2013 Honda Accord Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Best Accord I have ever owned by clay58

Driving position & visibility

The new 2013 Accord has a clean exterior with conservative styling. Not necessarily the most beautiful car but still very nice. The technology in this car is modern and up to date. Love the back-up camera, forward collision warning, and lane watch camera in the passenger mirror. Seating position can be adjusted perfectly and is very comfortable. Memory seat is a luxury feature I really love as my wife is very short and I am tall. You can see out of this car very well with no real blind spots. This car will seat 4 adults comfortably and even 5 in a pinch. Plenty of room for 3 children in the back. Trunk is just about right for a car of this size. Best Honda ever.

Powertrain performance

The 4 cylinder I chose has plenty of power but is buzzy at full acceleration. The fact that it has a cam chain instead of a belt is a big plus as it normally never needs replacment and will save you around $900 later on. The CVT transmission is different and seems to shutter at low speed when accelerating very slowly. It is not annoying but just different from a normal A/T. No reason to choose the V6 over the 4 cylinder as the little 4 banger is very peppy. The 4 cylinder is all the engine you will need in daily driving and it is cheaper to buy and gets better mileage to boot. I got 30 mpg on my very first tank of fuel driving about 50/50 city-highway. Mileage has steadily increased over time and I now am averaging around 32 mpg in 75/25 city/highway driving.

Quietness

I have owned 5 Accords and this is by far the quietist one I have ever owned. No road noise and wind noise as in my previous Accords. I am thrilled with just how quiet it is. My 2004 was very noisy with lots of tire noise until I installed a set of Yokohama Avid Touring tires. That made a huge difference and my 2004 Accord was finally a quiet car.

Materials & workmanship

The fit and finish is outstanding. Shut the door and it sounds like a luxury car. All materials are first rate and everything fits perfectly. Honda really got it right with this car and I can find no faults. Honda has always used good materials in their cars but the 2013 seems to be a step above the competition.

Past personal experience

This is my 5th Accord and if it is anything like my past experiences with Honda I will be well pleased. Honda automobiles are for the most part trouble free and when you go to trade they hold their resale value much better than most other brands. You may pay a little more for Honda as they have no rebates but when you trade after 9 years as I did you will recoup the extra you spent and more. I traded in a 2004 Accord EX with 104,000 miles on the odometer and got an allowance of $10,250 with was $1,000 over retail. You cannot get that sort of trade with just about any other make. I have also always gotten better mileage than the EPA estimate with every Accord I have owned. I expect the same with the 2013. I did drive other brands but when it came time to shell out my hard earned money I again went with Honda.

Color choices

Honda limits you on interior color choices and always have. I love a white car with a grey interior. Buy a white Accord EX-L and you have only 1 interior color choice which is tan. You cannot get grey on any other color. Honda dictates the interior color you get and it cannot be changed.

Controls and instruments

Not thrilled with the new 2013 Accord speedometer layout. Not saying it is bad but it is a bit too busy for my taste. I like a simple layout and it is not simple. Too much information there for me. The fuel mileage vacuum gauge is useful if you want to save fuel.

Powertrain performance

The CVT transmission is the best one out there but it is not perfect. Shutters are low speed under very light acceleration.

Safety & braking

I have found that I really detest the low beam headlights on the 2013 Accord. On bright they work perfectly and are as good as any car I have ever owned. But on dim it is a different story. It is hard to explain what you see on dim. In essence, you cannot see above a clearly defined line. Below the line; light, above the line; total darkness. When the lights are on dim you simply cannot see very far down the road. It is as though on dim there is a blinder on the upper portion of the headlight.The low beam headlights do not illuminate enough to read normal street and information signs nor to see an object, person, or anything that might cross your path very far down the road. Luckily I do very little night driving.

Warranty, maintenance cost

Honda should offer a better power-train warranty than the 3/36 they now offer. A 5/50 mile warranty should be standard.

Past personal experience

I have owned 5 Accords. A 1989, 1995, 2003, 2004, and now this 2013. This is by far the best of the bunch. I had no problems with any of my Accords except the 2004. The transmission failed at 73,000 miles. Although the car was out of warranty Honda paid $2,500 of the $3,500 costs of repair. I was out $1,000 but well pleased with how Honda dealt with me on this.

As the owner of 5 Honda Accords I can assure you that you will never regret choosing an Accord. One of the very best reasonably priced cars you can buy.