2008 Honda Accord: Tap Test 2 (and 3!)

This is the Aura. Draw your own conclusions, here were my initial thoughts.

Honda Accord

The Accord's center console is much sturdier than the Aura and a little more so than the Fusion. As you can hear, there is a little squeak that emanates from the gear selector, but there's practically no movement (you can only hear the squeek when pushing hard on the console). Also as you'll notice, I slammed on the thing several times to show I wasn't babying the thing. The Accord's dash-top is a little hit or miss, though. The lower squishy bit isn't as squishy as the Fusion or Aura, and the top is fairly cheap. It's smooth, though, unlike the Aura's more coarse surfacing of its lower plastics.

Ford Fusion SEL with Sport Appearance Package

I say the Fusion is the winner here. There's a little more console movement than in the Accord, but in total, I thought all its materials were of a consistantly high quality. The upper and lower dash, for instance, is squishy and it's the squishiest of all three cars. (This is officially the most I've ever written the word "squishy"). Our Altima features similar quality, but I think our five-speed Fusion looks better - with the exception of its old "brick" stereo head unit and power wheels gauges.

So there you have it, although I doubt this ends here.

James Riswick, Associate Editor @ 7,541 miles.