For the past few months I have been deciding on which v6 Honda accord to buy. I decided to do this review not only to share my experience driving the different trim levels but also to perhaps help people here on the forum have an easier time choosing the car that is right for them. This will be a more performance oriented review as the car I am looking for is essentially a good combination of power, practicality, efficiency most importantly reliability. I am also looking at potentially getting the 2012 6-6 V6 accord but for sake of comparison I will not be comparing the 8th gen accord. (All runs were made with traction control off and eco mode off). Transmission when automatic was set to sport on all runs during my test drives.
1. 2014 Honda Accord V6 sedan four door
Automatic no paddle shift. Review
The four door honda Accord was unsurprisingly the most practical of the three, offering four door practicality and was perhaps the smoothest of the bunch. In terms of performance the automatic was well...automatic. It offered smooth shifts however in terms of extracting the most out of the engine it tended to offer slow and relaxing shifts not to mention it felt like it would drop out of v-tec for a moment on most shifts. The power delivery on the car was again also smooth, but if a fun driving experience is what you are after then you might want to look else where. The car also didn't feel very powerful or eager to go. It seems to back up the claims from owners that this car does about a 14.8 @ 96 mph stock. It just felt very relaxed and for me that just didn't cut it.
2. Honda Accord V6 Coupe 2 door automatic with paddle shift
This was the car I wanted to impress me the most. Reason i say this is because as much as I absolutely love driving cars with a manual trans, I think that this car "looks" like it goes better with an automatic. So naturally I was hoping for the auto with paddle shifters to offer up at least a similar level of control that the manual transmission offered. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The paddles are mounted to the steering wheel as apposed to being mounted behind the steering wheel like on the gtr or evo x. What that means is that it's a full time job to not only keep an eye on whether or not the trans actually shifted when you pressed the paddle, but also finding the proper paddle when the steering wheel is anything but straight! Then there is the next problem....shifting speed. While I realize that this is not a dual clutch trans, the shifts feel like they take at least a full second! From the time you press the upshift paddle you almost have time to read a novel. You essentially have to estimate shifts and hope you don't bang off the rev limiter. When it comes to fun factor, the car does feel a bit more nimble than the four door. Feels like the power gets to the wheels a bit more than the four door as well. Not to far off from "feeling" as powerful as the six speed manual. I guess the biggest problem was that I wanted this car to offer more control. And one more gripe about the paddle shift mode was that first gear could not be held....essentially making most stoplight exits in bottom of second gear.....terrible for powering through a corner. Unfortunately it is best to stay out of paddle mode in this one. For that reason its a pass for me.
3. 2014 Honda Accord 2 door V6 Six speed manual
Last but definitely not least is the six speed manual. Fantastic car. It offers all of the things that makes the other models really nice (interior, nav, backup camera, sun roof ect.) but with a precise clutch, smooth shifter and fun power delivery. While I did say that I wouldn't compare it to the 8th gen six speed manual car, I will mention that the 2014 didn't feel as eager as the 2012 8th gen 6-6 I drive. However there could be a few reasons for this. One the temp outside was very hot 84 degrees (Illinois) and the car was most likely running on 87 pump gas. Heat plus shit gas equals slower car. But with that being said...if you are a performance oriented buyer this should be the only choice. The shifter feels much better and more connected to the car than the 8th gen 6 speed, making this car not a bad track car. Power felt a bit better than the 2 door paddle shift auto but most of that can be attributed to the ability to hold gears and hold 1st gear to red line and shorter gearing in the manual.
I hope this review was helpful and if you guys have some questions I will gladly answer them! Over all though after considering all kinds of cars from the evo x to the wrx and all kinds of other cars im impressed that the honda accord six-six v6 is most likely my next car.
1. 2014 Honda Accord V6 sedan four door
Automatic no paddle shift. Review
The four door honda Accord was unsurprisingly the most practical of the three, offering four door practicality and was perhaps the smoothest of the bunch. In terms of performance the automatic was well...automatic. It offered smooth shifts however in terms of extracting the most out of the engine it tended to offer slow and relaxing shifts not to mention it felt like it would drop out of v-tec for a moment on most shifts. The power delivery on the car was again also smooth, but if a fun driving experience is what you are after then you might want to look else where. The car also didn't feel very powerful or eager to go. It seems to back up the claims from owners that this car does about a 14.8 @ 96 mph stock. It just felt very relaxed and for me that just didn't cut it.
2. Honda Accord V6 Coupe 2 door automatic with paddle shift
This was the car I wanted to impress me the most. Reason i say this is because as much as I absolutely love driving cars with a manual trans, I think that this car "looks" like it goes better with an automatic. So naturally I was hoping for the auto with paddle shifters to offer up at least a similar level of control that the manual transmission offered. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The paddles are mounted to the steering wheel as apposed to being mounted behind the steering wheel like on the gtr or evo x. What that means is that it's a full time job to not only keep an eye on whether or not the trans actually shifted when you pressed the paddle, but also finding the proper paddle when the steering wheel is anything but straight! Then there is the next problem....shifting speed. While I realize that this is not a dual clutch trans, the shifts feel like they take at least a full second! From the time you press the upshift paddle you almost have time to read a novel. You essentially have to estimate shifts and hope you don't bang off the rev limiter. When it comes to fun factor, the car does feel a bit more nimble than the four door. Feels like the power gets to the wheels a bit more than the four door as well. Not to far off from "feeling" as powerful as the six speed manual. I guess the biggest problem was that I wanted this car to offer more control. And one more gripe about the paddle shift mode was that first gear could not be held....essentially making most stoplight exits in bottom of second gear.....terrible for powering through a corner. Unfortunately it is best to stay out of paddle mode in this one. For that reason its a pass for me.
3. 2014 Honda Accord 2 door V6 Six speed manual
Last but definitely not least is the six speed manual. Fantastic car. It offers all of the things that makes the other models really nice (interior, nav, backup camera, sun roof ect.) but with a precise clutch, smooth shifter and fun power delivery. While I did say that I wouldn't compare it to the 8th gen six speed manual car, I will mention that the 2014 didn't feel as eager as the 2012 8th gen 6-6 I drive. However there could be a few reasons for this. One the temp outside was very hot 84 degrees (Illinois) and the car was most likely running on 87 pump gas. Heat plus shit gas equals slower car. But with that being said...if you are a performance oriented buyer this should be the only choice. The shifter feels much better and more connected to the car than the 8th gen 6 speed, making this car not a bad track car. Power felt a bit better than the 2 door paddle shift auto but most of that can be attributed to the ability to hold gears and hold 1st gear to red line and shorter gearing in the manual.
I hope this review was helpful and if you guys have some questions I will gladly answer them! Over all though after considering all kinds of cars from the evo x to the wrx and all kinds of other cars im impressed that the honda accord six-six v6 is most likely my next car.
