Sorry folks, my review is about 2 months late.
Its been one year 22k miles later and sad to say there is nothing to report. Sorry folks its a boring car. It starts every morning and gets me to work and gets me back home. I take it on trips and it gets me back. It gets good gas mileage on those trips, about 33 MPG. I average about 26 in Los Angeles traffic grind. It’s a new car; I expect that after just fewer than 23K it should be relatively trouble free. If you had any big issues now is a good time to GTFO.
3 Oil changes, 1 tire rotation, 1 drain and fill, and 1 cabin air filter. Basic maintenance.
Okay the big question often asked to V6 owners, VCM. Really, its no big deal. All this talk about vibration issues is purely overblown. If anything I have a bigger issue with EPS making steering feel numb.
I’m surprised how little talk there is about the 9th gen switching over to McPherson struts. I guess it isn’t such a big deal after all. I thought the double wishbone was one of the selling points. Yes, if I push the car really hard, it does seem like the cornering limits are not as good as the TL-S or the 6th gen EX-L V6. That probably has more to do with the tires, although the 6th gen had some pretty sad looking tires on it, but it did corner better than my 9th. I’m sure that factored in when Honda decided to retire the V6.
What do I like?
V6 engine: Hard to beat smoothness and power of V6 engine. The “obsolete” J series will go on for years as it’s a proven design. Now transmissions are a different story.
Good fuel economy. I can’t complain, I went from 19 MPG on Premium to 26 MPG on regular.
Lanewatch, interestingly I like it. Others seem to think BSM is better or just hate on lanewatch.
What do I dislike?
Transmission gear hunting. With modern cars geared purely for fuel economy, this might happen some when slowing down. It almost feels like the car is on the brink of the engine lugging.
Tires: The OEM Michelins squeal a bit too much for my liking and I am not a fan of 215s. I would have preferred a wider tire as standard. I will replace these with a better tire once these wear out next year.
Brakes, I think I would have preferred the beefed up ones on the Sport or Touring models.
What am I am not sure if it’s a like or dislike?
EPS while it does make the steering numb it does make the car easier to drive at low speeds and in parking lots. It’s a lot more linear and consistent.
Audio system, I prefer to use USB sticks for my music. I was a bit annoyed at first that CDs were gone from most cars (yes, the Accord has one) but now I am I am able to put all of my CDs on 1 stick. Nice. Now it has the occasional glitch or two, still thought a call was going on when hang up failed, went into test mode, gets stuck on AM radio channel but turning off car and restarting system fixes this and it might happen about once in two months. Makes me wonder about the long term reliability of the system and I hate to think how much it will cost to fix. Talk about lack of a physical volume knob or tuning knob is a bit overblown too. Once I have the stations set I don’t need a tuning knob. I guess it’s a big deal if you review cars. Volume control is done on the steering wheel.
(end of review)
How did I decide on the Honda Accord EX-L V6 2017?
Replace 2002 Acura TL-S
Car was over 15 years old and over 200K. Both are my trigger points to replace it. That is usually the time when cost of keeping it running is often not worth it and it’s a good idea to start looking. At least start doing research.
Goal in mind was to replace car with something smaller, lighter, more fun to drive and more fuel efficient. Typical drive was mostly highway in Los Angeles commute grind. Prefer 4 door Sedan vehicle as they are typically the cheapest to insure and I dislike SUV like vehicles.
That put smaller compact vehicles such as the Mazda 3 and Civic on the top of my list first. After test drives of those vehicles and comparing them to my nearly 16 year old TL-S, I didn’t consider them good enough as replacements. I preferred my old car even with 200K miles on it.
Decided I would try larger heavier cars such as Mazda 6, Honda Accord Sport and Lexus IS 250. I didn’t like any of them. I liked the AT transmission and engine on the Mazda 6, the ride and handling on the Honda Accord Sport and well the Lexus IS is RWD….if only I can combine the 3.
Now I had to start looking at alternatives that I wasn’t considering. A friend was hyping up a Hyundai Elantra. OK, what do I have to lose at this point? It has a normal 6 AT. The car drove much better than Hyundais of the past, but the Torsion bar rear suspension made it unacceptable over bad pavement. If this is the 3rd best compact car on the market no need to test drive anything else.
Considered a Miata, I sat in it. Yes, I fit. This car would be awesome until I had to move more than myself. Considering most of my commute is straight lines how much would I really make use of this car’s athletic ability? Not much. I knew darn well if I test drove it, I would do something silly like buy it and hate myself later.
Started looking at some CPO alternatives, TSX, TL, BMW 320/328, Infiniti G37/Q50, Lexus IS/ES some interesting deals but I see how much folks abuse their vehicles. I prefer new. ES350, the steering on that car is so numb I didn’t need to drive it more than ½ mile to decide nope.
Torque converter failed on the TL-S on the way to work so my hand was forced. Mazda 3, 10th gen Honda Civic EX-L, Acura TLX and Honda Accord Sport were the alternates but V6 feel and normal Automatic transmission won out in the end. There was also a good forum community on Honda Accords which was also a factor in my decision.
