2009 Honda Accord EX-L V6: The Review

"TheLOUDMUSIC- Put it in H!" (theloudmusic)
03/04/2016 at 21:15 • Filed to: oppo reviews

After my mom finally realized the civic was boring us both to death, and we wanted to do a road trip in the newar future, she decided to make a change. That change was moving to something more sporty to experience a car that can get out of it’s own way. She wanted something that looked good, had front wheel drive (don’t ask me she thinks that’s necessary for snow) and to have the same reliability record.

The budget was around $12,000, and we ended up getting this specific example for a steal after a long story involving dealership bullshit and another older 6-6 Accord that wouldn’t pass inspection.

So, she ended up buying the car above, a 2009 Accord Coupe EX-L V6 6MT, a car that blew the both of us away in a slower, more problematic version.

What makes it an EX-L V6 though? Well, it’s simple. 3.5 VTEC engine, heated leather seats, and the worst navigation system ever devised. I’m listing most of the features here, so there’s not much equiptment worth note.

Power 8/10

The J35Z3 sounds great, and as an engine, it is. 60 is achieved in...5.6 seconds. All the ambitions of being “sporty” there. The gearing is pretty short, and it certainly helps with only ~250 foot pounds of torque to play with. You don’t have to downshift to avoid lugging around while doing anything you could do in a normal car.

Transmission 10/10

It has 6 gears. THe shifter is notchy, and feels great. The gearing is nice and short, so you really don’t have to downshift to get usable power. I will admit the revs get a bit high while doing interstate speeds though, with 70mph hovering around 2500rpm. The throws are nice and tight, and it’s one of the best shifters I’ve ever used.

Handling 6/10

It’s a Honda Accord. Anyone who expects this car to handle with any prowess is barking up the wrong tree. That all being said, I have hustled this car up a few canyons and the only thing it left me wanting was a set of worthwhile tires.

Steering 5/10

Not super numb, but somewhat connected. It steers like a car. There are no fancy modes to choose between, only “FWD overpowered heavy car”. It’s a good bit heavier than the civic, which is nice.

Exterior 9/10

It looks like the embodiemt of a car company going “We have this nice innoffensive sedan, let’s build a coupe out of it”, which worked out well. I’ve had exactly 1 person comment on the car in the past year, because they thought it was theirs.

This, but beige and with more buttons. I honestly don’t know how that’s possible, but it is. It’s like a Transformer ate a keyboard and vomited it onto a normal dashboard.

Interior 7/10

Lots of leather, no blank buttons. The seats are beige leather with beige stitching, and are fairly comfortable. The steering wheel, shift knob, center arm rest and door cards are leather wrapped. The sunroof is a waste of time and energy, and it solely exists to be heavy and reduce headroom. Powered driver’s seat has lumbar, but that broke before we got the car. No memory because fuck you if you think 2 people that aren’t the same height should be able to drive the same car.

Toys 5/10

No reverse camera or anything like that, the most useless nav system on the face of the earth, a mediocre sound system for being adverised as “Premium”, XM, auto lights, and most importantly, an AUX jack. Interval wipers. Bluetooth is phone only, no music.

Value 10/10

If you’re looking for a great DD, look no further. We got it for essentially $10k, and I’d consider it to be one of the biggest bang for your buck cars made, on the useed market. If you’re really hung up on a faster or sportier car, shell out an extra $10,000 and buy a Mustang.

Total 60/80

Disclaimer: Don’t try to bitch at me, yes I even considered a trip to Nebraska to get a Subaru Outback 2.5XT, but this was way more affordable and doesn’t have turbo problems or maintenance to worry about.