Sharp, classy and comfort ... and a refreshing lack of dents!

This past summer, I was driving my Geo Prizm - a reliable car which had finally reached 100,00 without a major problem (well, at least problems that weren't operator created). It was in need of a paint job, some cosmetic work, etc., and quite simply I was ready to move on to a more 'adult' car. Enter my search for a new car, and my purchase of the Honda.

My sister had already purchased a 2000 Honda Accord LX, which was a great car to drive (I experienced it at their wedding). That was my lead choice for a new car, because of Honda's reputation and my experience in the few Accords I had ridden in up to that point.

I wasn't completely sold on the Honda, though. The prices were a bit higher than I expected, and I wondered about getting a Civic instead of the Accord, or perhaps going to a Volkswagen. I did some research on the internet to find out about prices, and made some calls for quotes. Most of the dealerships were very helpful, although Scott Honda in West Chester, PA was rude and annoying.

I looked around at other cars - no one would help us at Volkswagen, Toyotas were $2-3k more expensive and Nissan was too crowded when we went. So, back to a Honda dealership we went. The staff at Burns Honda in Marlton, NJ was very helpful and seemed to anticipate many of my questions. My girlfriend and I are not easy customers, and although we did make him stop to think at times, they were always ready to find out answers to our questions.

My first problem is that I am too darn picky. I was looking for a 2001 at the end of the selling season, and more problematic was that I was looking for a manual with the EX package in green or possibly blue. Burns did a search and found that there were NO green stick EX Accords anywhere nearby. What they DID have - or could get - were automatics, black manuals, or green manuals in the LX or DX.

I test drove three cars - the Accord EX, an Accord LX and just to round it out, a Civic EX. The Accord EX was the best of the bunch, and was actually set up in pretty much the exact way I wanted it. The only thing that was different was that it was an automatic. After much discussion, we decided that although I love a stick-shift, I could live with an automatic.

I wasn't all that overjoyed about the lack of customization that you can make on Hondas. They come in 4 'styles': the bare-bones DX, the middle-of-the-road LX and the nearly all-inclusive EX. The fourth style are the special option cars they put out which can be a mixture of the other styles. Options between each style are pretty much all-or-nothing. If you want a sun roof and leather, you have to get the EX package. They don't sell leather any other way. The 6-CD player comes with the EX package as a standard; otherwise you have to pay a bundle for it.

This car, however, was ideally suited for me. It had the leather, ABS, dual air bags, the CD changer, sun roof (which I could have taken or left - but I didn't have a choice). It also had a number of dealer options on it: mud flaps, door guards (plastic edging on the doors), floor mats (yes, you have to pay extra for those), a trunk mat and a couple of other trinkets. I was very up-front about NOT wanting the door guards or mud flaps, and asked if they would take them off the price. They agreed, but allowed me to keep them (they already lost the cost of them, why spend extra time/money to actually remove them, right?). The car also had the painted striping on the side, which I DETEST – they took it off the price AND the car.

All said, I got the car for 1% above invoice, INCLUDING the dealer options included in the price (at least the ones that I wanted). Not too bad, although still expensive.

Now, you know how I bought it – how does it perform? Overall, extremely well.

The ride is nice in this car, particularly with the leather seats. I have never had leather before, and I have to say that after this, I don’t know if I can ever go back to vinyl. The car handles well, taking curves much better than the Geo and has good power at speed. However, the 4-cylinder engine does sound like it is struggling getting UP TO speed – once you are moving, it holds it easily and moves, but the engine seems tentative to accelerate quickly. I’ve heard that the 6-cylinder is much quicker, so that might be an option that you would want to explore. In terms of road noise, it isn’t the quietest car I’ve ridden in, but ranks among the best for the class/money.

The sound system is excellent. I got the 6-CD changer because I was very used to my old Sony 10-CD changer in the Geo. One question I asked Burns was whether the CD player would play CD-R. They tested it with one of the CD-R out of their own cars – and it did play them (major concern because I make some many of my own discs). The receiver portion of the stereo is crisp and gets a signal very well. The CD player quality is very good, although the functions are VERY limited. You can only see which CD and track it is playing – nothing more. This is a highly annoying limitation – I often want to know time remaining, time of track, or the ability to name CDs, as I could with the Sony. Of course, maybe I’m just spoiled.

The mileage is a little lower than I would have hoped (I’ve been averaging about 25 mpg for highway driving), but not bad. And since it is a ULEV (Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle), you are putting less pollutants into the air when you drive it. And a large tank cuts down on the number of fill-ups you need to make.

There is plenty of room, even for someone like me who likes a LOT of room in the front seat. The back seats (although I have to admit I’ve only tried them out, and not actually sat in them for a drive) are roomy and comfortable. Among the ‘amenities’ on this car are the extra drink trays in the back seat so that kids/adults can have drinks back there as well (and keep them off of my leather seats!!). The back seats fold down to allow access to the trunk, or you can use the center console (which they dub the ski door can be folded down to just allow a small but long piece to be placed in the trunk. Not something I use often, but nice anyway. Another nice thing that I DID want, was the trunk liner – spring for this if you are going to get an Accord.

Overall, I have been extremely happy with my new car, and would recommend it to anyone – particularly someone who has a family. The car is not a luxury car, but is one of the nicest cars for a family sedan – and the reputation of Honda for quality is great (I have never heard of any of my friends having a problem with their Accords). The price of this car IS a bit steep, so expect to pay a little more than you would for a Chevy or Ford, but once you do, you can ALSO expect to enjoy the drive.