Accord or Camary or ??? 4 cylinder or V6? Which one should you buy? There are so many nice cars out there, it's hard to tell which one is the best buy. And with cars costing so much, no one wants to find out a year down the road that they shoulda, coulda, or woulda bought something else if only they had known better.

A friend at work who has little or no automotive sense asked me if I could spend a few days helping her pick out a new car. A rather heavy responsibility, but seeing that she was "auto-illiterate", I agreed and off we went. During her search, we tried out nearly every model and nearly every 2002 make/model. After driving to at least twenty different dealers (much like going to the dentist 20 times over), she decided on an Accord.

A BIT O' HISTORY FIRST

Last year the Accord and the Camary were pretty much neck and neck sale-wise. All of the others like Mazda, Ford, and the bazillion models that GM puts out, were back in a bunched-up pack. There's a reason for that. The Accord and the Camary are noticably better cars. If it's not apparent the second that you sit down in each car, you certainly realize it after the first mile of your initial test drive. So what makes these two models better? And specifically, what are the differences in the Accord?

You may not need to know this unless you are on "The Weakest Link", but the Accord and the Camary were also number's 1 & 2 on the "cars most often stolen" list for 2001. My friend openly worried about that fact. After a few minutes of thinking, she finally summoned up a bit of courage and refused to buy a "lesser" car. I suppose that it's her way of thumbing her nose at the criminals in this world.

Since the mid 1980's, the Accord has been a great car to own. There are exceptions, of course, but hardly anyone who has ever owned an Accord has regretted it. The 2002 model certainly keeps this tradition intact.

WOW, LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE SHINY NEW CARS !!!

We had a choice between the V6 (200 hp), the 4 cyl. (150 hp), or the 4 cyl (135 hp) models. In the end (despite my persuasive suggestions to go with the V6), she chose the larger 150 horse 4 cyl. model. The $3000 price difference was just too much for her to justify. In the end, she might be right afterall.

Acceleration with the 150 hp engine is better than expected. You're not going to blow Road Runners and Mustangs off of the road, but you can still leap ahead and merge into freeway traffic easy enough so that you don't have to worry. Also, compared to the other two engine options, the smaller 4 cylinder engine just seemed to be a little more "forced" when we got up to speed. The 135 hp engine felt like it would have been more appropriate in the Civic and not the larger Accord. The V6, however, was quick and zippy. There is a huge difference in pick-up and torque between the V6 and either of the 4 cylinder engines. Once again though, it boils down to whether those extra 50 horses under the hood is worth the extra $3000 that will be flying out of your wallet (or purse - to be politically correct).

HUGGING THE GROUND

Between the Camary and the Accord I noticed a difference in handling. The Accord felt "tighter" and more "sporty". The Camary felt softer and mushier. With the Camary I felt like I was driving a Lincoln or a "spongy" Caprice. The Accord felt like it was just itching to zip in and out of traffic. Highway driving felt equal between the two cars. Both cars feel safe and secure, but if given a choice, I'd take tight sportiness over soft Un-European handling any day.

LET'S HAVE A LOOK INSIDE

The interior is alright. It's not flashy or very innovative. You're certainly not going to write home and brag to mom about your Honda's interior. Actually, I liked the Toyota's interior a little more. But really, that's more of a matter of personal preference.

Nothing is out of place or set in a way that forces you to reach half way across the car to adjust. There are places for your sun-glasses, cup holders, an extra power plug for your cell phone, and pretty much every other little extra that you might expect in a car these days.

The stereo sounded fine. But after tossing in one of her CDs and cranking it up to something like 200,000 decibels, my friend deemed it "unsatisfactory". At this point, I have to add that I am a normal man. I can listen to The Rolling Stones or to Perry Como and I am equally content. Unless something cool like "Layla" comes on the radio, my volume level stays below the halfway point. My friend, however, is into rap and that "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM" sound that just annoys the living daylights out of you when you hear it. In truth, even though the Accord came with a 6-disk CD stereo, no standard car stereo would have passed her personal taste test.

The best compliment that you could give the Accord interior is that it's a smart layout. Not particularly ugly, but not particularly exciting either. In my (humble) opinion, Honda could have done a little better in this area.

I am 6'0" and I fit into the rear seats fairly well. With the coupe model of the Accord, I had a little tougher time, but even then it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't expect to fit three hefty guys (or girls - to be politically correct) back there. They might be a little scrunched. But two adults or three kids will be no problem whatsoever.

NUTS AND BOLTS

We (she) opted for the LX model (just above the DX). Compared to the car I drive (a 1985 BMW 735), the Honda comes with everything under the sun as standard. Antilock brakes, keyless entry, CD player, airbags, nice alloy wheels, and the list goes on and on. Let's just say that with the standard packages, both the Honda and the Toyota come with everything you will ever need .

What else?..... Braking felt fine. No jerkiness in the pedal or 400 foot stopping distances. While driving, the Accord does pretty much everything that I ask it to do. There are more than enough colors to chose from (she went with black because she wants to tint the windows and look "bad" - another reason why it's odd that she didn't go with the sportier looking coupe - but who I am to tell her what to do?).

FINISHING UP

So what's the bottom line here? Well, both the Camary and the Honda are very very nice cars. I liked both a lot. I think the key factor that finally sold us on the Honda was the fact that there are bazillions of them around and yet you hardly hear a single complaint about them. Through our week of searching, we asked at least 50 people about their Honda's - we would literally stop and ask people in the parking lot - and every one had positive things to say about their Accords. (The Toyota owners weren't quite as "gushing" with their opinions). On top of that, the resale on Hondas is great. If you keep your car in halfway decent condition, you can expect to get a fair amount in return when it comes time to either trade it in or sell it outright. That might not be a concern right now, but in 5 or 6 years, that can make a $1500 to $2500 difference.

After all is said and done, you simply need to go out and try the different models for yourself. She hasn't had a single hick-up with this Accord. And in all honesty, I don't expect her to have any for a very very long time. When you think about it, how many times have you heard someone say something like that about a car? Not too many. That may be a good reason why the Accord is in the top 2 (often number 1) in sales year after year. It's just a darned good car. And after all, isn't that the kind of car that you are looking to buy?

Try the Honda Accord - you won't be disappointed. :-)


If you have found my Epinion to be helpful or even downright rotten, please feel free to leave a comment or rate my review. Thank you, DALE


Amount Paid (US$): 19,500 or so
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: LX model (150 hp 4 cyl.)