My girl brought over her new 2001 Honda Accord V6 EX Coupe. Naturally, she let me drive it. I swear I couldn't find one thing I liked better about it.

And, please someone tell me what is wrong with the front seats. They have this buldge in the lower area, like below where the lumbar pushes in and out. Damn the seat is so uncomfortable on the lower back.

Well anyways to the performance section. Man that V6 has 10 more HP than Nissan my a$$. There's this huge hill by my house and that thing was having the hardest time pulling in second. In second at 3000 RPM it feels like my Max in 3rd at 3000 (and that's honestly an understatement).

Also, the engine revs no where near as smooth as the Nissan. It's MUCH louder and rougher than a stock VQ30DE. I always wondered why the VQ has got top 10 best motors for 6 years straight, now I know. I mean seriously these two engines are a world of difference (considering they're both 3.0 liter V6).

My last note, the auto tranny makes me want to shoot myself. The engagement is so long, and even with low RPM shifting you can feel it's lag. Downshifts aren't pretty either. I have to admit every Honda/Acura I've driven with an automatic has been so disappointing (3.2 CL Type-S, Integra, Civic, Accord EX V6, Accord EX V6 Coupe). Considering Honda makes one of the best manual gearboxes in the world, their auto's are horrible. I've driven auto maximas and trust me they're WAY better. However, in my opinion Toyota and BMW make some DAMN good automatics.

Well guys, in a nutshell the Maxima is truly a better car. I'm still looking for one thing I like better (oh and the sunroof is 1/3 the size of ours).

 

Oh yeah, my friend works at Mercedes and he stopped by with a car from work. Brand new Benz C240 automatic. He let me drive it. Wow can I say SUCKY. Made the accord seem like a C43. Wow talk about NO POWER. I turned the wheel all the way to the left, floored it, and I couldn't get a squack out of any tire (No traction control on this thing either). Anyone who wastes $36K on this needs to be shot in the kneecaps.

Mercedes Benz = You pay $15K for the little star, the rest is the car. Honestly, it feels exactly like a $21K car.

BMW = You pay $10K for the name, the rest is the car.

Toyota = You pay $3-5K for the name, but you get hella good reliability

Honda = You pay nothing for the name, but the stupid company relies on supply and demand so the dealers can add some crazy markup, that way Honda doesn't have to reward the dealers as much. Damn Honda manipulates the market, only allowing a few cars to each dealer.

Hyundai = They pay you $5K to buy the car. Damn XG300 is a real nice deal

Nissan = Can't think of a better car for the money than the Sentra or Maxima. Since 1995 Nissan has made some great cars too. Call me biased or whatnot, but seriously, the Maxima is quite well built. Much better than my dad's CL Type-S and my previous Integra (and he will attest to that). The build quality is on par with the build quality of my 98 4Runner Limited, but the Maxima's level of refinement, plushness, and comfort is far superior.

 

Wow... That's extreme praise for the Maxima. I haven't heard that much in a long time. Of course, it's all true. That's why I bought a Maxima.

 

I work for a tuning shop and they gave me a 2000 Accord to lower. And let me also say that our Maxima's are cake to lower compared to these things. Anyway, I got it lowered and was taking it for a drive when I too realized how much better our cars were. I have Dons VB mod in my max, but that Accord sucked. My old Taurus shifted better. This car was awesome to look at and I had even asked the guy if he'd consider trading. After I drove it though, I said no way!!

 

Well I remember in 1991 I and my wife happen to drive my an auto Accord of my friend's, for two or three short trips. I think it was either 1988 or 1989. We found the auto is so abrupt when shifting that it scared us a little the first time, compared to our old 1986 auto Sentra. And we absolutely don't like its manual O/D, instead of a button controlled O/D on most cars. The accord manual 4th gear is so close to the 3rd that it is very easy to skip to the 3rd. Up to today's Accord, it still has the manual O/D. I don't know the other Hondas.

Because I already had a not-so-good impression on Hondas,I never tried test-driving them when I bought my new 94 Altima, new 96 Maxima and 00 RX300.

Two days ago one of my wife's co-worker asked my opinion about Accord and Camry. In reply I said Camry. I know only 4, not V6 is considered due to budget, other wise I'll say Maxima.

 

BrianV, I've driven both and do have to say that without a doubt, the Maxima is a much smoother car (handling, ergonomics, transmission), but have to disagree with you about the engine. You were driving a brand new car (I'm assuming) and engines really don't come into their 'own' until at least 6000-7000 miles have passed. The Accord V6s pull hard and run well. I found them to be quite fast. Just give her baby a little time to become a toddler.

 

A VP with my company test drove the little C and he told me the same thing. NO POWER!!!!. I tried to talk him into getting a Max but he moved to Manhattan(no real need for a car there).

The Maxima:
Every now and then people do complain about these cars but when you buy one used, you are getting more for your money than if you bought one new.

