2004 Honda Accord Saloon reviews

Honda Accord Saloon 2.2 CTDI Executive 2004

Ran this car for 3 years and found it good value, economical, but a bit lacking in soul! The engine was responsive and quick enough with a nice linear power delivery but still sounded like a diesel despite all the hype. Averaged 42-45 MPG, slightly disappointing but not bad considering my driving style and I found switching off the powerful aircon worth at least 2-3MPG on a long run. Had a problem with smoking on start up that was never fully resolved. If left to stand for more than a day used to emit a large puff of white smoke on start up. Suspect this was down to an oil seal in the engine but Honda never got that far into the investigation before I handed the car back. It used a couple of litres of oil between services which may have pointed to the problem although this was considered acceptable. The other issue I had was with the paint quality that was easily marked and small scratches were noticeable especially as my dark blue colour seemed quite thin which uncovered the undercoat. That said the car was 100% reliable over 70000 miles, had an excellent driving position, comfortable seats, was roomy enough for my family and well equipped with Sat-Nav, Sunroof, Leather Trim and in dash CD Changer. It handled well and was not too bad on tyres 20K for the fronts and 40K for the rears although the fronts did wear prematurely on the inside. The ride was very inconsistent sometimes good but never settled properly on the motorway. I suspect this was due to the 17" alloys fitted that greatly improve the looks but I suspect most of the development by Honda was done on the standard 16" wheels. That said the ride and handling were also noticeably better on the replacement Dunlop tyres compared with the original Bridgestone’s. All in all a stylish and reliable car with some niggly faults.