When I was shopping for cars, I had decided on a 4 door sedan that would be reliable, fuel efficient and yet have that tinge of marginal sportiness on it to keep it out of the realm of boring family sedans". On my short-list in the left corner were the class leading midsize trio of Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and the Honda Accord - all in their respective 4 cylinder forms with auto gearboxes. In the right corner was an motley bunch of upstarts like the VW Jetta, the Mazda 6, Subaru Legacy, Dodge Charger, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and the Honda Civic . To make things easier, I began my disqualifications - the Dodge went out as it wasnt very fuel efficient as did the Fusion. The Subaru and the Mazda 6 were actually premium priced and no discounts were offered at dealer level. Plus, there was a question mark on the Mazda ownership. It was Ford owned and that made me a bit skeptical. The Civic was a strong contender but despite the facelift and the gizmo like dash, it seemed rather expensive for its size. Since Civics were flying out of the door, there was no dealer discount either. I test drove the remaining cars; the Sonata ahad relatively substandard fit and finish and the admittedly sporty looking Nissan made too much noise for the relatively modest 175 bhp that it produced.. also, its interiors looked great from afar but to feel and touch, they were as flimsy as the Hyundai.
Finally, I was left with the Toyota Camry and the Accord. I was leaning toward the facelifted 2007 Camry what with its feature laden base trims and lexus ES300 like rear tail lamps. What started my dislike was its frumpy grille and the aquamarinsh tinge on the switchgear just added to the list of minuses. What pushed the Accord ahead was its handling and its better fit-finish. The Camry had its suspension tuned softer geared towards comfort. While that made for a cushy ride, it did nothing for its handling and the Camry felt boat-like at high speeds. In contrast, the Accord had a firm ride but came out tops in handling despite that bit of understeer which is prevalent in all family sedans. Its white dial dash was simple yet elegant and all controls came to hand exactly where I would expect them to be. This car fit me like a glove from the very moment I stepped in and thats what endeared it to me.
What clinched it was the fact that both Consumer Reports and Car And Driver (traditionally magazines with rather diverse views towards cars) gave the Accord a thumbs-up.
Plus points: The handling and suspension, the maintenance minder system that signals not only when its time for the service but also what service needs to be performed, the oil life indicator was a bonus to boot.
Minor gripes: I would have liked a bigger boot and expected a better stereo with built in MP3 support like the Camry rather than requiring to pay $500 additional for optional one. I wouldn’t have minded a tiptronic like manual option on the automatic gearbox but I must say that this "grade-logic" auto box is extremely smooth and quite unlike the usual golf-cart feel that comes with a auto.
Sum up: I have done about 7000 miles on the Accord in the last 6 months. The 4 cylinder 166 bhp motor has undergone 1 oil change (free of cost thanks to my dealer) averaged 25~26 mpg ( 10.5 ~ 11 kmpl). Its been a met-my-expectations ride so far.