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Comments
Go to edmunds price for invoice and add $700.
DEaler still gets 3% holdback on top of that.
INKy
5030,
My splash guards come tomorrow but On instructions I say on line, no drilling is ever required as far as I know. will check.
The 03 guards are short and basically a waste of money but too late for me.
INKY
Have you found a need/use for the dealer-installed sunroof visor on the 03's?
Appears that the sunroofs on the 03s already have wind-deflecting ridges built-in. Was this the case with 02s as well?
Ralph
INKY
Ordered my EX-V6 last week. It will be in the dealers October shipment. He (salesman) checked with the parts dept. The mirrors will be available in 15 days (from 9/26). They are putting one in my sedan. May seem like a small detail but if you have ever driven a car with one, you will always want it.
First was the EX V-6 and then the EX 4 Cylinder – 5 Speed
The V6 was very powerful, almost too much on the slightly wet roads. The car was very quite. The leather seats were extremely comfortable and the new instrument clusters are well thought out
At first the 4-Cylnder seemed like a dog at first especially after the V-6 but by the end of the test drive it felt fine. The Stick has a wonderful solid feel with wonderful short throws
As others have commented, I did feel that the dash was quite high and the windows seems smaller then the earlier generations. I also felt I had less head room then my current 93
I will definitely get the Leather Interior but still not decided on which engine. I really love a manual transmission and the price difference is a steep $3000 from the EX-L 4 with Manual vs the EX V-6. I think the 4 is fine for local driving but the 6 really shines on the highway
Just as a side note, there was a Black one in the Show Room with a rear full spoiler. WOW did the car look great. The rear spoiler really added a lot for the car. But the color I am going to go for is the graphite .. it is just a fabulous color.
Not that this means anything, but on my daily commute to work (which is 60 miles one way), I get behind a LOT of gravel trucks and tractor trailers towing large earthmoving equipment. These trucks always seem to spew gravel and other road debris onto my car when I'm (too close) behind them. No matter how hard I tried in the past, I ended up with multiple paint dings -- and eventually some tiny rust spots -- on the hood of my 2000 Accord. (No, I never used touch-up paint.) In my '03 Accord, I've had gravel pop up on the hood several times (and I've cringed each time), but so far no dings in the paint. Like I said, maybe this doesn't mean much, but from my perspective I can only surmise that the finish is more "substantial" on this model. Correct me if I'm wrong -- just my own very subjective opinion! I know nothing about paint.
P.S. I think the HP question is up to you, what you want to spend, and how much power you really need. 150 hp is probably more than sufficent for most people who don't intend to elude law enforcement. However, who am I to say -- I bought the EX-V6.
It's nice to see also, that others want the auto dimming rear view mirror w/compass. These "creature comforts" are not only nice, but a safety factor as well. Just like dual visors and the pull out visors for the sun. The visors in the Honda seem like they needed more thought and actual usage put into them. The dealer said you have to put the pull out BEHIND the mirror! Crazy, huh???
Appreciate your help!
I live in the north.
Ive also heard its a one time deal and then Ive heard you have to have it done once a year??
Any advice!
on Wednesday Oct 2. I live in Montreal, Canada.
I did not test drive it, but have already formed some opinions regarding the car itself.
1) I think that Honda dropped the ball by not
offering a third interior color other than
Black & Beige. I currently own a 2000 EX
V6 in Sygnet grey, and it has a beautiful light
grey interior with a two-tone colour dash.
I DO NOT like either Black or Beige
interiors. Perhaps in the United States
there IS a third colour...please correct me
if this is the case.
2) I love the new exterior styling, but
dislike the rear lights. Rear lights
styled like BMW, Mercedes or Volvo would have
given this car a more "CONTEMPORARY" look,
with a more pronounced WEDGE look. The
"drooping" look does make the car look
like a Cheetah, but a sad, unhappy
Cheetah.
3) Removing the storage bins in the trunk I
believe was a mistake; these bins were very
useful, and really, how much did Honda save
by removing them?
4) The dash is TOO high; I am a short person,
and even with the front seat adjusted as
high as possible, I found I felt LOW
relative to the dash.
5) The two-tiered storage compartment beween the
front-seats has been replaced by a 1-tier
compartment. This means less storage space.
They say that progress is a good thing; but in the
case of automobiles, this is not necessarily always true. I'll keep my 2000 ccord EX V6,
thank-you.....Piceno
5. I thought the storage bin between the front seats still has two compartments. Phere is also an outlet in the lower compartment and the arm rest slides forward. The cup holders aren't covered now, but the front storage bin ahead of the shifter is.
Looks like Honda is trying very hard to become "American". Very disappointing. Every time I see the 03 Accord, it only reinforces my initial perception that this bulky car has been designed more for older/retired buyers who want to think young. Regardless, it will probably regain the best selling car title for 2003.
To those of you who love the 03 Accord, no offense intended. As a Honda owner, I don't like the direction that Honda is taking in the design of their vehicles for the U.S. and am just sharing my opinion here.
