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Auto Profile: 2002 Honda Accord EX V6
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| One of America's favorites can be surprisingly fun to drive |
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| Updated |
Mar 17, 2005 19:41:50 |
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 115 ( -18 -15.65% ) | | Author | Phil Ruth |
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Description:
It's hard to go wrong with a Honda Accord. All together now: Accords are roomy, comfortable, quiet, well assembled, reliable and durable. They're also good investments. According to the latest figures from Kelley Blue Book, the 2001 Accord has held 99.6 percent of its original dealer cost. Bet there's something you didn't know about the Accord, though. The base four-cylinder engine can be a gas to drive. All the high-revving sweetness that Honda engineered into its famous VTEC engines is present and accounted for in the Accord. We tested an EX Coupe five-speed and found ourselves screeching up exit ramps like teenaged hooligans.
Of course, the Accord will remind you in those scenarios that its first order of business is comfortable transportation. Kick it into a corner, and the front tires will heel over and run wide, howling all the way.
Still, though, with a little practice, the Accord can be coaxed into satisfying the Speed Racer in all of us. Once the limits of the all-season tires were respected, our EX Coupe could hurtle itself along at speed that would make a Taurus or a Camry feel cumbersome. While the Accord's suspension is tuned for a smooth ride, its double-wishbone construction comes straight out of Honda's race cars, so there's absolutely no untoward pitch or wallow at high speeds.
The 2.0-liter engine does its part to encourage a devil-may-care attitude. The real power seems to surge up at 5000 rpm, and the engine note gets happier the higher you rev it. The shifter also gets an A+ for short throws and unparalleled slickness. All of this goads you on to wring out the Accord for all its worth.
On those days when you'd rather settle back, though, the EX Coupe is soft and accommodating. Our car came with an especially convenient six-disc, in-dash CD changer that fell directly to hand above the shifter. Bins and cubbyholes dotted the interior, and the driving position was nearly ideal. The seats were at once supportive and cushy, and headroom was plentiful even with the standard power moonroof. It's the class act you'd expect an Accord to be.
And that's the beauty of the EX Coupe 5-speed. Pull up at your house of your significant other's parents, and you'll win kudos for your quiet maturity. Little would they know just how much fun you'd be having when no one was watching.
- By Phil Ruth
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