Brian, test drive the Volvo S80. I used to drive the S80 2.6. Talk about a cheap feeling car. 221 HP = no butt HP.
The car is weak.

 

I test drove a 00.5 Passat fully loaded with 190hp and 4-motion. The car was crap with regard to the engine. I saw the review on Car & Driver TV, and they praised the car so much, and I have NO understanding of why they did that. It couldnt spin the wheels at all. I would at least expect any V6 that cost $33K to do at least that much for me. The car also had a german feel that I am not accustomed to.

 

The reports were telling people to stick with the inline 4 Turbo(which was also ranked one of the 10 Best). Basically they said for the money and weight, it was a waste.

 

You're right. My sister have a '00 Accord V6 sedan. Even though it has 200hp., it sure doesn't feel like it. Since my car is an auto too, the automatic Accord doesn't feel as smooth. I know that a few of us sometimes complain about how sucky our automatic is, but I can tell that the Accord is worse. I don't get Honda. Yes, their manual transmission cars are one of the best in the world. I have driven a 5spd. Prelude, GSR(even though it's an Acura, it's basically a Honda), and even a S2000. I can say those 5spd. cars were great, very smooth. Actually, smoother than a 5spd. Maxima. However, their automatics are horrible. I have also driven auto Toyotas and even some auto domestic cars, even those autos felt smoother thant the Hondas. Why is that? No wonder why many of my Honda/Acura friends told me that getting an automatic in a Honda/Acura is the worst decision you can make. None of them drives an automatic Honda/Acura. I'm not trying to put an auto Accord down, dont' get me wrong because I drive an auto myself. It's still a very nice car. Sometimes I would have to drive my sister's Accord and every time, I hate to drive it.

 

medicsonic: I understand your point, but actually the car isn't THAT brand new, it has 9000 miles. It gets driven like 60 miles every day for work plus pleasure and errands, etc. It's like 5 months old. It just doesn't seem to have the pep, and maybe the reason I was so bothered with that hill is because it doesn't have the mid-range power that the VQ has. I mean at 4,000 RPM to 5,500 RPM the VQ really shines.

 

Understood. BTW, Stillen_I30, the Passat with 4Motion has 4WD. The reason why you can't spin the tires on a car with 4 wheel drive is because the power is split bewteen 4 wheels instead of 2. I would worry about a 4WD vehicle that could spin its tires that easily.

 

medicsonic you worry about 4wd cars that spin tires easily, hmm maybe I should start wondering about the Diablo VT, haha. Just pulling your leg, good point though.

 

Thats what I thought...the 4WD was not allowing the wheels to spin. however, as far as I understand, we searched everywhere for a button to disengage the 4WD, but that was not present, and therefore, I would say its not really worth it. Also, the car did not have nearly as much torque as my I30. However, I would say that the tranny on the CLS (I also own one) is far better in regard to operation compared to the I30 simply because if you were to gun the I30/Max at 5mph, the car takes a long time to shift down into 1st (and is usually sitting in 2nd or 3rd which is horrible). The Acura seems to shift quickly in that manner when left in D5...it would be recommended to slam the I30/Max into 2nd gear (which on my car, makes a pretty bad sound). Also, my car has poor low-end torque (which could be attributable to the pre-30K mile service state it is in right now), but really picks up after 3K.

 

Well you can't deactivate AWD on most cars unless it's a 4x4 that is designed to be primarily driven in 2WD.

 

HEhe..since when did you get a girl?

 

Since like a few weeks ago.

 

Its really weird to see this, cuz i was about to post a new post about the same thing... i still will cuz i have a story to go along with it.

anyhow, i drove my stepmoms 2000 accord v6 home from about 200 miles north (my grandmas)... it was rather weak. off the line it was prettly lame... midrange between say 50 and 100 was pretty decent however... but once it shifts from 3rd to 4th (at about 100 mph) its a DOG... absolute dog. i was racing a CHRYSLER LHS (riced out... see my post about Domestic Rice). well i was pulling on him a little, pleased with the performance... untill it hit 100 or so when it shifted... i thought for a minute i had hit a limiter or something... there was NOTHING... barely any perceptible acceleration. took me probably 30 seconds to go from 100 to 112.2 (i had a GPS with me, so i know how fast i went). i was rather dissappointed with the performance.

as far as comfort, ive always liked hondas. i've owned 3, and driven tons... i think they are quite comfortable personally.

 

I have to agree with everyones opinion about Honda's auto tranny. My girlfriend bought a '99 Civic EX a couple of years ago and that car is so damn slow. I've tried accelerating from a dead stop on 1st gear then upshift, still it does no good on acceleration. She knows it too, but blames me for not teaching her how to drive a manual tranny before she bought it.

