Hi all - I'm considering a 55 plate 2.0 petrol SE with 70K for around £5K. Full HSH
I was wondering what they are like to live with - Whatcar claims they are expensive to run - if this so?
What sort of MPG will I get on long runs on motorway at 80mph - A roads.
I'd like 35mpg - is that realistic in your eyes?
I use an excellent indie garage - I'm assuming they will be able to service it - is there anything about these that would mean I'd have to use a Honda dealer.
In short, any one got one who can report on whether these a good long-term purchase. I tend to keep cars until 10 years old 150K on the clock
All views very gratefully received - do we rate these cars?
thanks
Edited by Pugugly on 09/06/2009 at 09:27
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I'd like 35mpg - is that realistic in your eyes?
I have a 2001 2.0 hatchback with quoted economy 32mpg, I commute 70 miles a day on motorway and A roads, returning around 30 - 32mpg.
The version you're looking at has a quoted economy of 34mpg, so you'll probably see close enough to 35 to be OK.
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I have the 2.2 diesel on a 55 plate - currently at 90k.
I've not had good reliability, but I'm a real exception - the AA normally look stunned when they pick me up, so probably ignore that.
Running costs are okay. I get about 22k from front and I would guess about 40k from rear tyres, the petrol block is lighter and lots less torque, so you should do better. Needed new fron pads at 40k intervals (£85 at main dealer) and new pads n discs on rear at 75k (£190) and pads n discs in front at 87.5k (£195). 2.0 Petrol has smaller non-vented fronts, so should be cheaper. Service interval is 12.5k, £180 minor and £210 major at main dealer. Extending the warranty to 4 years manufacturer was £250 including another years AA.
The car is good to own. Drives nicely, although on 17" wheels very sensitive to tyre choice. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 and Pirelli P6000 Powergy very good, Michelin Pilot Primacy not great, Yokohama something or other terrible (tramlining). At 90k miles no rattles, the interior looks like new, and the only real sign of age is very slight driveline shunt (less than on my previous Citroen had at about 30k).
Load area is large, suspension intrusion minimal, and a mountain bike will easily go in the bot with the wheels off leaving plenty of luggage room. The rear seats fold easily and quickly with a single action. Refinement is okay, but road and wind noise are higher than some. Saying that, it is an exceptional mile eater - I have done 850 miles in a day without problems (although I strongly recommend against this!).
Any other questions and I would be happy to answer.
G
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Thanks for that - very interesting. It seems to me that these are not much liked (for their looks) and therefore a bit cheaper than they might be.
I need a big estate that will take a canoe on the roof, bikes on the back and family gubbins. The only option in my price range (£5-£6K) is probably a Mondeo, but I'd rather go for Japanese reliability
Anyone else drive (or driven) a petrol Honda please?
thanks
B
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Like a lot of "ugly" cars people think with their eyes and not their minds - The new 5 series is a classic case - probably the best handling saloon car in the world, class leading and many other classes as well but people think its ugly so they won't touch it.
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I think the looks are a marmite thing - very few people have a neutral opinion on them. I personally really like it, always have.
One other thing to mention - I think the seats are stunningly comfortable, they really fit me very well. My gf, who is 5'6", hates them, she can't get comfortable despite having every adjustment under the sun (only no memory on the electric seats - why??). Make sure you test drive with all intended drivers.
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All views very gratefully received - do we rate these cars?
Have you looked at Car-By-Car Breakdown - quite a few comments there, although perhaps mainly about the diesel.
Would the car you're looking at have the electric rear door? I gather they've been quite troublesome.
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I have yes - as you say most of the problems seem to be with the diesels - isn't that so often the case.
I gather the electric tailgate does go wrong - however, I think I can live with pressing the button and closing it manually
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As being one of those who have suffered from the tailgate issue (although it would appear mine was an alignment issue rather than controller failure), the most annoying issue was that when it failed the only way to open the tailgate was to crawl inside, remove a panel and override the system.
After nearly four years of ownership, I still rate the Accord highly for general comfort and performance. With regard to economy, I tend to average 10l/100km or so but most of that is 200km/hr on the autobahn followed by town traffic so not optimal for consumption.
BIG
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I've been a member here for over five years and I can't remember anyone ever complaining about unreliability of a petrol Honda. Diesels - a few, maybe because Honda was one of the last makers to offer a diesel so lacks experience.
Provided it hasn't ben abused you could have a good buy there. Ask your indie garage if they have any views and whether they're happy to service it.
If not, then think about a Mondeo or an Octavia, particularly if you'd really rather have a diesel.
Edited by Avant on 10/06/2009 at 01:24
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Had a diesel for four years and around 125k so cannot comment about the engine.
Other than that a couple of niggles and an imobiliser unit generating an intermittent fault (at lease it failed at the dealer when I took it in - and they dealt with it VERY well) , would have had another but the lease cost had gone through the roof - mine was one of the first diesel estates.
Lease car so I diid not see the reports of what had been changed or how much. Tyres as Gordon mentioned although I did get 48k out of a Primacy on the front!!! Mine were 16".
There are posts on here with more detail.
I think the early estates look good, far better than the later model with the chrome around the windows like the saloon.
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Had a '03 2.4 Type S saloon for 5 years, took it up to 77k before trading it in.
In all that time, all it needed outside normal servicing was brakes (complete front at 45k, rear at 62k) and tyres. Average over that time (mainly A-road and motorway) was just over 33mpg.
Real fun to drive - on the right tyres there was no hint of over/understeer, the ride was good and the seats very comfortable.
If Honda did a better diesel engine and hadn't bumped the price up, I'd probably have got another. Alas, they don't so I didn't.
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If Honda did a better diesel engine and hadn't bumped the price up I'd probably have got another. Alas they don't so I didn't.
Apparently the latest i-DTEC is a big improvement on the CTDi.
Pricing is another issue altogether and, looking at the alternatives, it's hard to justify the extra money. It will be interesting to see how Honda's market share holds up.
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