Thinking of getting an accord...

I currently drive a 1996 Ford taurus LX with the 3.0l dohc engine with slightly less than 60k on the odo. In the past 5k or so, my car has started to drink oil (800-900ish miles per quart) and have loud tapping noises at idle. I have the ford's esp, and the dealer keeps telling me everything is normal. Even if I do end up getting a new engine, etc, I'm sick of dealing with ford and would prefer not having to worry of waht will break down next. I'm thinking of just selling this car, and getting a different one.

Knowing that accords last forever (I hope), I have begun to consider one seriously. I was thinking more along the lines of a 2002 or earlier year (but some body style) sedan with a manual trans. I've never driven a manual trans before, but these auto slush boxes drive me nuts. I commute to college, so I do about 30 miles a day, so a good gas milage wont hurt either. I was wondering is there anything I should be looking out for?

Pretty much the only options I really must have are:

vtec, manual trans, 4 wheen disc brakes, abs, moon roof, power locks, power windows, and power mirrors.
I prefer the dark blue, but I've noticed all teh colors are nice and are very glossy.

I've seen a few accords with steering wheel audio controls, I was curious if any of those would hook up to an aftermarket deck. Also, I was wondering how good is the 6 disc changer which comes with some of the EX-L models (that's all I see on the used lots with a stick). I currently have an mtx 5 channel amp, image dynamics idq 10" sub which I would liek to take out of my taurus and put into any new car I would get. Is the quality on the in dash 6 disc changer good enough to run high low converters, etc to feed signal to this amp (I kept the stock hu in my car because no one makes a kit, just curiuos if I can live without buying an aftermarket hu).


Sorry for keeping this long. Thanks in advance for any tips, suggestions, or opinions.

-Sunil

Oh yeah, just curious, does anyone have any performance data on teh cyl vtec, manual trans accord? 0-60, 1/4th, shallom, skid pad, etc....

[ebpda9]

well for what you want there is only one accord for you EX. that has all the goodies, and they range from 125hp (90-93) to 140 (94-97) and 150hp (98-02). i don't know about the other numbers but i tell you the car handles very very nice, and the ride is smooth as hell.

[TeriyakiBroccoli]

I would have absoutely no idea bout anything concerning accords, I'm just here as a post whore.

They are uber sexy tho. (Later models... take a look at accordinstyle's a..ccord.)

oooooooo man.....

1993 se only homie......4 or 2 door, leather and all that....you won't be sorry!!!

[ifeldwn02]

i've got a 99 4 door exl so i got all the goodies in it. i do have to say that i love the car but its an auto. the car has the room and the style just needs more power it tops at 135.

Thanks for the post fellaz. I had talked to my parents a few days ago and they pretty much said that drive the car until it dies, then ford has to fix it under my extended warranty. If worse comes to worse, I'll get my dad's 2001 maxima (im happy enough with the accord, but the maxima will set me over the line in terms of happiness) but I dont know if that will actually happen or not.

I test drove an automatic 4 cyl vtec 2001 accord. That thing had more pep off the line than I expected (better feel than my car had). Feels a little different than my car which has no pep off the line then comes alive after 4k. But that's v6 versus 4 cyl, so I guess there is no point comparing.

Sunil,

In a way I'd say I'm sorry to hear you've gotta keep the Ford, but a 2001 Maxima is definitely a nice potential prize.

To answer some of your questions anyways, though. As was said the EX is your only option for what you want. The EX-L is just an LEV model with slightly less power (140 or 145 iirc). I'm not sure about the audio controls, but it's my guess that they're only compatible with the factory system. For 6th gens I think the audio controls are either only available on leather or V6, it's one of those. I'm not sure if they're available on cloth interior EX's with 4 bangers.

I wouldn't exactly call the ride super smooth or say the 6th gens handle great, though. I've got one and I think it doesn't handle that well at all, at least not stock. The stock Michelin MXV4 tires that come on the 4's blow goats. Tires are the first thing that must be upgraded for any decent performance IMO....but better tires with stiffer sidewalls will make the ride a little rougher. The body rolls quite a bit too, at least stock. So to get much good performance you're looking at a drop and at least some new tires with maybe some other suspension work.

Or maybe Stefan was referring to how they handle in comparison to other year models???? I dunno, but I guess after driving A4's, IS300's, and 330i's my definition of handling is a little different.

b