DWilliamson5002

Semi-upgrade F to YF I picked up at RIC. Never see any Honda's at Hertz. This was a HLE vehicle from a NOVA Honda Dealer. Had the Dealer Markings on the plate from and truck lid.

Honda.com - 2007 Honda Accord EX

It was a standard EX 4cyl automatic with the wheel locks in the trunk. MSRP : $23,999

Powertrain : The Accord comes standard with a 2.4L 166hp/160 ft/lbs of torque 4cyl engine. I thought is was a V6 until I checked further into it. The engine and the 5 speed auto tranny work perfect together! Had plenty of power when i needed it. EPA is 24 city and 34 highway. I have averaged about 32mpg.

Grade : B+

Ride and Handling : The Accord has good handling for a sedan, nothing to write home about. The disc brakes were quite good. The sound is very quite for a 4 cyl sedan. This is not a sporty machine by no means, but a decent mix of smooth and sporty.

Grade : C-

Interior : The interior has a wonderful fit and finish as does any Honda. The audio system sounded good for a base system. Had the 6 disc in dash changer. It had no power seats on either side. The shift lever had no shift lock in D it moved very easy to N or D3. The seats were not very comfortable to me either. The kinda integrated audio/climate controls kept thowing me for a loop. Try to turn up the volume and end up blasting the AC. Nice touch with the sliding top center console for elbows. BEST cupholders ever!

Grade : C+

Design : Typical conservative Honda looks. LED tail lights are a nice touch on the back. Wish it stood auto a little more with a bolder look. Interior had the always bright gauges. The car has some of the BEST cup holders i have ever seen (want to say it again!). The overall look is nice inside but still just vanilla.

Grade : C+

Other Stuff : Mine had sticky glue stuff all over the car from where they never took the factory wrapping off properly. The car just had the extra key and valet key just thrown in the glove box. I guess this is just middle of the road for the YF class since some have leather, roof, and upgraded engine.

I give this vehicle a C overall. Nice change up from the Impala/Taurus/Camry/Grand Prix.

PROS

CUPHOLDERS
Gas Mileage
Nice Ride

CONS

Uncomfortable Seats
No power seats (says it should have them but no)
Just to plain inside and out

SpeedRicer

Nice review. ^ I especially agree about the engine -- Honda really knows how to make great four-cylinder motors that manage to be powerful and economical.

I had an LX model a while ago at TPA, but it seems like quite a few Hondas (especially Accords and Odysseys) seem to show up every now and then at various locations -- must be good fleet buys from the local dealerships. The Accord (and Camry for that matter) should be really be a YC or YD instead of fullsize, but I guess that's because they cost more.

Beckles

It has nothing to do with cost, the current Accord and Camry are full-size cars, I'm not sure on what basis you would think they weren't unless maybe you think full-size cars must have at least a V-6?

Wilbur

Very interesting report. I had no idea that Honda Corporate allowed sales to rental fleets these days.

I also wouldn't consider the Accord or Camry to be full size cars. They are mid-sized, aren't they?

DWilliamson5002

It was an HLE vehicle from Hendrick Honda. I dont think that they are put into "mainline" Hertz lots. It had HLE stickers in the 2 back windows and the windshield. It had Hendrick Honda plate frames and dealer decal on the truck. It was a one way from the dealer to RIC i am guessing.

Nice but the Milan V6 is still my favorite F sedan to get.

SpeedRicer

The EPA still considers them midsize cars on the basis of volume:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bycla...Cars2007.shtml

They're pretty large, but not Impala or 500-sized (that's really more the Avalon anyway). In terms of cost, I mean that since they are not common fleet purchases, their transaction prices are higher, which means they end up costing the same as larger cars, which is why they get classed into F.

SpeedRicer

Interesting, the Accord I had out of TPA had Florida plates, but also had a Hendrick Honda sticker (they're out of NC, right?). Maybe that particular dealerships has good fleet deals?

DWilliamson5002

They have 4 Hendrick Honda's, one outside of DC, one outside Charlotte, and two in South Carolina.

I was about to say if it wasnt for the FL tags we may have had the same car. I was from our Hendrick Honda in VA. I recognized the logo and the plate said Woodbridge, VA

Beckles

The EPA also rates the Cadillac STS and Lexus LS 460L (stretched LS) as mid-size, so I'm not going to put a lot of stock in their ratings. Looking at the EPA's passenger volume, the "full-size" Impala is 105 cubic feet and the 500 is 108 cubic feet, while the "mid-size" Camry (which to me feels bigger than either of those vehicles on the inside) is at 101 cubic feet and the Accord is at 103 cubic feet. They're all within spitting distance size-wise and better packaging can easily make one much more usefully larger than the others (as I personally believe the Camry is).

SpeedRicer

Well, the STS is a 5-Series/E-Class competitor, so I don't see why it wouldn't make sense for it to be a midsize. The LS460L and Continental Flying Spur are indeed anomalies, but I believe it's because they have smaller trunks (presumeably due to rear climate control units) than most other large cars. It's not always the most logical, but the EPA guidelines are often used for car comparisons in the market.

The problem IMO lies in the growing size of today's family sedans -- they've gotten large enough to the point where they straddle both the midsize and large classes. The Camry and Accord are larger than ever before, but so is the Sonata, and that's still a midsize by Hertz standards and a large car by EPA standards. The Avalon/Impala/Azera-type cars don't have significantly more room than their cheaper siblings.

Jacob2680

Then what would a Corolla (Hertz Midsize) be?

DWilliamson5002

That is a compact all the way! Just like a Civic and Focus and Cobalt.

A midsize to me is a G6, 6, Aura, Malibu, and a few more clones

nwaaok

After reading your review, I have to comment on a few things. Mine, like yours, was also an EX model, with the 4 banger. Likewise, mine was a dealer rental (Auto Way Honda, Clearwater) but only had 1100 miles on it at pickup (returned with about 1000 more!). Anyways, VERY impressed with overall performance and fuel economy out of the motor. It gets up and goes when you want it to, and is relaxed and efficient on the highway. Brakes were fairly bad, at a 50% pressure, they would create excess noise and shake the vehicle from side to side. Interior was excellent as we've come to expect from Honda but the seats were absolute crap. After a 3 hour ride, I felt nearly crippled. Overall, it is indeed a welcomed change from the normal F cars, but under certain conditions, I might fight to get a different F....

gatemando

great recap! I am planning on reviewing this car as a possibility for my daughter...need safe, reliable transportation.

Beckles

I had an Accord EX this weekend with Georgia plates on it that I got from my local HLE, and just wanted to point out that it had an iPod adapter in the glovebox that we found useful for our 400+ miles of driving over the weekend.