Dealer quoted price at $275. I had them throw it in. Good luck.
Anyways, as far as the dash goes I am 5'2 and didn't feel like I was sitting down in the car. I found the interior overall to be a HUGE improvement/evolution over the 99 sedan and the 01 coupe I had. And the storage bin does have 2 compartments from what I remember of the EX 4 cylinder I looked at.
I don't think the Accord is "Americanized" at all and even if it is ... we are in America. They have to build a car for American tastes. And they have to keep the sales up because the Accord is their bread and butter model that allows them to give us cars such as the Hybrid, the SI, the S2000, etc,
ghomaz: Like I said to this exact same post in the other forum .. what manufacturer hasn't had a quality issue. The difference between them and some other manufacturers is that they stepped up to the plate and are repairing all affected trannys as well as offering an extended warranty for the tranny on any possibly affected vehicle.
As for the Civic, I was disappointed with the result as well but most people aren't buying a Civic for sporty aspirations, which is what the car mags look for, they want reliable, safe, economical transportation .. which the Civic is. If you want a sportier Civic they make the SI, if you want an even more economical Civic they make the Hybrid.
Sure, they can do things like that with a 4-speed auto as well, but they need to make sure that the entire range of gear ratios is effective as a whole. If they go too low on the 1st gear with a 4-speed, transmission performance may suffer in other gears. 5-speeds give them more options for tuning the transmission than do 4-speeds.
To my knowledge, there are really no downsides inherent to a 5-speed automatic vs. a 4-speed.
As for the Accord's 5-speed, Honda has integrated the new electronic throttle control system to "back off" the engine power slightly just before a shift, to make shifts smoother. This is significant for many people, because some consider the 4-speed automatic on the previous generation Accord to be somewhat rough shifting at times.
I took an extensive test drive of a 2003 Accord V-6, and I must say that I was very impressed with the transmission, especially in comparison to my 2000 Accord V-6. Shifts are extremely smooth, both upshifts and downshifts.
One caveat... there have been sporadic reports that downshifts at highway speeds can take a second or two to complete. I didn't experience this, but it's something you may want to check out when you take a test drive.
HTH...
after leaving the Honda family for Chrysler a few years ago.....never (and I do mean never) will I leave Honda for another car company. We have been a Honda family since 1977.
We have ended up with a safer, more economical, more quiet, practical, cleaner and greener auto. My wife tells me everyday how much nicer it is over the Chrysler. By the way....I don't enjoy bashing other car makers.....but when you talk transmissions...lets look at the voyager and caravan....that's a bad tranny! You need to take a look at the oil stains on my garage floor from our 2001 Chrysler.
We really enjoy our Honda!
By the way....I remember an article I read in the newspaper where as a gentleman had 615,000 miles on his 86 Accord.....I also saw a Acura Legand at the Pittsburgh Auto Show that had over a million miles on it!......Nuff said!
bartalk2: i also used to commute on the Long Island Expressway. I used to work in Riverhead so my commute was a horror due to the trucks. Luckily, I left that job and now have a different commute.
bodydouble: i had a 97 Accord special edition but I totalled it. I walked out without a scratch though. as you mention, mine had a sunroof, alloys, a CD player, and wood trim
While I agree with the first part, the second part is absurd. The new Accord is more European than American for good reasons that I can demonstrate. The higher dash is very similar to what you'd see in a VW, BMW or MB. Camry's interior, OTOH is a better example of American styling. Also, by going American, you would expect Honda to increase the length of the car beyond 190" (previous and current generation are at 189.5"), and substitute a bulky 5-link rear suspension with a smaller 3 or 4-link layout, or even better, go to MacPherson struts to increase rear legroom and more importantly, the benchmark of American sedans, larger trunk space (not smaller, as it happens to be in 2003 Accord compared to 1998-2002 version). Apparently, you're not evaluating Accords correctly.
ghomazI remember, in my childhood days (1960s), almost every house had an Impala in its driveway and these were good reliable cars back then. Now nobody even looks at Impalas. Is Honda headed the same way?
You seem to worry about Honda's future too much. I'm not sure what the competition was like for Impala back in the 60s, but I would think it is much tougher market today. And can you really compare today's Impala to the Impala from the 60s? I doubt. Current Impala is a Lumina replacement, nothing more than that. It suffers mostly because of GM's love affair with trucks.
As for the Civic, it doesn't pretend to be a sports sedan. It is a car with a very specific purpose, much like Accord's LX trim. Volume sales. It doesn't hurt Honda because people are getting what they want. Sometimes, I don't understand when magazines do comparisons. Their evaluation does not necessarily reflect what people want in a car. If anybody expects performance out of Civic, he/she is sure to be disappointed, this side of Si/SiR. Honda could change that, but do they need to change the theme of the best selling compact car in its class?
