really an issue.
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Even better.
Alex on Autos in YouTube does a great job with the car seat tests.
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^^ when they released this end of last year/ early this year, i thought damn. the new camry and corolla has got that menacing look to it's design aesthetic. and the lines look sexy as hell too. unfortunately, i cannot really comment on prices as i wouldn't know the car prices and second hand market well..
maybe even consider what you need/looking for - rear legroom, big boot, safety features(blind spot, lane departure warning and the likes, electronics (keyless entry,led headlights, infotainment systems and such) etc..
I may consider a Camry if the Honda doesn't pan out. It'll still be awhile before I actually get a new/used car, so i'm using this time to do research and figure out what I need and want.
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If you are an enthusiasts of any sort, you will find that what you need and what you want are two very different things.
I need a spacious, 4WD SUV that can haul barbells, two child seats, two dogs, and go through floods and mud.
I was an E63 AMG Wagon.
Similar but very different haha [emoji23]
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My personal experience with Honda (including two Acura) and Toyota is that they are amazing cars.
I had a Toyota Solera (Camry coupe) that gave me 14 years of dependable service with nothing beyond routine maintenance. This included 8 years in Minnesota winters where even the extreme cold never killed the ability to start the engine, not the constant salt any obvious damage. I had two instances of accidental rally car driving in that vehicle, one in Moab (Google Maps diverted me on to a very scary 4x4 track of mud and snow) that would challenge a custom four wheeler, and the car sustained all the abuse (including getting it unstuck several times and barrelling down a muddy track so that I would hydroplane over mud rather than sink into it) I could levy on it with hardly a sigh.
These marques are built to last if even I can't wreck one.
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If you are an enthusiasts of any sort, you will find that what you need and what you want are two very different things.
I need a spacious, 4WD SUV that can haul barbells, two child seats, two dogs, and go through floods and mud.
I was an E63 AMG Wagon.
Similar but very different haha [emoji23]
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I'm definitely not an enthusiast. I just need something practical that can reliably handle Minnesota winters. I typically dislike flashy cars but I'll make an exception for the Accord Sport because it isn't over the top.
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I know this consideration is already in your mind, but for Minnesota, I'd want AWD, and perhaps a higher stance to deal with snow drifts. I made it through 8 years with my FWD Toyota in Minneapolis, but when snow and ice are present for so much of the year, I'd make sure to get as good traction as possible year round.
In Colorado I have done that by buying a "rugged" "off-road" station wagon (Subaru Outback) with the engine upgrade to better tackle mountainous terrain and full loads. It's too early for me to rave about it being in the same class of reliability as Honda and Toyota, but so far, so good.
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I know this consideration is already in your mind, but for Minnesota, I'd want AWD, and perhaps a higher stance to deal with snow drifts. I made it through 8 years with my FWD Toyota in Minneapolis, but when snow and ice are present for so much of the year, I'd make sure to get as good traction as possible year round.
In Colorado I have done that by buying a "rugged" "off-road" station wagon (Subaru Outback) with the engine upgrade to better tackle mountainous terrain and full loads. It's too early for me to rave about it being in the same class of reliability as Honda and Toyota, but so far, so good.
I’ve driven FWD forever and can honestly say that I’ve never had issues with snow drifts. I always keep a shovel in my trunk anyway so in the event I got stuck I can always dig myself out.
We had 2 back to back blizzards in Mpls back in March or April that yielded over a foot of snow each. Took me an hour to dig myself out each time, but once I got moving driving was easy. The problem I often see is that people simply don’t know how to handle driving in deep snow or ice. Their solution is to step on the gas and try to accelerate their way out of a drift or patch of ice. It works sometimes but more often than not it makes things worse. I’ve found that digging a clear path around my car and pulling out slowly is what has worked for me every time.
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All that is true, yet with AWD you are in much better shape on snow and ice–whether or not you have always gotten by with FWD as I also did in my 8 years in MPLS, you're even better off with AWD.
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I watched a couple of youtube reviews for the 2015 Accord Sport and one thing they have a lot of is plenty of backseat space. My son has graduated to a booster seat so it's not really an issue.
I have two kids, ages 10 and 7, so I have a pair of booster seats in the back. There's plenty of room.
And the LATCH points to attach them are easy to access, unlike my wife's Outback. That thing is a pain in the ass to put in car seats or booster seats.
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it's a shame the japanese manufacturers don't export some model to countries that have severe winters. i know that in japan. their normal model cars come in an AWD variant. so basically all the FWD cars that you currently are familiar with. corolla, camry, mazda 3 and 6, accord etc..
If you are an enthusiasts of any sort, you will find that what you need and what you want are two very different things.
I need a spacious, 4WD SUV that can haul barbells, two child seats, two dogs, and go through floods and mud.
I was an E63 AMG Wagon.
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in that case, i'm a G63 AMG 6x6
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Love this for $7500
