This review is a part of the Fluff Chick Write-Off hosted by Madyl.

Most of these writers are well-known for writing about "girly" items, such as beauty products, but have decided to express their creativity in a slightly different subject category!

Participants include: bops_mom, chrisceb, zzjulia, shantel575, MADYL, kminer, melissasrn, jaclynl, SHeineman, hollegolightle, and dragonfire88


My New Accord

It was a sad moment for me, the day I realized I was an adult. True, I was 26 years old with a real job. An attorney, at that. And bills, I had real bills. I was also the very proud owner of a 1992 Mazda MX-3, v6, stick shift. Baby was her name. I loved my little car. But alas, my baby failed me. She broke down one day, and that's when I decided it was time for a more reliable car because I drive so much for my job. I conned my Dad into buying her so she could at least stay in the family where she could be loved and cared for.

Off this girly-girl went to shop for a car, with a big bright "sucker" sign plastered to her forehead. I wanted a 4-door so I could easily haul my two dogs around. *Sob*, a grown-up car. That lead me off to the usual suspects: the Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry, the Mazda 626, and the Volkswagen Jetta. I kept hearing all these stories: my Honda has 200,000 miles on it. My Honda is 13 years old and hasn't spent a day in the shop. Since I am basically a car idiot, that sounded pretty good and the Accord it was. A test drive or two, and I was sold.

And, it's almost always on any list of best cars I see!

The Models

With the Accord, you have a number of different model options in both the 4-door sedan and 2-door coupe. The Dx is a basic stripped down model, too stripped down for me. The Ex is the more luxurious leather interior, etc. model. There's even a SE, special edition for 2002. I went with the mid-level LX sedan, the Accord's most popular model. I also chose the 4 cylinder engine over the v6 because the v6 is quite a bit more expensive (we're talking thousands here).

Even a fluff chick does her research...

The Accord LX model has a SOHC 16-valve 2.3-liter 4-in-line, 150 hp engine.

Huh?

For car buffs, skip this part. For anyone else, here is what these random numbers and letters mean to me. My little Mazda was a v6, stick shift. She would go really really fast and accelerate really really fast. My Accord is a 4 cylinder automatic. She does not go as fast or accelerate as quickly. When I push the gas way down, she makes a little noise getting up to her speed. However, it is not a problem. She does accelerate quickly enough for my use and for most people's needs. I don't have problems passing cars on the highway or various things like that.


Would it be a fluff chick review unless I mentioned the color? I picked out silver. I love it. It's a light, sparkly color that if *only* I could find an eyeshadow to match, I'd be in heaven. It also comes in the usual black, deep blue, beige, hunter green, and white. The interior of gray or beige depends on your exterior color but my silver car has a lovely gray interior. The interior fabric is plush and comfortable.

I love the style of the Accord. When reading reviews on epinions, I found that a common complaint was how the Accord's style changes only slightly even during design changes. To me, that's okay. It's like a black cashmere sweater...it will never look dated.

The Comfort Level

I do have some difficulty with cars because of my height. I'm only 4'11 and some cars can be nearly impossible to adjust the seats for a comfortable fit. The Accord is quite comfortable for me. It's roomy but lets me reach the pedals. The adjustable steering wheel easy moves into the position I need, and the seats adjust comfortably. Automatic seat adjustments are available on the models but I did not get those.

The ride is very smooth. I have no complaints whatsoever about the smoothness of the ride. It is also quiet. It's not as quiet as my parent's Camry while out on the road but it's not as bad as my little Mazda! If accelerating quickly, it is a bit noisy but once you get to your speed, even if that speed is pretty fast, it's generally quiet.

It handles easily. Because of my job, I do a lot of driving in southeastern Kentucky (the horrid Mountain Parkway). The roads are curvy and hilly, and the Accord handles them beautifully. While it's no sports car, it is fun to drive. It's peppy enough for my needs, even with the smaller 4-cylinder engine.

The Interior

As I mentioned above, the interior is comfortable. The cruise control is located on the steering wheel for easy reach. There are a couple of cupholder between the shift and the console. The console itself has one deep compartment for CDs, etc., and a more shallow compartment for papers, etc. There is a sunglasses holder right by the rearview mirror. I am SO into that!

The backseat is roomy and comfortable (with more cupholders in a pull down middle armrest). The first weekend I had it, my Dad came down and I was relegated to the backseat as he was always driving and my brother was always in the passenger seat.

This car can seat 5 people comfortably.


Gas Mileage

The LX model claims to get 25 miles per gallon in town and 30 highway. On the highway, I easily get 30-31 miles per gallon. In town however, I have only been getting about 20 mile per gallon. I attibute this to the major stop and go traffic I drive in town in everyday. In my town, I can't seem to go more than two blocks without getting stuck at a red light. The gas tank holds slightly over 17 gallons.


Sticker Price

The sticker price of a Accord LX, not including any options, is $20,130. One thing I found is that Honda dealers don't seem to have a lot of room to work on the price. I morally refuse to pay sticker price and was able to get him down but I've seen my Dad and grandfather buy other makes for invoice or even less. That was not happening here. With the economy slumping a couple of months later, you may have better luck.

For this sticker, it is relatively well loaded...cruise, power locks and windows, CD player, driver and passenger airbags. Side impact airbags and anti-lock brakes are extra. Also, the remote keyless entry was not standard on the LX model. The dealer advised me to have it installed for less somewhere else as they charge around $300 at the dealer.

Warranty

The Accord comes standard with a 3-year 36,000 mile warranty with upgrades available at various costs. I did decide to upgrade my warranty. Their extended warranty plan covers the same basics as their regular warranty (parts, service, etc.) plus adds a nice feature with roadside assistance (Honda's version of AAA). I felt that this service alone would replace AAA for me, and this is something that I do want to carry on my car because of the amount of driving I do throughout some really small and rural areas through work.

My extended warranty is 5-years, 100,000 miles. I'll probably hit 100,000 miles well before 5-years at this rate though! It added only an additional $795 to my car.

And how can I forget

A fluff chick's most important feature. Lighted mirrors in both front seat visors!!!

Overall...

I have been very pleased with my Accord. I love that it will be a reliable car for me, and I love that it holds its resale value well. I love the looks, I love the feel. I've been so pleased with this car. I already have over 6000 miles on it in just a couple of months, and I full expect my Accord will last for years to come.

Honda.com

Honda has a fun website, honda.com, where you can read more specs concerning this model and *design* your own. I did this a lot of times before I bought my car. Fortunately, I was able to go in as an educated fluff chick and not get taken too easily when buying my first car!


Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this review. I promise you, it is SO much easier to write about lipstick! :)




Amount Paid (US$): 20130
Condition: New
Model and Options: LX