A transmission with more gears will typically provide better gear ratios for good acceleration without hurting the cruising abilities and vice versa. I’m not sure if you have heard of the terms ‘short gearing’ and ‘close-ratio’ gearing, but I will try to explain that here in few words.
The power from engine is transmitted to the wheels via transmission. As you must have heard of it, engine produces torque. But this torque is not ultimately what you feel as the forward thrust. Depending on the gear, the effectiveness of torque is ‘multiplied’ to provide greater or lesser thrust. A shorter gear (identified by a larger number) provides greater multiplication. I’m going to put some numbers from memory, but here are the first two gears (and the axle ratio) in 2003 Accord V6 5-speed auto (note that they are different, in fact, a little shorter, in the four cylinder models).
Gear 1: 2.58
Gear 2: 1.56
Axle ratio: 4.40
The effective gearing (overall drive ratio) is multiplication of the gear ratio and the axle ratio.
Gear 1: 11.35
Gear 2: 6.87
First gear is shorter than second gear. So, it will provide greater thrust, almost 1.65 times more, than in the second gear. Just like that, gear 3 will be ‘taller’ than gear 2, gear 4 will be ‘taller’ than gear 3 and so on. Taller gears provide less multiplication, but allow for relaxed cruising (low revs during cruising) which also improves highway gas mileage. This vaguely explains ‘short’ versus ‘tall’ gearing, I hope.
Now, close ratio is another term. It deals with the ‘closeness’ of the gear ratios. Notice that between first and second gear above, there is a 40% drop in ratio. The closer the ratios are, the better multiplication you would get in subsequent gears.
Now, to get back to the question, a 5-speed transmission will allow bringing the gear ratios closer, and at the same time, it would also allow the first gear to be shorter, without having to worry about the ‘highway’ gears.
As far as downside goes, the only that I can think of is the added bulk and cost. A 5-speed auto would weigh slightly more (about 15 lb. would be my guess) than a comparable 4-speed auto, as well as be slightly more expensive.
I hope this answers your questions.
inemer
AND I DIDN’T SEE ANY NEW ACCORDS ON THE ROAD. From September 9 to October 4 – NONE. Is anybody had the same experience?
I have seen three on the road, here in Dallas area, one silver and two black.
Call your local dealer to make sure it's true before you come back here blaming me!
My first impression of the 03 Accord (ignoring things like the suspension, and small differences in trunk space or rear legroom) is that it has 'middle aged American' written over it.
I bought my Honda partly because of the sensible size that used to be typical of Japanese cars. The Accord no longer qualifies in that respect. One can argue that it's only an inch wider or half an inch longer etc, etc, but my perception is that it's a big car - certainly not a VW.
ignoring things like the suspension, and small differences in trunk space or rear legroom) is that it has 'middle aged American' written over it.
Well, one can ignore a lot of things to make a point, but here is a question, what is wrong with appeal middle-aged Americans? The good part is, it is a car that also attracts younger buyers like me. And when I get to that middle aged crowd, it may very well happen that I will continue to buy Accords. Heck, I will probably be 7 years older when (and if) I buy my next Accord.
Honda's target was supposed to be the Passat.
This is what Honda has to say about it...
"The 2003 Accord Sedan has two primary competitors in the mid-size market segment. The first, the Toyota Camry, is a sales-volume competitor... The Camry-based Solara coupe is virtually the only competitor for the Accord Coupes... Accord's other competitor, the Volkswagen Passat, with its distinctly European driving character, is more of a "lifestyle" competitor than a sales-volume competitor."
American Accord is neither Camry nor Passat, yet, it takes the middle ground and executes it well. It makes sense for Honda to target a wider audience, something they have done it for years. I doubt it would be a great idea to target a low volume car. For those situations, the option is to go with a car that is 'different', and Acura TSX might be just that.
Accord more American than European or Japanese.
Can you tell me how? Details would help, not perception.
Several who have left comments have indicated they have not seen any 03 accords on the road. I have seen 4 in my town of 30,000 in Indiana.
I have visited 2 local dealers. One of the dealers had a graphite ex-v6. They had put a dual pinstripe on it that was 2-color (dark grey with white above it and had installed 17" wheels. This has to be the nicest looking 03 accord I have seen.
Does anybody know if Honda is rolling out only certain colors? I have yet to see a blue or green 03 yet, and I have searched dealer inventories on the internet and have not found a dealer who had these colors either. I would really like to see all colors before I decide on a color.
I am a little disappointed in the interior colors. The ivory seems to be too light and the grey seems to be too dark.
I also tested the 2002 EXL-V6 coupe with everything on it. The price tag for this one is $22,260 ($23,610 out the door) but I don't think I like the car.
They have a 2003 EX-V6 coupe, it is a beautiful car (silver) and it is already sold.
Anyway, isn't the Accord EX 4cyl a ULEV vehicle? Does anyone know if that's just Honda's marketing hype or if they are indeed certified as such by the EPA?
Thanks,
Jon