New car - AMA

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion) 06/13/2019 at 21:21 • Filed to: Accord

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Let’s do a good/bad style mini review. I’ll say something I like, followed by something I don’t like. And so on...

Good- Air Conditioning. Quite literally just in time for the heat wave, and the sole reason I haven’t driven the Miata once in the past 4 days. Also nice, whatever setting I set it to will be the same one I return to each time I start the car.

Bad- No telescopic or tilt functions on the wheel. Absolutely unforgivable. It’s a mid-tier modern ccord, not an 80's Lada. I’m unable to find a driving position where my elbows are adequately bent, legs are straight enough to be comfortable, body is low enough to see below the roofline, and I’m able to see all the gauges. At best I can get 2/4, and I’m not some crazy outlier, at 6'1”. Shame Honda. Shame.

Good- eco mode is on by default.

“what? Why’s that in the good section?!”

It’s simple. This Accord has absolutely zero sporting pretenses, regardless of what modes you select. As such the decision to focus on fuel economy by default was the correct one.

Bad- abysmal fuel economy for short around town driving. I’m talking drives in the 1/4 - 2 mile range, lots of stop lights. According to the trip computer I’m averaging 14 mpg in those circumstances. That’s bad because, well... Those short local drives make up the majority of my driving time. For reference, in the same situations, my turbo manual 850 wagon that had the boost turned up averaged 23 mpg in the exact same driving situations. EXACT SAME. And the Volvo was not a lightweight either, packed with all the most advanced safety tech of the time, including the very first instance of side-curtain airbags (the more you know!). Anyways, the massive gap in fuel economy is even more impressive when you consider the fact that I had the Volvo months ago when winter gas was still being used, AND the fact that I wasn’t shy about getting into the turbo.

Good- Rear view camera is much better than average. Nice, high res image with accurate colors.

Bad- the fact that I need a rear view camera for a mid-size sedan. New car problems. By that I mean the door sills are SUPER high. I look comical trying to rest my arm on the sill. Also, rear visibility is terrible, due to the increasingly common small greenhouse and upward slope of the body. The B and C pillars may not be as bad as in some cars that are universally hated for their lacking visibility, but they’re still large and make hefty blindspots. Get rid of the greatest safety feature out there—visibility—and replace it with better crash protection. Seems like more of a lateral move than a forward one. Or even a step backwards if you consider the driving behavior these changes can produce...

This was taken at eye level, and represents a fairly accurate view of what I see when I turn around. Which is not a whole lot. Look at how high up the end of the trunk lid is.

Good- 100% physical HVAC buttons. Physical radio buttons on the steering wheel that are intuitive and simple.

Bad- this one hurts to say, as the Honda of the late 80's and 90's was the absolute king in this regard, but... Cheap looking/feeling interior. Tacky carbon fiber accents, an incredibly cheap-feeling leather that’s exponentially worsened by how loosely it’s wrapped around the interior panels, glossy chrome trim that reflects the sun into your eyes at numerous different angles, steering wheel that feels like a thin rubber rope left outside for a few years, plastic paddle shifters that I can bend with minimal force.... The list goes on. And again, this is an Accord. Noone would call the 90's civics luxurious, but the interiors were well thought out and ergonomic. They also weren’t ashamed of their low-cost materials, which manifested itself in a simple, timeless design compared to the Accord that tries to do 5 series luxury on a 1 series budget.

Good- power seems perfectly adequate for what it is. You can go up to highway speeds reasonably quickly.

Bad- manual shifting is a joke. The paddles will seemingly arbitrarily skip 1, 2, or 3 gears, you can’t switch gears from a stop if you want to choose between starting in 1st or 2nd, if you stop using the paddles for like 5 seconds the transmission takes over and will start shifting again....

Good- I’m running out of good. Uh... It doesn’t need premium? (I hope)

Bad- you’ve got less steering feel than a GameCube controller. Suspension was clearly designed in the accounting department. Separate unlock and trunk unlock buttons (personal preference. I like one button that unlocks everything, and a physical handle that can then release the trunk, as apposed to a dedicated key fob button that pops the trunk). Oh and as with most modern cars there are multiple screens. A few of them are dot-matrix in the Accord. I didn’t realize we were still doing those. Would it really have been that much to ask for tiny LCD panels?

Good- wait! I thought of one that’s legitimately great! One touch up and down windows.

So yeah. A throughly disappointing car, and yet because of AC I’m still driving it everyday. Sometimes it’s all about that one killer feature. I’ve got it for another week or so, and with any luck I’ll be getting around town on an infinitely more exciting Ducati by then. Until then, I’ll continue to cruise around in Honda’s shining example of mediocrity.

I’m unsure of the year or any trim info, and I’m so uninterested that I’m not going to bother going outside to check the owners manual. It has active safety features like self-parking, lane assist, and a fancy cruise-control, but they all seem to be a combination of buggy and unintuitive. With the exception of emergency braking, which I got to see in action and was very impressed with (credit where it’s due!)

So... Questions?

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 21:30

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Does the parking brake work for naps near ditches?

AestheticsInMotion > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 06/13/2019 at 21:32

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Likely better than the Miata. Honestly this is the type of car where they should have just removed the parking brake and made it a button. Even at full lock the larking brake lever only comes up maybe two inches, so you don't even get the joy of yanking it

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 21:34

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Lame. I get to yank the Passat’s handbrake and it truly comes up to armrest height. 

for Michigan > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 21:35

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“ Bad- the fact that I need a rear view camera for a mid-size sedan. New car problems. By that I mean the door sills are SUPER high. I look comical trying to rest my arm on the sill. Also, rear visibility is terrible, due to the increasingly common small greenhouse and upward slope of the body. The B and C pillars may not be as bad as in some cars that are universally hated for their lacking visibility, but they’re still large and make hefty blindspots. Get rid of the greatest safety feature out there—visibility—and replace it with better crash protection. Seems like more of a lateral move than a forward one. Or even a step backwards if you consider the driving behavior these changes can produce...”

