1998-2002

Honda Accord

Always a favorite with young families, over the years the Accord grew with it’s customers while still attracting new converts. This 6^th generation example pushed that mission further, while still retaining the sportiest driving characteristics of it's market segment. 

What's Available

There are two body styles available: a coupe and a 4-door sedan.  Both come in three trim levels: DX, LX, and the top of the line EX.  A station wagon, which had been offered since 1991, was dropped.  You’ll find one of two engines in these Accords, a 2.3 liter  four cylinder or a 200hp, 3.0 liter V6.  Both are SOHC, 4V (single overhead cam, 4-valves per cylinder) designs.  A 4-speed automatic was optional on 4cyl Accords, all of which sported a 5-speed manual as standard equipment.  V6 equipped models came only with the automatic.

Exterior

The Accord sedan is very conservatively styled – a true three box affair.  Perhaps the new coupe had something to do with the conservative styling of the sedan.  Previous coupes had been merely 2-door versions of the sedans, this time it boasted a completely differently styled coupe with a design that shared no sheetmetal with the sedan.  Somehow, though, that too came off very pleasant, but somewhat dull.

Interior

Honda has always been a class leader when it came to interior design.   That’s true for all it’s vehicles, not just the Accord.  This Accord is no exception.  Everything fits well, nothing clashes and even the DX looks far richer than it’s price would suggest.  Nothing fancy, mind you, just an overall impression of quality.  The crisp feel of all the controls adds to the feeling.

There is also a great deal of storage space in the cabin.  Bins, pockets, a large glove box, and cup holders will hold your stuff.

Room/Comfort

This Accord is substantially larger – on the inside – than any previous version.  Still, it’s less than an inch longer and 50lbs heavier than the model it replaced.  All the increases were achieved through lighter weight materials and more efficient design.  It’s the Honda Way and they are better at it than anyone.

As usual, the front seats are generously padded, firm and supportive.  The big improvement is in the rear.  Three adults can sit in reasonable comfort, a first for the Accord despite the previous claims of the marketing folks.  Two adults have ample room, with headroom, legroom and shoulder room all squarely in mid-size territory.  Even the coupe can fit two in the rear without having to pull off any yoga moves.

Ride/Handling/Performance

During its four year run, no vehicle in its market segment put these three driving characteristics together better than the Accord.  Handling is direct, responsive and imparts confidence at all speeds. The ride is compliant, yet at higher speeds it still keeps a measure of control lacking in the butter smooth Camry.

Acceleration with the 4-cylinder is amazingly brisk.  The six is faster, of course, but not as much as you would expect.

We drove automatic and manual 4-cylinder sedans, and a V6 coupe.  All were still impressively tight, even the 5-speed with 116,000 miles (admittedly, 116,000 very well card for miles!).  There were no rattles, no funny noises, no “loosey goosey” feeling.  It wasn’t, of course, showroom tight, but it had aged much better than most cars of this vintage.

Honda road noise was prevalent in all.  At idle Honda’s are very quiet, but at speed they do allow a fair amount of road and wind noise in.  We’d say they are no better than mid pack in this area – at best.

This Accord breaks with most other Honda’s by getting the driver and passengers up off the floor.  There’s good visibility all around, too.

Safety

ABS brakes were optional on LX 4-cylinder models, standard on EX and V6 models.  An optional front side curtain air bag system complemented the dual front bags. 

Government crash tests of Accords resulted in four stars for both the driver and front passenger, with a good, but not great, showing overall.

Reliability/Service

Accords are known for their reliability and longevity.  All is not perfect here, though.  There have been issues with the automatic transmission, particularly when mated to the V6.  There have also been sporadic problems with the ECM (Engine Control Module), the black box that controls the interaction of the drivetrain.

Brakes are a service area on Honda’s that seem to require a bit more attention than most cars.  Perhaps it’s because Honda drivers drive a bit more enthusiastically!

Recommendations

Accords have built their reputation over a long period – longer than any mid-size sedan, including the Camry.  While other companies constantly change model names, size, and mission, the Accord has always tried to provide reasonable room in a reasonable sized package for families.  As a bonus, it has been the best all-around performer during most of those years, with near top of the class reliability.  It’s a winner any way you slice it.