Another in a series of my reviews that appeared in the online version of African Americans On Wheels, a now defunct automotive magazine that was included as an insert in the Sunday newspapers of major cities.
I’ve never been the kind of person who was interested in “What’s Hot.” I drive a subcompact hatchback by choice. I don’t have an iPhone. I never watched or had any interest in Game of Thrones. I also don’t like any “reality” TV outside of HGTV. So when presented with the Accord, the second best-selling car of 1998 behind the Camry, I really didn’t want to like it. However, the Accord is so likeable you can’t help yourself. It’s like when your teenage daughter brings home a boy for the first time who happens to have been voted most likeable by his class. You really don’t want to like him, but can’t help but be won over.
I vividly remember my week with this car because of what happened to me. I was eating lunch in my office, reading the paper with my feet on my desk. Suddenly, something seemed to snap in my head and I felt like I was falling, but I was still in the chair. I somehow managed to get my feet off the desk and my head on it. The room spun every time I opened my eyes. With some effort, I called my wife at work and asked her to come get me. That’s the beauty of living in Washington, D.C.: She took the Metro to my office, put me in the Accord, then drove it to the hospital where I was diagnosed with “Labyrinthitis” brought on by a sinus infection. If something like that happened today (prior to Covid and everyone working from home), she would have had to drive to my office and somehow figure out later how to get my car home from the parking garage. All in all, a very strange week.
The following review was written on May 16, 1999.
How do you know that it’s not a Presidential election year? Honda releases a new Accord, every four years since 1982, like clockwork.
The Accord, which was new for 1998, is not the sexiest Accord (that title goes to the 1986-1989 Accord with the flip-up headlamps), but it’s still better looking than that other benchmark, the Toyota Camry. The edges from the last generation Accord have been smoothed, with a newly protruding grill, and the whole car just looks more substantial. The interior is a paragon of efficiency, with everything controlled by large, clearly marked controls. The gauges are large and clear, and everything works with, dare I say, clock-like precision. Our fully-loaded EX included a power driver’s seat, leather interior, climate control, and woodgrain trim.
Then there’s the engine. Three-liters of silky-smooth V6 that rockets this mild-mannered family sedan to 60 miles-per-hour in under eight seconds. Okay, the four-speed automatic, which is the only available transmission with the V6, is a little rough, but that’s the only complaint. Ride and handling are both well above average for this class of car. Rear seat room is generous, and the trunk is a respectable 14.1 cubic feet. Furthermore, the large 17.1-gallon fuel tank and the 28 mile-per-gallon highway rating translates to lengthy distances between fill-ups.
You, of course, work your way up to the EX. The DX is the entry-level Accord with a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine and a standard five-speed manual. The base LX and EX get you more equipment and a higher-output VTEC four cylinder, and the LX and EX V6 sit at the top. The sporty Accord coupe is also available in LX and EX, four- and six-cylinder guises.
The Accord is so damn perfect that it’s frustrating. Being an automotive journalist means having a passion about cars, and it’s hard to find passion in something that’s perfect. But here I was, thinking that $24K+ is a relative bargain for this car, wondering why anyone would spend the extra $5,000 for the very similar but sportier Acura 3.2TL, and looking at my five-year-old Sentra and wondering if I could swing the payments.
Can 400,000 buyers each year be wrong? Is this a cult?
It…….is…….pulling…..me……..in………………………..RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!
For more information contact 1-800-33-HONDA ext. 737
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Four-door Sedan
Engine: 200-horsepower, 3.0-liter V6
Transmission: Four-speed Automatic
EPA Mileage: 20 city/28 highway
Tested Price: $24,715
Obviously, I didn’t buy an Accord. When we did finally buy a new car in 2002, not only was it not popular, it was an all new model and we didn’t see another on the road for a long time afterward. The five-year old Sentra hung around for another eight years before being replaced. I’m proud to say I have never owned an Accord, Camry, RAV4, CR-V or F-150.
My dad had a bout of labyrinthitis just before a planned trip to Germany which was to include picking up a new Volvo on European delivery. Air travel was nixed and we stuck with our old car for the rest of my high school (and another 15 years beyond) which did not go well with me. As for your Vibe, on a recent 3000 mile road trip mostly in the rural West, I was amazed at how many Vibes I saw on the roads. In fact, lots of Pontiacs in general … perhaps almost as common as old Accords in small-town Idaho.
The Vibe eventually did catch on to an extent, but we bought ours very early after its introduction in early 2002. People kept asking us, “Is that an Aztek?”.
Resistance is futile. After 31 years behind the wheel I purchased my first Accord (a 2003) for $2500. A real thing of beauty with 142k miles. Nearly 30k later it still amazes me how tight, trouble free, and comfortable it is. Don’t wait buy a well cared for 16 year old Honda now!
These are really, truly, excellent cars.
Why oh why did they have to take away the wagon version?
I could have been driving one of these for 20 years!
Acura built the TSX Wagon from 2011-2014
Honda built the Accord Crosstour from 2010-2015
they both fell flat in the market.
If you want a wagon that does not have Subaru, Volvo, or Mercedes badges attached, you should head down to your local Buick dealer and buy a Regal TourX while you still can.
Or better yet, petition Mazda to bring the next generation Mazda 6 wagon to North America when the new I-6 is released. If they can keep it under $35,000 with RWD or AWD, GPS and heated seats, I will sign-up for one with you. So that makes two of us.
