Just test drove the 2013 Accord EX-L V6

[cdp326]

Originally Posted by benjaminh

Many people think Ford's new Ecoboost engines are great, and I would tend to agree. I think they are well engineered, well build, and durable.

And the 1.6 ecoboost in the 2013 Fusion with the manual trans even gets 1 mpg higher combined epa mpg than a 2013 Accord with a manual. But with an auto trans on both with the 4 cylinder, which is the way most people get these cars, the 2013 Accord gets c. 2-4 higher mpg than the 2013 Fusion.

The base 2013 Fusion 2.5 auto gets 22 city/34hwy, compared to the base 2013 Accord LX 2.4 auto which gets 27/36.

Plus the 2013 Accord in all its variants has significantly faster acceleration than the 2013 Fusion.

Here's an example from testing by Motor Trend:
2013 Accord 2.4 Sport 6MT 0-60: 6.8 seconds! Wow.
2013 Fusion 1.6 6MT 0-60: 8 seconds. Meh.

And the Ford costs about $1000-3000 *more* than the Honda when comparably equipped.

The fast Fusion is the 2.0 Turbo. But it also has significantly slower acceleration than the 3.5 V-6 Accord. Again here the Fusion does get 1 more mpg than the Accord. But the Accord costs less when equipped the same way.

The Fusion 1.6 Ecoboost automatic mileage, for a full comparison since Ford's packaging means most Fusion SEs will likely have the 1.6, is 23 city/36 highway/28 combined, 24/37/28 with start/stop; vs. the CVT Accord's 26/37/30, CVT Sport 26/35/29.

Aside from the Motor Trend tests I haven't seen any other tests of the Fusion, only the preview drives with performance estimates. Because of that it's still too early to say one or the other is quicker, although I suspect Altima will likely remain the quickest of the four-cylinder auto midsizes.

Motor Trend had the Fusion Ecoboost manual to 60 in 8 seconds, but Inside Line estimates it will do 0-60 in about 7 seconds. The numbers they each recorded for the CVT were close, Motor Trend had 7.6 to Inside Line's 7.8.

Motor Trend's Fusion 2.0T test was an AWD example, so it's more than 100 lbs heavier than the FWD 2.0T Fusion, which seems to be about the same weight as the V6 Accord. The Accord still may be quicker but the difference between it and the Fusion will likely be smaller.

On that note I think with most of the models the difference in acceleration numbers will be pretty slight, and the only thing most buyers will notice is how the powertrains feel.

[benjaminh]

Originally Posted by molson.david

....I like new passat alot, if not its low resale value and memories of my 2006 2.0T passat...

Molson: If you can, tell us some of your memories of your 2006 Passat. I assume that they aren't good memories?

[molson.david]

Originally Posted by benjaminh

Molson: If you can, tell us some of your memories of your 2006 Passat. I assume that they aren't good memories?

lets start from MPG: my average MPG (average driving style, premium fuel) never went above 23. long HWY trips at 60-65 it was making around 28.
aggressive driving- average MPG never went above 17-18 MPG.
never came close to EPA numbers under normal driving conditions.
never had real problems with it, but when some sensor went off (check engine came on) it took 2 weeks for dealer to get a part...
when front caliper got locked and dealer replaced it + labor under warranty I was absolutely shocked to see how much it would've cost me.
you wanna guess? $700+... for frigging caliper...
but car was in and out in just one day.
wasn't impressed with comfort or ergonomics either: I drove 2001 camry to RI and back to TX once. 17-18 hrs straight first day drive (short stops for gas only).
sure was tired after that, but no sore legs or back discomfort, my eyes were closing, but body felt fine.
3-4 hrs in passat felt like I was driving for many days... not sure if I just couldn't find good driving position or passat seat was designed only for german ass with certain specs.
drove 2007 camry couple times to FL, 11 hrs shot-no problems at all!
but most comfy car I ever took for long trip was avalon. even GS350 felt less comfy.

back to passat. I bought it from local dealer one year old with less than 20K on the clock for pretty low price, just 1K above what I would've pay at the auction after all fees, but 1.5 years and 10-12K later highest trade in or sell in offer I got from VW dealer was almost 4K or so lower than I paid. couple other dealers offered me even less...car was in perfect shape, clean, bright blue-nicely looking color on passat, still under warranty, average miles, but nobody wanted it.
I still remember what VW store manager replied to my "why so low" question:
"is't normal for VW, vw are good cars, but don't keep any value"...
great...
anyway my coworker agreed to buy it for just 2K less than I paid and since I already bought another car we did in and out trade through the dealer we worked for.
just 6-7 month later my ex-passat went back to VW service almost for a week to get new transmission. year or so later it was sold at the auction and my buddy lost pretty good chunk on it too.
there is only one good thing I still like about that passat: rubber cap holder insert for cell phone and pen. since its made out off rubber doubt it ever gonna brake and don't really care how much it gonna loose in value either.
I still keep it in my car.

[MGP999]

Originally Posted by HADriver06

Good posts guys!

It's interesting to learn the + and - of the new Accord.

It seems that Honda still hasn't gotten rid of some of the Accord's bad characteristics concerning its ride quality. The ride being quiet and smooth on smooth roads is a given, but it's surprising to learn that the 9th gen, a brand new design, STILL rides poorly over roughly paved/concrete roads! My 7th gen also rides like this to some extent. It rides well on smooth (not quite as smooth as the 9th gen) roads but the ride ****s when I go over concrete/rough roads. Both in noise level and ride response. I think it's more an issue of cost-cutting than suspension being replaced. Now, to be fair, I did not notice this in my test drive (maybe because I drove on smooth roads)... and as this has been one of the Accord's traits, not solely the faults of designers of this gen, but one would expect they would've figured out a way to solve this by this gen.

I did not experience issues with ride stability in my test drive. Although I did find my current Accord to be more "tossable" which could be attributed to the change in suspension setup, I suppose. That said, I did not really push the new Accord the way I do mine in the test drive and I did not take the car on the highway. But a few other posters have also commented on the highway stability and if true, this would be something that Honda needs to address if they wish to retain its status and reclaim the crown in this segment.

I also did not find the brakes to be weak in my test drive. I actually found that the brakes were one of the strong points of the new Accord. The brake feel was good and it was definitely more than adequate for this car. The car I drove was the 4 cyl though, so it might not be the case for the V6.

I also did not experience any instability on rough roads, in fact it was a very secure ride with most of the noise coming from the air rushing through the B pillar. Brakes were not as strong as my '13 RDX or '03 Accord but this car seems every bit as well put together as my Acura. Ride quality though is very subjective and it seems that the Passat has more in common with the Camry as the Altima has more in common with the Accord based on the reviews. At the end of the year the most well rounded sedan award will probably be between the Altima and the Accord.

[Buszman]

I agree,I took a V6 Touring for a road test today." The car rides too rough thru concrete and rough surfaces."I am looking to replace my Rav4.The new accord almost drives as noisy on rough road as my truck.
After the Accord I drove a Hyundai Sonata turbo and to my suprise the ride was much smoother then the Accord.Hyundai came a long way,remember the days when if I pulled up behind a Pony at the red light I automatically rolled up the windows expecting smoke coming from the tail pipe ahead of me.

[stevencrosbie]

I own a Sonata turbo. Amazing car. Flat out amazing.