The ultimate sensible used family sedan?
Peace of mind is one of those important things that doesn't have a price tag, but that used car buyers go out and look for.
Enter the Honda Accord. When one talks peace of mind in a sensible used car, it's often the first machine that comes up. An award winning combination of economy, technology, safety and miserly fuel mileage, Accord comes off as a confident bet for anyone in the market for a smart used family sedan.
Said sedan came in several configurations. There's a four-cylinder, 160 horsepower engine available with a five-speed manual or an optional five-speed automatic gearbox, while an optional 3.0 litre V6 cranked out a very respectable 240 horsepower and could be mated to a six-speed manual in all coupes. The 6-cylinder, 6-speed configuration made it to the sedan model later in its life as well.
Four cylinder models deliver adequate performance and very reasonable fuel mileage, while the V6 provides for more confident passing and acceleration in any situation- not to mention more fun-to-drive thrills. Both engines gained a few horsepower later in the models life. The V6 powered models, additionally, only pose a minute fuel consumption penalty during highway driving.
One of the most important things to know about Honda engines is that they use timing belts to keep the engine's camshafts spinning and things running smoothly inside. If the belt wears out and breaks, your engine's cylinders could have an untimely meeting with the valves. This will cause, at best, your car to stop dead in its tracks, and at worse, a very expensive repair for an engine rebuild or replacement. Make sure the belt is within its useful life, and be sure to have it changed if it isn't. Honda builds some of the most reliable engines on the road, but like anything else on a vehicle, poor maintenance will show itself.
Looking for systematic problems in a car like this one is a bit of a toughie- but after some digging online in owner's forums, a few common ones came up.
One potential annoyance is failure of the LCD climate control display screen in the centre console. If affected, it will black out and make using the climate control system a lot more complicated and frustrating. Stereo systems are also known to fail, leaving occupants without tunes and the driver's favorite CD trapped in the dashboard. It's a pain to replace this component- so you'd best hope it fails before any warranty is up.
Peace of mind is one of those important things that doesn't have a price tag, but that used car buyers go out and look for.
Enter the Honda Accord. When one talks peace of mind in a sensible used car, it's often the first machine that comes up. An award winning combination of economy, technology, safety and miserly fuel mileage, Accord comes off as a confident bet for anyone in the market for a smart used family sedan.
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Said sedan came in several configurations. There's a four-cylinder, 160 horsepower engine available with a five-speed manual or an optional five-speed automatic gearbox, while an optional 3.0 litre V6 cranked out a very respectable 240 horsepower and could be mated to a six-speed manual in all coupes. The 6-cylinder, 6-speed configuration made it to the sedan model later in its life as well.
Four cylinder models deliver adequate performance and very reasonable fuel mileage, while the V6 provides for more confident passing and acceleration in any situation- not to mention more fun-to-drive thrills. Both engines gained a few horsepower later in the models life. The V6 powered models, additionally, only pose a minute fuel consumption penalty during highway driving.
One of the most important things to know about Honda engines is that they use timing belts to keep the engine's camshafts spinning and things running smoothly inside. If the belt wears out and breaks, your engine's cylinders could have an untimely meeting with the valves. This will cause, at best, your car to stop dead in its tracks, and at worse, a very expensive repair for an engine rebuild or replacement. Make sure the belt is within its useful life, and be sure to have it changed if it isn't. Honda builds some of the most reliable engines on the road, but like anything else on a vehicle, poor maintenance will show itself.
Looking for systematic problems in a car like this one is a bit of a toughie- but after some digging online in owner's forums, a few common ones came up.
One potential annoyance is failure of the LCD climate control display screen in the centre console. If affected, it will black out and make using the climate control system a lot more complicated and frustrating. Stereo systems are also known to fail, leaving occupants without tunes and the driver's favorite CD trapped in the dashboard. It's a pain to replace this component- so you'd best hope it fails before any warranty is up.
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