“Okay, the four-speed automatic, which is the only available transmission with the V6, is a little rough”
I remember this, having test driven both a 1999 Accord V6 and 1999 Solara V6. That was over 20 years ago, but the impression still sticks and didn’t work in the Accord’s favor. The difference in transmission refinement was about as stark as the difference in handling. IIRC, the Honda autos were also beginning to suffer from a lack of robustness when paired to the V6 in this generation. I think if you wanted a V6 the Camry/Solara was the way to go in 1999. If you wanted a driver’s car and the most Honda-like Honda, I think you’d go for the 4 cyl Accord with the stick.
Honda’s automatic was a bit rough because unlike all other automatics, Honda’s didn’t use planetary gears. Honda refused to pay royalties, and developed their own design using gears on parallel axes rather than planetary gears like most other automatic transmissions. Each gear continuously meshes, and each gear included a dedicated clutch. The clutches are hydraulically controlled. It’s considered to be more efficient, but not as soft-shifting as typical automatics.
Very interesting; I did not know that.
After its problems with its auto trannies, did Honda capitulate and pay royalties for planetary gears, or did it fix its own design? Or, were the problems unrelated to the design?
No, they never changed the basic design. All Honda automatics from the original 2 speed Hondamatic through their last 5 speed version were all based on their design. Since then they’ve gone to CVTs or outside sources.
I have to say the 5 speed automatic in our TSX works great, and is just about as smooth as a planetary automatic.
The issues were not necessarily related to their different design per se, but involved certain components/assemblies due to the greater stresses of heavier cars and the torque of the V6. The four cylinder cars rarely had these issues, which mostly involve failure of the torque converter lock-up clutch, Failure of the third gear clutch pack, Overheating of second gear, Failure of the secondary shaft.
But I’m not an expert on automatics. All I know is that they worked fine until the V6 and the much heavier Odyssey and Pilot came along. It obviously wasn’t up to that.
the 4cyl accords starting from the mid-year 94-97 range apparently started to show an uptick in failure rates as well. Weight was increasing, and iirc Honda was trying to make the transmissions shift smoother but that introduced extra heat into them. That’s all hearsay I’ve picked up from the internet so take it with a big grain of salt.
Aren’t the 6spd autos also this same basic design?
What I love about these Honda automatics is how simple fluid changes are. There’s always a simple fill and drain plug. I did the fluid in my ’04 Pilot, piece of cake driveway job (used Honda’s ATF).
Aren’t the 6spd autos also this same basic design?
Apparently so.
My four-cylinder ’94 Accord wagon trans took a dump at 150K but in fairness it was thoroughly abused before I bought it. A few miles from home after a one hour highway drive the forward gears disappeared one by one until they were all gone, leaving me to backup home for the last mile. This in rush hour, no less.
Picked up a $50 used trans on Craigs’s List and swapped it out on a Saturday.
You remember correctly. 1999 Honda automatics paired with V-6’s were prone to failure, including the one on our ’99 Odyssey, which Honda to its credit repaird no charge at 60k and extended the warranty to 120k (which I deliberately did not reach before trading).
Before we bought the Odyssey we considered an Accord, which would have been the 4 – cylinder VTEC and a manual, as those were the days when both my wife and I still favored rowing-your-own gears. We opted for the van because our two kids were then entering peak Birthday Party/Soccer League days and the ability to cart five kids around (or seven people total) won out.
The Odyssey had some teething problems and the aforementioned tranny failure. Other than that, it gave our family faithful service; which admittedly I now view through a pink haze of nostalgia, now that both kids are adults and on their own.
Our old ’90 Civic and any other older auto Honda I’ve driven have always been very firm and at times downright clunky/harsh (especially on older cars with worn mounts). A function of Honda automatics being functionally different than most planetary gear based units (literally everyone else including Toyota’s Aisins). I never minded it too much to be honest, engine felt a built more connected that way. Of course the best way to buy a Honda is with a manual transmission 🙂
By contrast my 209k mile ES300’s 4spd Aisin was hands down the sweetest smoothest transmission I’ve had in a car, especially when coupled to the similarly creamy 1MZ V6.That car even had hydrostatic drive cooling fans!
The next generation are the ugliest. Top is a 2010 JDM Accord Vtec 4 cylinder.
Bottom is a 2009 export Honda Vtec 4 cylinder. I think the JDM model wins hands down. But not the gearbox!
The top one looks like the North American one for 2008 as well although I think the JDM has the extra reflectors on the trunk lid that we only got for the mid-cycle refresh which in my opinion made it look worse.
The bottom one is actually the US 2003-2004 after which the tail lights changed to not have the white bottom for 2005 but in 2006 the tail lights changed to a completely different shape with a reworked rear fender and rear end and this generation ended after 2007.
The 2003-2007 one is not at all bad in my opinion although I didn’t care for it initially. The one after that (top pic) was just too large and sort of cheap feeling.
Agreed – we cross shopped the Accord and the Altima in 2008 (the Odyssey’s replacement), and ended up with the Altima. I think both were new designs that year. The Accord was like sitting in a deep bathtub with its high sides (remember the low beltline and cowl in the late 80’s – that was wonderful) and the entire exterior looked bloated to me, like early 70’s Detroit. The Altima on the other hand looked modern and light. That car lasted till 2018 after serving as both our kids’ first vehicle; probably the best testament you can give any car.
I liked these, they felt (and looked) like the true successor and a good update to the early 90’s one (the greatest generation?), whereas the model in between looked quite different.
My baby
99 Honda Accord
Ex V6
285,000 miles
Original Motor & Transmission