- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
3.0i, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
177kW, 287Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 10.6L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2004 Honda Accord V6 Review
The search for a new car came, after the 13 year old faithful Toyota Corona, parked on the side of the road was involved in a hit and run, resulted in extensive damage to the rear and roof making it a write off. In 2005 we wanted a reasonably priced mid-size Japanese V6; test drove the Nissan Maxima, felt clumsy, and ruled out the Camry at the time as it was near the end of its product cycle. The Accord had only been out for almost 2 years, and I think was reasonably well praised at the time, so we settled for a year old Nighthawk black (blue hue) Accord V6 L.
- Conservative design, V6 engine, Comfortable Journeys, Size
- Built quality , Customer Service (NZ)
Spacious, comfortable for front and rear passengers, completed with light leather upholstery interior, not very common these days with most Jap cars offering only black. Soft touch materials on the dash and upper door trim, large glove compartment and side pockets for all 4 doors, capable of holding large bottles. Great boot capacity, don’t think any boot smaller than this would be practical. Of course, other than 4 cup holders, the rear seat can fold down 60:40, and a small door in the middle seat for thin long items I think, never understood its purpose. In summer all windows could be wind down by holding the unlock button on the key, to let cool air in before entering.
It was quiet advance at the time for the price, electronic stability (DSC), and cylinder deactivation, switching between 3 and 6 cylinders. Great straight line adrenaline for over taking, acceleration kicks in almost immediately providing confidence compared to our other family car Aurion Grande, that’s story for another time. After all this is a family car, the suspension set up making it a comfy ride around town, giving up the ability around corners on country roads.
10 years on just over 110,000km never had major problems. But I guess we didn’t consider the built quality of Accords imported from Thailand, which became questionable for us over time. As compared to similar aged Aurion, its quality is almost as good as new when purchased just after launch in 2006.
Doors failed to lock under warranty, and front passenger side had been fixed twice. Centre display dimmed, not too sure if was the age or design fault, as they we recalled in US. Faulty safety censor light comes on now and then, fixed with reset. Poor speaker quality, along with parcel shelf rattle never solved by Honda service centre, I know it’s not a premium car, but my experience with Honda service hasn’t been a pleasant one. Poor paint quality, started to fade after warranty. Ignition coil replaced 3 times in past 2 years. Water leak under boot compartment floor now and then, haven’t been able to identify how. Exhaust rusts, probably due to being parked outside.
This 7th generation Accord’s comfort is still reasonably impressive today. Having to haul colleagues that drive Audi A4 (B8), BMW (F30), vice versa I’ve been in their cars and driven C-class (W204) myself as a rental. From the way it looks and being a Honda they certainly didn’t expect much until they ride with me. I think gone are the days of reasonably priced mid-size Japanese cars. Having test drove the latest Accord V6, other than the current standard safety features, gimmicky dual screen; it felt like it hasn’t improved that much. Also, priced at a point I am more likely to put D-segment wagons into consideration for my next car.