Saltine Box Racer

Hi everyone,

Honestly I've been out of the Honda world for a long time since I sold my prelude in the early 2000s. Now that I've bought my dedicated "project car" 84 VW GTI, I'm looking for a new daily driver that's practical, reliable, and fuel efficient. In short, an Accord is exactly the type of car I'm looking for. I'm considering buying a MT 4 cylinder so I can still get better fuel economy. For that reason a V6 is really not a consideration for me.

So at this point I'm just trying to understand the differences between recent accords, in particular the 2012 vs the 13-14.

What are the differences in the 12 and the new facelift accords?


Someone said in another post that the 12s have double wishbone suspension and the 13+ has macpherson struts.

Is that true?

Is there a noticeable handling difference?

There's certainly advantages to double wishbone over mac struts but I'm just wondering how much I would feel it on a daily driver vs. a car I would intend to autocross or modify the suspension for better handling. Frankly although they are certainly nice cars, I'm looking for a more sedate "boring" car that I don't see myself modding. That's entirely why a Civic Si is not on my list. I don't want anything I have the urge to mod. I want one car in my driveway that I fully expect to go to work everyday without issues. That's the reason I'm considering a new car.


I know the 2012 would have a 5 spd manual trans and the 13-14 have a 6 spd manual trans.

I'm guessing 6th gear is really purely just a highway cruising gear?

Do these feel any different (i.e. better) than the previous 5 MT?


How are these motors for oil consumption?


Have there been any known issues with these recent generation Accords for recalls or TSBs? Looks like the TSB thread stickied is mostly for 08-09s and V6s?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

PrettyMuchBoned

get one anyway.

I DONT EVEN..

I HOPE NOT. HOW DARE HONDA DO AWAY WITH THE WISHBONES.

the factory service intervals are too far apart. If you dont buy a brand new one, there will likely be noticeable oil consumption.

you and I both know what the truth is. Change the oil erry 3,000 miles and you'l be golden. Listen to the factory and do it erry 5,000+ and you'l be burning oil before anything else happens to the car.

any accord v6 auto is gonna blow up, but that's common knowledge. Air bags need to be reprogrammed not to kill you. Power steering lines will catch on fire randomly.. This is all for the 03-05 like mine, but I wouldn't be surprised if the problems are for newer models too. The new direct injection engines seem to be more trouble than they're worth.

why don't you buy a Kia?

phaphon

haha that what my in law said why not a Kia?

PrettyMuchBoned

they're pretty inexpensive, 100k warrantee is good piece of mind, the styling and sense of quality have gotten way better. My gf's 01 RIO has 250,000+ (true mileage unknown) and it still works pretty good. Had the wrong trans fluid in it for a little bit, slipped like a ************. Put Kia fluid in it, works good now.

they're not bad cars. I mean, they're pretty crappy, but at least its not a chrystler

Bakemono36

The '14+ is a little bit bigger and gets better fuel economy. I personally would take the 4 over the six for the fuel economy and because the 4 is plenty of power for almost any situation. If youre buying an Accord with the 6 thinking its going to be a racecar, well, good luck with that. LOL
In terms of oil consumption, it shouldnt be an issue unless you buy used and the previous owner either abused the car or they didnt take care of it. Changing the oil every 5,000, 7,000 or even every 9,000 miles is fine. Thats why the MM is there. It monitors the engine's operating conditions and tells you how used up the oil is depending upon how you drive. Honda has spent millions of dollars testing their vehicles and they wouldnt risk their reputation over something as silly as oil change intervals.

PrettyMuchBoned

that's why they never, to this day, made a good v6 automatic. 90s accord v6? Trans slips left and right. 2013 TL? Torque converters still have problems.

Honda is skating on the reputation of late 80s early 90s civics

Bakemono36

Or maybe they knew they were phasing out that transmission in favor of the CVT, so why invest a ton of money in designing a better one? Say what you want but Honda pays attention to quality more than just about any other car company and the Accord, Civic, CR-V and Odyssey are leaders in their categories.

PrettyMuchBoned

If I'm not mistaken the brand new J series cars, specifically the TL, still have transmission problems.

DCFIVER

edmunds.com is good for the comparison game.....

Saltine Box Racer

So I drove a '14 Accord LX with a MT over the weekend. It wasn't bad. Decent power, comfortable car.

I'm wondering what the different is between this and the "Sport" though.

Taken from Honda.com here's the differences in the LX vs Sport:

189-hp (SAE Net), 2.4-Liter, 16-Valve, DOHC i-VTEC® 4-Cylinder Engine with Direct Injection
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with Paddle Shifters (available)
18-Inch Alloy Wheels
Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel
Driver's Seat with 10-Way Power Adjustment, Including Power Lumbar Support
Body-Colored Decklid Spoiler
Fog Lights
Chrome Exhaust Finishers

So is it basically an exterior package plus 18" wheels and the power seat?

Is there any actual difference between the suspension and the other models?

Bakemono36

Its pretty much an appearance package. The suspension isnt any different, although it does have a strut tower bar (which the base model AT doesnt have) which does help to stiffen the chassis a bit.