2001 Accord: Perfect Balance

We bought our silver 2001 Accord EX with V6 at the end of the 2001 model year. Previously, we purchased new Accords in 1981 and 1987. We only sold the 81’ because it lacked air conditioning; our daughter still drives the 87’ with no significant problems. My wife and I can justify our Accord obsession due to over 20 years of excellent vehicle performance and high quality Honda service. The downside is the showroom sales staff‘s aversion to work (negotiating). They are quite courteous while they patiently explain that if we are unhappy with the purchase price we may step aside while the next customer in line steps up. Wish my job were so easy…

WALKAROUND

The wife picked silver because it tends to look good even when dusty or slightly soiled. Choosing car colors is the only time in her life in which she prefers function to form. I would have picked a more distinctive color—every third car on the road seems to be a silver Accord. That said, the paint is in top quality and seems to stand up well to weather and rocks from vehicles too inconsiderate to wear mud flaps. The paint on our old 87’ Accord still looks very good considering the two years we spent in Iceland. I could tell you stories of violent winds and volcanic dust that would make your sedan shudder…

The body style of the 2001 Accord isn’t flashy but it has grown on me. It looks best from the side and rear. The taillights have a solid horizontal strength to them. I’m not a big fan of taillights made of giant squares or funky triangles. From the side the car is long and somewhat sleek with moderate overhangs front and rear. The front end is a real snoozer. The two color-coordinated grill bars seem to lack imagination. The style, overall, seems to succeed at not offending anyone. I guess that’s what you do when you’ve reached Honda’s stratospheric level of sales success.

We had the windows tinted fairly dark so the front and rear door windows match. This does provide a more distinctive look with the silver paint. And it does a good job of keeping the car cool.

The aluminum wheels fit the mold above—they don’t offend anyone. I don’t find them particularly attractive, but can’t justify the cost of an upgrade. The wheel covers available on the LX and DX models are ghastly indeed.

The sunroof is standard on our EX model and works in sliding or tilting mode. Given a choice we wouldn’t order a sunroof, but Honda doesn’t burden you with choices about individual options. If you want the leather and the V6—you get (and pay for) the sunroof. Our sunroof does have a slight leak, but it only shows up when going through a high-pressure car wash. For some reason my wife decided not to push the dealer to fix this infrequent problem when they rolled their eyes. She never hesitates to demand service from anyone else in the universe. I guess she loves her Accord enough to love its small faults as well.

INTERIOR

We got the gray leather interior that perfectly compliments the silver paint job. This is my first vehicle with leather seats. I can’t get over how much I enjoy the smell and feel. The leather also covers the steering wheel, the gearshift, the armrests and part of the doors. All the interior materials feel so good that you really get the feel that someone was designing and building a car for them to enjoy personally.

The six-disk CD player sounds very good although this is admittedly not my area of expertise. All the controls are simple and easy; I love the cruise control and stereo buttons on the steering wheel. Accords go though evolutionary changes in the dash layouts and controls. If you’ve owned earlier Accords you feel instantly at home in a new one. We also enjoy the automatic climate control system. Unfortunately, my lovely wife still doesn’t know how to set the temperature low enough.



PERFORMANCE

What I love best about the 2001 Honda Accord is how simple and smooth it is to drive and park. I want my wife and daughter to drive cars that are effortless, reliable and safe. It seems that putting them into giant SUVs is a waste. They won’t be joining a 4-wheeler club or towing 30 foot boats anytime soon. As for the theory that they will be safer in a three-ton tank, I don’t agree. I’d much rather they drive a responsive vehicle, such as the Accord, that will enable them to avoid getting into accidents in the first place. This is active vs. passive safety.

The Accord drives like a dream. It’s quiet and smooth—well isolated from the harsh realities of the modern roadway. But its not so isolated that you feel like you’re playing a video game. The steering is predictable, consistent and boosted just right. The ride is dialed toward comfort but most emergency maneuvers are well within the boundaries. The anti-lock brakes are strong and consistent; fortunately ours don’t get much hard use.

One weak area is off-the-line acceleration. This V6 SOHC is a wonderful engine; it’s rated at 200 HP and 195 ft-lbs of torque. However, the torque isn’t obvious at the starting line. This can be kind of annoying in stop-and-go driving. Otherwise the engine is powerful and willing whenever you need it. Our Accord’s transmission is everything you could ask for in an automatic. However, someone must have had problems because Honda sent us word that the warranty for the tranny has been extended to 100,000 miles. No idea what that’s all about. Speaking of the warranty, the standard Honda warranty is still 36 months or 36,000 miles. If you ask those under worked salesmen about this, they will give you one of those knowing looks as if to say, “Since the cars fly off the lot, there’s obviously no need for us to offer you a more generous warranty.”

In short, the 2001 Honda Accord is a 5-star winner in our book. We average about 30 mpg combined and love to take it on trips of any length. I’m a bit obsessive about routine maintenance, washing/waxing and parking in the back of the lot. This effort on my part combined with the solid quality and reliability of this car will keep it looking and running good for the next 15-20 years. Easy.

My bride’s Honda shares the garage with my 2005 Toyota Tacoma. We agree that we have two of the best, most practical vehicles ever built.