2008 Honda Accord EX-L: Easy Driver

So, would you say it is about as exciting as riding the bus?

"So, would you say it is about as exciting as riding the bus?"

Its the same size as a bus, and much worse looking.

In most of the big cities in the US, the typical drive to workplace for 99% of drivers is like this;

Get onto to a collector road, drive for about a mile or two at a frustratingly 5mp speed to the stop light. Stop. Repeat for the next few stops. Somehow get on the freeway entrance ramp. Again, get stuck in the 'Expressway' congestion. Traffic moving at 20mph, if you are lucky, and spasms of driving at 60mph for some sections,while looking out for crazed drivers weaving in and out of traffic without blinkers & hell bent on clipping your front corner. Get stuck in congestion again. Take the exit & stop at sign. Rinse & repeat in the evening.

For most of the week when your driving routine is like this, I think majority want a transportation which is Reliable, Comfortable, Good Audio system & did I mention comfortable? (As in not much road noise, not feeling the cracks & bumps of the 'excellent' city maintained potholes (oops, roads).

That's a reaason why many choose an Accord or Camry over a G8 or a Mustang.

Can you blame them?

Not everyone needs to have a vehicle that gives them an adrenaline rush. Some just need practical, reliable transportation as a daily driver and little more.

That said; there's a reason that the Accord sells so well year after year....;-)

In other words, a perfect car for grandpa. You'll get no argument from me.

If you want an adrenaline rush from Honda, one would purchase an Si or an S2000. Although the Accord does pretty well for a family sedan when it comes to the twisties, its by no means a sport sedan and it wasnt meant to be.

I'm 100% with Brent on this. Sometimes it's very "nice" to be in a very comfortable car that does just about everything right.

As much as I love my WRX, I do enjoy a break every now and then. The Accord is just such a car.

@jeger1

i think the perfect grandpa car is the toyaota avalon
is the accord still slightely more fun to drive than the camry? or has the accord become to big for that task?

I think the Accord has evolved to be much closer to the Avalon than I would like. There is a market for big, comfy, soft, did I mention big?, cruisers. It's a bit of a mis-direction to state (the very obvious) that the Accord isn't a rip-snorting, adrenaline thumping turbo rocket like an STI. Duh. Those extremes are hardly the only options.

A sporting sedan can be an entirely capable family sedan - one need not sacrifice comfort and practicality for athleticism and an engaging driving experience. Ask any 3 or 5-series owner. Or first Gen. TSX driver. The Accord makes zero effort toward sportiness - and that's fine. Lots of people will line up to buy a big comfy couch on wheels with a built in universal remote. Lots of stretch-out space and tons of buttons and knobs. I'm just not that buyer.

PS - FWIW, my Dad loves his Accord. He's in his mid-seventies and a Grandpa several times over. Care to guess what his second choice was? Yep. Avalon.

"Not everyone needs to have a vehicle that gives them an adrenaline rush. Some just need practical, reliable transportation as a daily driver and little more. "

Everyone knows this but almost every family sedan on the market can meet those criteria. If I was in the market for an Accord I would get the Sonata. Its looks no worse, gets better I-4 fuel economy and is thousands cheaper. The Accord no longer offers anything exclusive as a family sedan. The car sells so well because its one of the most established players in the market and Honda has a huge ad budget. Everytime people bring up the sales argument I mention the F150. The F150 has been the best selling pickup for decades. The current model is probably the 3rd or 4th best truck on the market and yet it's still the #1 seller because of brand strength and advertising. Most F150 buyers could care less about how the Tundra, Titan and Silverado are better in many ways than Ford's offering.

I guess I was too subtle with the bus reference:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2008/01/2007-saturn-aura-xr-better-than-the-bus-.html

"If I was in the market for an Accord I would get the Sonata."

There's some issues though. Hyundai's resale value isn't nearly as good as Honda's and the Sonata has bad crash test results. Personally, I think if the Sonata was a Honda, it would sell even more then the Accord now, if that makes sense..

How bad are the Sonata's test scores? most cars today seem to get 4 or 5 star crash ratings. Resale value is lower but the car is also much cheaper so in the end you arent losing much money. The less you finance the less you are spending on interest payments.

1487, the Sonata did pretty badly on this test from IIHS. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=572

That's pretty scary. However, I'm not sure if they changed the 2009 at all to make the crash-test results any better. For reference, here are the scores for the Aura, Accord, and Camry.

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=924
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=686
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=866

And in reference to the resale value, I'm not so sure you would make the money back. I think it depends on which model you buy etc.