 

Well, I just got rid of my third Accord (actually, the first was my dad's, the one I learned to drive on). My dad's '88 LX had 187,000 miles on it the day he traded it in (on his 94 Audi 90S, incidentally), ON THE ORIGINAL CLUTCH. You're damn right Honda makes strong manual transmissions.
My '87 LX hatchback was bought with 121,000 miles and was just junked at 185,000 miles by my brother because it had been in too many accidents to make it worth bringing up to code. It had the original tranny still pulling strong.
My 1985 LX four-door I just got rid of for the Max in February or March. It was an automatic and had this strange symptom where it would almost impreceptibly rev about 100 rpms, like it was slipping, but then the rpms would come back down after a second or two. This is with the cruise on. Very strange.

But anyway, Honda has great 5-speeds, questionable autos.

 

When I was going to high school a friend of mine bought a brand new automatic 86 Accord LXi. It was the first year it came out and to a 16-year old at that time it was probably the best thing that one can hope for. One day (senior year?) that guy came to school late because the car wouldn't shift out of 1st gear. He had to drive to school with 1st year for 10 miles...

Another guy bought a 88 Prelude automatic during senior year. The car basicly needed a new transmission every 15K miles. He upgraded to a 5-sp 300ZX when the warranty on the Honda ran out.

After high school people I hang out with stopped driving Honda's so I don't know what Honda automatics are up to nowadays.

 

I had a '99 Honda Accord LX Auto before I got my max, so I know exactly what you guys are talking about. Not only the transmition was horrible at shifting (you actually have to wait forever for the RPMs to climb for it to finally shift), but other things like a hard as hell steering, ruff suspension, noisy ride, etc. My max is a '97 and has 66k miles on it. It still feels way better, there's no going back.

 

my gf's I-4 99 LX 5spd is nothing compared to my maxima .. but its a damn good car and it does what i want it to do.. i can't complain

 

i'd just watched some races this weekend. there were 2 '99 accords raced. they got their cars lowered, a GT spoilers and 2 exhausts each (i'm not sure wut model, didn't really look at 'em).
OK, when they both took off, they were terribly slow. seemed like they were both 4-cyl instead of v6.
they day after, i went to an autoshop to ask abt those 2 accords (since i saw the stickers of that shop on those cars). and the staff told me both of 'em were v6.
D@mn, all of my friends said my max is surely faster than those thingy with $h!tty mod.

 

Brian,
Usually look forward to reading your comments Let me offer one. I don't think I would even compare the Accord Coupe to the Max. The Honda is a plush two door with a good V6....silent, smooth, willing. My 97 (just like yours, Sage Mist, 5spd, leather etc.) was meant to be a "real" drivers car. It's got a GREAT engine, gearbox, handling and is a real "Q ship". The Acccord is meant for those that want something that will run basically forever without doing to much for it. Honda does make a VERY durable/reliable product. If you want permormance try the Honda Prelude with the VTEC. I'm sure that you're familiar with it. I just had the opportunity to drive a '00 with a 5spd. Dark green with all the goodies, well it wasn't an SH model. That engine revs so fast that it is scary!!! I don't think that a Max revs as smoothly. I'd be very leary of racing one too. BTW, the seats in the Prelude are much better in support and comfort than my 97 Max SE. Once you get by the "unusual" styling of the '00 Prelude it is a very nice ride.

Cheers

 

Ok, I know a Prelude is fast, but the engine in that thing doesn't even come close to the VQ in smoothness. Also, my friend had a 5spd one and he got smoked by me all the time. It was quick though. The engine was harsh in comparison!!!!!!

 

AGREED

 

you get what you pay for.

 

Not to mention that that prelude had a fuel injector problem from day one. Austin, Joe thought he could beat me! HAHAHAHAHA, he stayed with me with that big *** box in my car but take that out he would be toast, oh well I guess we will never find out since he never paid one payment on the car and got it repoed!

 

When you understand that, you'll realize why a 4-Motion Passat is superior to a Maxima.

 

I don't care, it seemed fine and fast when I rode in it. But my point was that the engine in that isn't nearly as smooth as the VQ. It also sounds janky.

 

Back me up on this one austin, the auto trannies in hondas suck above like 70 or 80, My friend has a 97 3.0 CL and it would take my 92 GXE auto off the line but once we hit about 90 or 100 I could burn his *** to about 125, once that thing shifts into 4th at about 90 or so the car is dead and can't even keep up the speed up a hill on the interstate, that is honda for you though

 

Yes, that's the sad truth. After that car hits 4th gear it's like there is a limiter.

 

I test drove a 99 Honda Accord EX V6 loaded up and it had about 8,000 miles. I was negotiating to buy a 99 SE-L 5 speed and just wanted to make sure I really wanted the Max. Anyways, I test drove the Honda knowing it had more hp and floored it getting onto the hwy. It had no low end torque at all. It started really flying after about 4500 rpm but honestly who always keeps their car at that rpm. Off the line you'd have to power brake for power... I like having a broad power band that can push me back in my seat at 2000-6000 rpm. Needless to say I bought the Max and even though it was new, it was $2,000 cheaper!

 

Do you think I can beat a prelude 97 5 speeds? My max has an auto. The driver of prelude is a girl and she still *****ing about my auto max.

John