I am thinking of buying an Accord for the first time

Elliot Udell

My Toyota Avalon is now 17 years old and its falling apart. 142K miles. I am thinking of leasing an accord. How does the ride compare to what i have now?

Michaell

elliotu said:

My Toyota Avalon is now 17 years old and its falling apart. 142K miles. I am thinking of leasing an accord. How does the ride compare to what i have now?

I would say it's comparable, but really you'd have to test drive one and make your own decision.

Elliot Udell

How is the ride in the Accord? I like a comfortable ride not a hard sports type ride.

kyfdx

elliotu said:

How is the ride in the Accord? I like a comfortable ride not a hard sports type ride.

You'd probably come closer to an Avalon ride with a Camry

Elliot Udell

probably

ral2167

Get the camry xle.make sure it has the blind spot monitor option. Accord doesn't have those. At least not any that make sense.

rubbington

Two words son, "Don't. Do. It."

Elliot Udell

Rubington: Dont do what?

ral2167

Seriously... An accord has a nice ride. Plus it's more fun to drive than a camry, most folks say. I just don't like how Honda does its blind spot monitoring.

Elliot Udell

What are the pros and cons of Honda's blind spot monitoring?

ral2167

Well most cars just have a light that comes in the side mirrors when there's a car in their blind spot. Which is good. With Honda, on the driver side it's just a convex mirror deal. On the passenger side if you turn on your signal you look at a screen and a camera shows any cars in blind spot. Honda needs to just have those indicator lights in both mirrors.

Elliot Udell

consumer reports has said that the on screen can be a distraction but people I know have seen value in the onscreen device

suydam

I personally love my Accord, but it's a very subjective experience. Camry and Accord are both excellent cars. Drive them -- over a lot of different kinds of roads -- and see which appeals. You can't go wrong.

thebean

Another vote here for the Accord.  The ride is not as plush as the Camry (I drove both several times before choosing my '15 Accord EX) but I liked the responsiveness of the Accord better.  It's not a sports car ride, but it has a firmness to it that gives me confidence.  I personally love the blind spot monitoring system.  It shows me how close traffic is and I don't have to turn my head to see it.  You should drive both - more than just a 5 minute test drive to see which fits you.  Everyone is different.

Elliot Udell

How do you get more than a five minute ride from a dealer?

thebean

Well, you should wait until you have narrowed your search down to 2-3 cars.  Tell the dealer you are at the final decision point and tell them you want an extended test drive.  If they say no, you can mark that car off your list.  In my experience, they will give you that extended test drive.

ral2167

You could get the accord since the front of the camry is butt ugly.

rubbington

I think an accord wouldnt be a too bad idea actually. However I think the Carmy is a pretty looking thing.

deerlake7

elliotu - I had an Avalon around your vintage and I now have a '13 Accord. By all means you need to try an Accord, but if you really like the ride of your Avalon, you're not going to like the ride of the Accord. It's significantly more stiff. Also, when you drive the '15 Camry, you'll find Toyota stiffened that ride quite a bit as well for 2015. The Altima has one of the most compliant rides, but its CVT, especially with the 4 cylinder is not the best. The Passat's ride is pretty decent, but I'm not sure I'd want to hold on to one for 17 years like you've done with the Avalon. Best of luck.

Elliot Udell

deerlake7, I also read in consumer reports that the 15 Avalon is much more stiff

Elliot Udell

why are the carmakers making their rides more stiff?

thebean

It's surprising that Toyota made the ride stiffer, if they did on the mainstream model like the LE.  When I was looking at an LE before I bought my Accord, the salesman made a big deal about how the Camry rode so much nicer than the Accord.

Elliot Udell

thebean: This is why I have held on to my Avalon for 17 years. It has a smooth comfortable ride but now I am facing a lot of underbody rust, the seal in the moonroof is coming out, a sensor in the engine is broken (250 repair) . None of these parts broken, interferes with the ride but it is annoying. I cannot use my moonroof and I use it because the air conditioner is really not optimum.

thebean

@elliottu, you have gotten a lot of good use out of that Avalon and you should be proud of taking care of it that long.  I like to keep cars a long time also.  

Elliot Udell

A lot of good use but I also put in my share of repairs every year. I have the Geico mechanical breakdown plan and it covered most of the repairs or it would have cost me close to a new car in repair bills.

isellhondas

How a car rides is very subjective. An Accord is more of a Driver's Car and they do ride a bit stiffer which a lot of people (like me) perfer.

I think it was Motor Trend who once said that a Camry rides like a ten year old Buick.

But, some people like a mushy ride so you really need to drive both.

I know that Honda has tweaked their suspensions over the years to soften the ride a bit and it's possible that Toyota has tightened theirs up so they don't wallow in turns as much.

You can't go wrong with either car!

jasonmurray

Lease New, Buy Used.... if money is important those 2 scenarios are the way to go. Just pick one