From the outside, these cars seem to have a reasonably-sized greenhouse compared to a lot of the other “four-door coupe”-style midsize sedans out there. Bummer.

wafflesnfalafel > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 21:42

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I really like those - good looking car.  One of the best looking modern Accords..  Damn weird about the no tilt/telescope...

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 21:42

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Why do you have this?

CRider > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 21:43

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The perfect car for people who want a Camry but the Honda dealer is closer and has a big inflatable gorilla out front. 

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 21:56

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NFW that doesn’t at least have tilt.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 06/13/2019 at 21:58

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His buddy loaned it to him

AestheticsInMotion > for Michigan 06/13/2019 at 22:00

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This isn't a segment I've sampled much of, so it's totally possible the Accord isn't one of the worst offenders. Which... Makes me sad

AestheticsInMotion > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever 06/13/2019 at 22:01

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Hmm, I'll check when I head out. I've never seen a steering wheel lock that far down so it's possible I just missed it! 

AestheticsInMotion > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 06/13/2019 at 22:04

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I agreed to drive my friend to and from SeaTac at odd hours . He let me borrow one of his cars in return. I picked the only one of the bunch that has AC... 

AestheticsInMotion > wafflesnfalafel 06/13/2019 at 22:06

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Definitely l ooks good, although I’ve seen some accords that I think look FANTASTIC. I'm unsure if they’re different trims or different generations...

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 22:21

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The wheel lock in my wife’s civic hatch is so freaking far down it’s unbelievable. I need to almost press my face against the wheel to find the lever.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 22:21

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14 mpg..geez! The Vette gets better mileage than that, Mini gives about 20ish too and thats with it producing 50% more boost than stock.

Do you just mash the throttle everywhere you go ? :P

AestheticsInMotion > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/13/2019 at 22:33

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For normal mixed driving I was averaging 28 which is fine, but yeah I don't know what was going on for the short, stop-and-go stuff. Even with AC going at 75% fan speed and maximum cold, that's still a crazy low mpg! And no, I was driving like a grandma! 

Spanfeller is a twat > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 22:39

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My car does 11MPG in short drives, but on my commute I’m pulling 17MPG, on the highway I do around 23-26 MPG at 85-90MPH . It depends on traffic. Sadly, those are the consequences of my car’s immense heft, and the twin turbos.

Under_Score > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 22:43

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You can go to CarFax.com, type in the license plate, select Washington, and get the year and trim. It’s that easy. 

dogisbadob > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 22:47

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I’ve driven a 2013 Accord that does have a tilt wheel. It was in a weird location, though. I don’t remember where they put it. The particular example I drove had a sunroof, so probably an EX.

The car was mostly driven highway miles, so the computer display said well over 30 mpg average.

It’s possible yours is the very base model that doesn’t have a height-adjustable seat. The higher Accords do have it.

dogisbadob > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever 06/13/2019 at 22:48

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This.

I knew it was in a weird location on this gen Accord. I just forgot where exactly they put it.

dogisbadob > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 22:48

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D on’t feel bad. It is an unusual location for the tile thing to be. Most cars have it on the column itself somewhere.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 23:02

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I had one as a longer years back, it was alright but the new LX has it beat almost everywhere. If you have the time you should check it out, the new Sport is even better too.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 23:11

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Damn! I guess the car is too heavy for the engine or the transmission is just shitty.

On highways the Mini gives me 25mpg on the dot and the Vette will give me at least 27, even with me doing some pulls :)

I have no clue what they give me on a mixed cycle, my daily commute is 4 miles on roads with max 50mph limit. Its either that or road trips.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 23:11

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Now I understand! Good choice considering the weather this week.

AestheticsInMotion > dogisbadob 06/13/2019 at 23:24

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No, the sea t goes up and down at least, and there’s plenty of headroom so I actually wouldn’t mind a sunroof!

AestheticsInMotion > Under_Score 06/13/2019 at 23:25

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Oh wow. That is really good to know! 

AestheticsInMotion > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 06/13/2019 at 23:26

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I’ll be honest, it could be 2-3 x better in every regard and it still wouldn’t be something I'd have even a passing interest in. 

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > AestheticsInMotion 06/13/2019 at 23:35

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To each their own. Though to be fair, you're spoiled by your Miata and Volvo wagons lol

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > AestheticsInMotion 06/14/2019 at 00:08

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Rental or??

AestheticsInMotion > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 06/14/2019 at 00:22

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Borrowed from a friend. I needed AC

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > AestheticsInMotion 06/14/2019 at 00:23

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Ac? I'm jealous. The Kia is like a blast furnace

SpeedSix > AestheticsInMotion 06/14/2019 at 00:42

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Accord Sport, so hope you don’t get your wheels stolen .

It doesn’t need premium, generally mainstream vehicles are tuned for regular, even the new crop of turbo engines.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AestheticsInMotion 06/14/2019 at 02:50

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This reminds me that I need to actually get the AC fixed on my STi. Should be simple enough but I hate bringing my car to a shop for anything. Funny enough the Miata has decently working AC but I refuse to put the top up. And if it's 100+ the AC ain't gonna do shit with a soft top anyways. Thankfully it rarely gets above 70 at work and through 75% of my drive home. But I hate being limited to where I can go since a drive into the desert would be literal death without some AC this time of the year.