Honda Accord 2.0i ES

Author's product rating:

Safety	Good
Comfort	Excellent
Road Handling	Excellent
Looks	Excellent
Features	Excellent

Advantages:	Quality, reliability, performance .
Disadvantages:	Uninspiring looks, on this model year .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This review on the Honda will be aimed at the budget second hand car market, of which there are many good examples to be had for less than £500. The Honda Accord, I recon, is one of the best cars to be had from this era and price.

This model of Accord is a 2.0 16v multipoint injection, single overhead cam, (operating all the 16 valves), PGM-FI engine.

First impressions of the car (depending on what you’ve been used to), can be a bit on the boring looking side. It’s all there, but it’s a bit of a bog standard looking 4 door 5 seater family saloon with all the bits in the right places. Fine for what we’re talking about here , but no style guru, compared with the slick designs of today’s market.

There’s no getting away from the fact though, that this car, even at this model year is quite exceptional in its design and build quality. (Well it’s still going sweet at this time now) so this must say a fair bit about the quality.

I myself was after a cheap car to run around in. Done a fair bit of car repairs myself over the years, so was prepared to face this cheap end of the market, without too many worries. After a bit of a scan round the local area, I spotted this Honda for £100 , no mot, but the body and the interior were in very good order, but as my last car was dying a slow death, thought this one would be an ideal project to keep me on the road, (once repaired).

To be honest, I recon the bloke wanted over the odds really, but no matter,I bought it anyway. (I’m just too flash with my cash!). As the car had been stood around for a while, the first job was to un-seize the brakes. A bit of a weak point in Jap’ cars, left standing round for too long . A rear section exhaust, and a replaced front broken coil spring later, the car was through its MOT.
Now the car owes me roughly £280,purchase, bits + mot-fee. Not a bad deal.

Plonking butt on seat for the first time, you’ll notice how well everything is arranged around you, the steering column is adjustable, along with the height of the seat, by way of an electrical switch at the base of the seat, next to this are the petrol filler cap / boot release catches. It’s great jacking yourself high in the air so as to get a great driving position, this helps suport the legs, making it very comfy for long journeys.

The steering wheel is a good shape, I think it suits all driving styles. Inside this can be found the 2 buttons that control the cruise functions, 1 – set /decelerate, 2- resume /accelerate, along with of course , the horn.Cuise control Will be canceled with the application of either the brakes or clutch. Best used for motorway driving.

The interior, seats and fittings are of very high quality and to me are a great source of my driving pleasure in this car.

I find it amazing that after 140,000 miles on the clock, the car is still tight as a drum, no smoke no rattles and still drives as smooth as silk. I cannot fault the quality of this car, would have no worries about jumping in it ,any time to travel any long distance.
All switch functions, buttons, and controls are very easy to hand. The sound system can be removed along with a storage tray to open up a large space that will accept a full double sized ( sony ) head unit, which had kicking about ! this looks and sounds the dogs.
A useful tray for parking coins is there on the right hand side, below the air vent.

Centre console has 2 air vents, below this are the climate control buttons , hot / cold , 6speed fan, air con’ , fresh & re-circulated air buttons, the stereo head unit, a tray for Fags / lighter ?, ash tray, and a useful storage area at the bottom. The driver has control of all windows, both door mirrors (heating option for frosty mornings), and the option to lock out the rear windows.
The seats are firm and comfortable. The rears combine a centre arm rest & an access to the boot space. Can be used, I suppose for golf clubs, or just chucking all the rubbish out of the way, to be emptied out later. The brown carpets on this one are thick and of high quality also, adding to the nice feel.

The car is a good performer on the road, the engine on this one has 135 bhp, and most of this power will be found in the revs. The handling is surprisingly good for the saloon shape. I’ve not found much body roll at all when pushed hard. The standard 185 / 70/ 14 tyres cope very well with fast tight bends.

This fact I think has more to do with superb suspension set up.
And will out perform some of my previously owned ( sports ) cars
Bits and spares for this, I find quit pricey, as with most Jap’ cars.
But they last a long time so no real worries there.
Rust protection fine too, only probs being with the lower front sections of the rear wheel arches ( easy fix though ).

Very Happy with this old car. I honestly cannot fault it.
As every day transport, it is always there for you, great on fuel, reliable, fast, handles beautifuly, well equipped, smooth and quiet......... what more could you ask for ?

I’d highly recommend it as a great budget second hand buy.
I fully intend to keep this one on the road for long time, a fantastic all rounder.

Thanks.