Its been one year 22k miles later and sad to say there is nothing to report. Sorry folks its a boring car. It starts every morning and gets me to work and gets me back home. I take it on trips and it gets me back. It gets good gas mileage on those trips, about 33 MPG. I average about 26 in Los Angeles traffic grind. It’s a new car; I expect that after just fewer than 23K it should be relatively trouble free. If you had any big issues now is a good time to GTFO.
3 Oil changes, 1 tire rotation, 1 drain and fill, and 1 cabin air filter. Basic maintenance.
Okay the big question often asked to V6 owners, VCM. Really, its no big deal. All this talk about vibration issues is purely overblown. If anything I have a bigger issue with EPS making steering feel numb.
I’m surprised how little talk there is about the 9th gen switching over to McPherson struts. I guess it isn’t such a big deal after all. I thought the double wishbone was one of the selling points. Yes, if I push the car really hard, it does seem like the cornering limits are not as good as the TL-S or the 6th gen EX-L V6. That probably has more to do with the tires, although the 6th gen had some pretty sad looking tires on it, but it did corner better than my 9th. I’m sure that factored in when Honda decided to retire the V6.
What do I like?
V6 engine: Hard to beat smoothness and power of V6 engine. The “obsolete” J series will go on for years as it’s a proven design. Now transmissions are a different story.
Good fuel economy. I can’t complain, I went from 19 MPG on Premium to 26 MPG on regular.
Lanewatch, interestingly I like it. Others seem to think BSM is better or just hate on lanewatch.
What do I dislike?
Transmission gear hunting. With modern cars geared purely for fuel economy, this might happen some when slowing down. It almost feels like the car is on the brink of the engine lugging.
Tires: The OEM Michelins squeal a bit too much for my liking and I am not a fan of 215s. I would have preferred a wider tire as standard. I will replace these with a better tire once these wear out next year.
Brakes, I think I would have preferred the beefed up ones on the Sport or Touring models.
What am I am not sure if it’s a like or dislike?
EPS while it does make the steering numb it does make the car easier to drive at low speeds and in parking lots. It’s a lot more linear and consistent.
Audio system, I prefer to use USB sticks for my music. I was a bit annoyed at first that CDs were gone from most cars (yes, the Accord has one) but now I am I am able to put all of my CDs on 1 stick. Nice. Now it has the occasional glitch or two, still thought a call was going on when hang up failed, went into test mode, gets stuck on AM radio channel but turning off car and restarting system fixes this and it might happen about once in two months. Makes me wonder about the long term reliability of the system and I hate to think how much it will cost to fix. Talk about lack of a physical volume knob or tuning knob is a bit overblown too. Once I have the stations set I don’t need a tuning knob. I guess it’s a big deal if you review cars. Volume control is done on the steering wheel.
(end of review)
How did I decide on the Honda Accord EX-L V6 2017?
Replace 2002 Acura TL-S
Car was over 15 years old and over 200K. Both are my trigger points to replace it. That is usually the time when cost of keeping it running is often not worth it and it’s a good idea to start looking. At least start doing research.
Goal in mind was to replace car with something smaller, lighter, more fun to drive and more fuel efficient. Typical drive was mostly highway in Los Angeles commute grind. Prefer 4 door Sedan vehicle as they are typically the cheapest to insure and I dislike SUV like vehicles.
That put smaller compact vehicles such as the Mazda 3 and Civic on the top of my list first. After test drives of those vehicles and comparing them to my nearly 16 year old TL-S, I didn’t consider them good enough as replacements. I preferred my old car even with 200K miles on it.
Decided I would try larger heavier cars such as Mazda 6, Honda Accord Sport and Lexus IS 250. I didn’t like any of them. I liked the AT transmission and engine on the Mazda 6, the ride and handling on the Honda Accord Sport and well the Lexus IS is RWD….if only I can combine the 3.
Now I had to start looking at alternatives that I wasn’t considering. A friend was hyping up a Hyundai Elantra. OK, what do I have to lose at this point? It has a normal 6 AT. The car drove much better than Hyundais of the past, but the Torsion bar rear suspension made it unacceptable over bad pavement. If this is the 3rd best compact car on the market no need to test drive anything else.
Considered a Miata, I sat in it. Yes, I fit. This car would be awesome until I had to move more than myself. Considering most of my commute is straight lines how much would I really make use of this car’s athletic ability? Not much. I knew darn well if I test drove it, I would do something silly like buy it and hate myself later.
Started looking at some CPO alternatives, TSX, TL, BMW 320/328, Infiniti G37/Q50, Lexus IS/ES some interesting deals but I see how much folks abuse their vehicles. I prefer new. ES350, the steering on that car is so numb I didn’t need to drive it more than ½ mile to decide nope.
Torque converter failed on the TL-S on the way to work so my hand was forced. Mazda 3, 10th gen Honda Civic EX-L, Acura TLX and Honda Accord Sport were the alternates but V6 feel and normal Automatic transmission won out in the end. There was also a good forum community on Honda Accords which was also a factor in my decision.
