I have had the Accord EX for eight years and it has never let me down but while SWMBO liked the car she hated to drive it so I decided it was time for a change.
She drives a Yaris and I wanted an SUV with 4WD so when the local Toyota dealer offered her a test drive in the RAV4 Hybrid we both tried it out but at a cost of £34 K it was a bit more than I was prepared to fork out.
To cut a long story short we ended up at the Honda dealer and tried the 2014 2.2 diesel CRV in automatic and manual and also the 1.6 later version . The 2 litre petrol is a bit underpowered for me.
We ended up with the February 2014 top of the range 2.2 EX manual with all and I mean all the extras incl panoramic sunroof and Ivory leather which I much preferred to the normal black.
The car is ex Leaseplan and has 23,500 miles on the clock and fully serviced. The car was 34K when new , on the website at £ 21450 and I bought for £19950 ( excl part ex ) and I negotiated an extra year warranty ( worth £399) over the standard 3 year .
I am currently reading the Manual which is the size of War and Peace and that is only for the Satnav Audio and Telephone system.....
The main manual is double size.
Very pleased with the deal ....
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Sounds excellent (except the manual size!) Enjoy.
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Dull aren't they, those Accords. Lively enough under the right foot, but essentially very dull. Too comfortable. I see I've had mine nearly five years now.
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The Accord had 198 bhp which was lively enough to see off the boy racers but as I get older the need for speed and noisy acceleration has diminished.
The CRV is 150 bhp , accelerates surprsingly quickly for a diesel and is onl y £ 185 tax as opposed to £280 tax.
Time will tell as to fuel economy but it should be possible to hit 40 mpg without too much trouble as well.
I will do a report three months or so down the line.
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Have to disagree with with you on that 'need for speed and acceleration '.
I'm the ( very) wrong side of 50 and covet my pals AMG A45 with 380+ horses. Borrowed my ex's Lexus IS for a few days whilst she is on holiday and the 150 horses on her 2.0 straight six petrol seem positively arthritic after my 12 yo 330.
It's probably my nteenth mid life crisis and I'm actually worried a second hand 328 Touring won't provide enough grunt.
If only I could afford a C63...
But quite a few folks I know are very happy with their CRVs so they are decent sensible motors.
Sounds like you git a great deal though... Happy motoring
Or walking in my case, tomorrow
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Having driven a lot of cars during a few years as a motoring scribe, I must admit that the Accord Tourer was one of the best vehicles I ever drove. Had everything I needed, no SUV presence, yet did everything an SUV could do spacewise... and more.
If I'd had the funds, at the time, I would have grabbed one.
For me, the ultimate long distance family car.
Could easily do 500-600 miles a day with no discomfort to any of the occupants.
I never have worked out how the SUV market nailed the 'estate' one.
Or is it macho BS?
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Am I correct in thinking that the SUV is the fastest growing segment of the car market? My immediate neighbours have a CRV x 2, Kuga, Freelander x 3, RAV4, Qashqai, Discovery, Tiguan ( his n hers) and a Peugeot thingy. That's out of twenty properties. The youngest owners are a mid 30s couple but nobody else under 50.
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They are gaining popularity as the population ages, much easier to get in and out of. And I think people get used to the high up seating position.
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Sounds like very pleasing car helicopter. I hope you enjoy owning and driving it.
On the SUV versus estate thing, I have a split view. I quite enjoy pottering about locally in my wife's SUV, and as others have said the high up seating is quite nice in terms of extending your sight lines. However, for a long journey, I prefer my bum to be closer to the road and for the practicality of loading and unloading, I prefer the lower height of the boot on an estate and the more accessible height of the roof if using a bike rack or top box.
If I'm bowling down a twisty road, the high position of an SUV can feel a bit roly poly. But I can see that they are more fashionable currently and by default look a bit more modern.
Ultimately, either works and it's down to personal preferences I guess. I'd find it hard to imagine anything being more useful to me day in day out than some form ( or any brand ) of large estate car. But then I do have quite specific needs and wants I suppose.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sat 28 May 16 at 08:28
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>> I never have worked out how the SUV market nailed the 'estate' one.
>> Or is it macho BS?
Jaguar have binned the XF Sportbrake and will not build an XE Sportbrake for that very reason. Apparently buyers are flocking to SUVs and the business model for an estate doesn't stack up.
.... which is a huge shame for me, because I'm heading for a zone where I could now buy one.
The F Pace, whilst lovely, is expensive and the boot is typical SUV and I need more than that.
tinyurl.com/hbgmo8y (link to CarsUK and statement from Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director)
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There is a potential solution WP. It comes to many of us in the end. ( the secret password is...LEC ) shhhhh...
;-)
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I have to admit that easing my considerably large frame into and more importantly getting up and out of the low lying Accord was one reason for going for an SUV along with the higher ride position and extended sight lines.
Although the Accord was extremely comfortable and had masses of luggage room it was difficult for SWMBO to drive when she had the seat forward to reach the pedals , the gears and handbrake where difficult for her to reach comfortably.
I am still going through the manuals and learning where the controls are for such things as heated mirrors and headlamp washers and how to go about resetting trips , clock , video input and USB points, Eco mode ,climate control etc....did I mention the phone setup as well?
There are three screens, large central one is betwen driver and passenger for satnav, audio , telephone and rear view camera , above that is a trip computer screen and the third trip is situated between dials behind steering wheel.
Audio, cruise control and telephone controls are all on the steering wheel so the potential for distraction or hitting the wrong button is quite high.
Filled up yesterday so trip computer advises 498 miles to go on a full tank... we shall see.
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Sounds like a good 'un.
These Hondas are growing on me. Never hear much bad about them. Only available with petrol engines here in the Antipodes though :-(
The new HRV seems to be in short supply - guess they are selling quickly too?
Think I saw a photo of the new upcoming Civic last month somewhere - very sharp.
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I have go say that Honda brand loyalty is high with me.
I have had the Civic , Saloon and Tourer Accords and also used the Legend as a company car in the Middle East.
I suppose the main thing about them me is reliability and IMO much better value than the German equivalents.
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>>and IMO much better value than the German equivalents.
But have they got Vorsprung durch Technik + man and machine in perfect harmony?
Reckon I'd rather have a Teutonic straight-six chariot myself.
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Saw a broken-down Jazz this evening on the M3.
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>> The F Pace, whilst lovely, is expensive....
That's the key to manufacturers prefering SUVs - they cost little more to make but sell for higher prices so they're massively more profitable.
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Got a new( well second hand ) motor.... - No FM2R
