Anyone who has had their 2008 (or Accord Hybrid) for awhile care to comment on the Active Noise Cancellation?

On my limited test drives, in two Accords I think I may have "heard" it at work. There was an unnatural boominess in the cabin and my ears felt like they wanted to pop. Conditions were different every time I've been on a test drive from sunny and dry to cold and rainy. The only times I encountered this were on dry days, on the highway. I did drive the same road at the same speeds other times and did not hear this. When it did happen, I did not have the radio on and I didn't think to turn it on to see if that changed anything. (I never test drive with the radio on.)

The new Accord does seem a bit quieter. I notice wind noise around the side view mirrors more than anything as opposed to the tires roaring in past Accords. Some of this has to be attributed to the new undercoating. Has anyone noticed? If you look in the rear wheel well, there's a thick, black spongy coating.

How effective do you think ANC is?

Just curious if anyone has any comments about it either way.

I hope Honda made improvements on the ANC because from what I've experienced with our '05 Odyssey, I don't really like it. The point of having that feature is to drown out the noise that the engine makes when it is in 3-cylinder mode. Well, with our Odyssey, all I hear whenever the VCM kicks in is the groaning noise...or booming sound. It can get annoying when you're on the highway. The sound comes out of the front speakers and not the back.

I only test drove the I4, and I only noticed a quieter cabin.

I hope Honda made improvements on the ANC because from what I've experienced with our '05 Odyssey, I don't really like it. The point of having that feature is to drown out the noise that the engine makes when it is in 3-cylinder mode. Well, with our Odyssey, all I hear whenever the VCM kicks in is the groaning noise...or booming sound. It can get annoying when you're on the highway. The sound comes out of the front speakers and not the back.

ANC works beautifully. I have a 2005 Odyssey Touring with ANC and it is quiet. The groaning/droning noise is the exhaust system: there is a TSB for this. (not ANC) Both VCm and ANC work without detection. Btw, The ECO light does not mean VCM is running. :)