I don’t have a lot of car experience, so I’m looking for advice on car selection.
I’m looking for a mid-size car to be used as my wife’s car/family car/road-trip car. Looking for used, probably 2006-2007. The Honda Accord series is about perfect, but I might buy another line from another manufacturer if it impresses me. Primary mission is to be driven around town, so it won’t be going through tremendous amounts of mileage. This is replacing an Oldsmobile 88 which was old, too large, and breaking down all the time.
It seems that just about all mid-size family cars are really split into two editions, the one with the I4 and the one with the V6. Obviously the V6 has more power, but less fuel economy. A couple points:
1.After doing the numbers, the fuel economy looks like it will not make a huge difference (~ $200 year).
2.Most V6 cars cost $1000-2000 more than their I4 counterparts.
I would tend naturally to select the I4 because I am a cheapskate, but I’ve gotten advice from friends/family that I should get the V6. One of the common arguments is that the V6 is stressed less, so it ends up being more reliable. Since this will be wife’s car/trip car, reliability is a huge plus. Feel free to debunk this myth if you think you are qualified to do so.
The other thing is the V6’s power would definitely be nice if you’ve got the whole car packed full of family and luggage out on the interstate.
What are your experiences, what do you think I should buy?
I have an Accord with an I-4 and I don’t see how it gets stressed more than a V6 Accord. Maybe it would be an issue if I was always doing real fast starts but I don’t.
Unless your wife is engaged in drifting competitions in her around-town driving I can’t see any reason to buy a V6. A 4 cylinder is more than up to the task.
4 cylinder’s are soooo much easier to work on that a transverse mounted V6.
I have an 2003 I4 Accord and I have never noticed it getting stressed out. One nice thing about the I4 is that it has a timing chain. I am pretty sure that the V6 has a belt, which means a like a $500 bill to replace that some day and it is somewhat more likely to snap and leave you stranded. I am rather dubious that the parts most likely to be “stressed” in the I4 like the rings or crankshaft are the ones that are most likely to cause you problems, as opposed to the transmission or alternator.
My Accord is a stick and it feels pretty peppy. Don’t know how the automatic would be. We have taken it on numerous long trips in the past, packed to the gills, and never had any problems. In the 8 years of having the car the only repairs we have had to do were a new O2 sensor and reflashing the ECU firmware to correct some issue with the idle air control valve.
I’d stick with the 4. Unless you’re pulling a caravan you’re really not going to need the extra power, and if you are, then you can just burn in hell. It’s pretty much intended as a shopping cart, right? Besides, driving around town, there’s no way you’re going to wear out the engine in the next decade.
And remember, it’s not just gas, it’s maintenance costs too; more expensive replacement parts, 2 extra spark-plugs, more oil when you change it.
Honda 4 cylinder engines have a good track record for durability. V-6 engines in general are somewhat more complicated than I-4’s, cost more to maintain, and in the event of certain failures cost more to repair. I would venture that the I-4 is at least as reliable as the V-6. Horsepower specs are 166 vs. 244.
I would say the choice is between economy and power.
I have no experience driving the Honda Accord in either configuration. However, I have a good deal of experience driving other makes and models with both types of engines. In my opinion, a V6 is the way to go. I drive in Michgan, where we have short highway onramps, and plenty of traffic. There are times when I need to GO, dammit, and a 4 cylinder engine just isn’t up to that task. I also noticed, based on my style of driving, that yes, I put more stress on a 4 cylinder engine than on a 6 cylinder. Or, to phrase it more correctly, because V6 engines tend to have more available torque at low RPM, I was not required to drive the car at higher RPM as much.
I think this is pretty much it. In hilly or mountainous country ( or if as carzyjoe you find you have to merge rapidly in traffic-heavy urban areas a lot ) you might appreciate the extra power of the V6 ( I do ), but if you live in Kansas the four would probably do the job just fine.
I HATE driving 4 cylinder cars on the highway. Hate hate hate hate it. They just don’t like to smoothly get up to speed the way you need them to. Plus I think they’re louder (but it might be that the 4s I’ve driven are shittier cars.) I wouldn’t buy anything but a V6.
I had a 2003 Accord LX with the 4-cylinder engine and I had no problems with it in the 40,000 miles I had it. It was a great highway cruiser and it got me good mileage. If I were in the market for a used Accord, in fact, I’d probably be looking at the 2006-2007 years - all the bugs worked out of the 2003 redesign, and not as ugly and big as the current design, which I believe debuted in 2008.
I drive a 2006 Accord with the 2.4 liter 4-cylinder engine.
It’s got all the oomph I find I need - I honestly can’t fathom why I’d want more in a commuter-mobile. On the occasions when I need to floor it (very rare), it accelerates quite adequately.
I see from reading others’ posts that not everybody agrees with me - and that’s fine. I’d recommend trying the 4-cylinder, if you can, and deciding whether you feel the acceleration is sufficient for your tastes. Everybody has their own level of “enough.”
I’m not familiar with Hondas, but the smaller engine may not always be the best option. I know in Jeeps, the 4 cylinder engine gets worse mileage than the 6 because you have to keep your foot planted on the floor to keep up with the speed limit. With trucks, the 8 sometimes gets better mileage than the 6 because it doesn’t have to work as hard to get the vehicle moving or keep it moving.
I appreciate all the thoughts. I think I might stick with the I4. I happen to talk to a mechanic that I trust today and he said he would go with the I4, it would be cheaper over all and the only thing I would gain with the V6 is the increased power (which I probably don’t need).
The engine on a Honda will generally outlast the rest of the car. I’m not particularly fond of the Honda brand, they’ve made some shit cars in the past just like any other car maker, however they are the largest manufacturer of engines in the world and they have never made a bad engine. Reliability of either engine is a non-issue, although as stated, the V6, an older design, uses a timing belt that needs to be replaced, versus the I4 which uses a timing chain.
The key to getting the most out of a small engine is a manual transmission.
Just yesterday my daughter bought a used Hyundai Elantra (I4 engine) to replace the powerful but increasingly decrepit 1994 Honda Accord (V6) passed down from her brother. As a dutiful father, I extensively test drove the Elantra with her.
The Hyundai had more than enough power to get up to speed on the highway, but kept downshifting and upshifting to maintain the speed on hills, etc. By contrast, the Honda could cruise on the highway all day with the tachometer barely moving.
However, my daughter almost never drives more than one or two miles at highway speeds. All of her driving is on city streets where she barely gets to 35 mph. For her, the Honda’s extra power meant nothing, but the fuel economy of the Hyundai’s smaller engine is a big plus.
Reliability shouldn’t be a problem with either model, as long as you don’t find yourself redlining it all the time. If your primary mission is really around town driving, buy the 4-cylinder version. If you define “around town” as jumping on the highway for 10 miles or so as part of your daily commute, and piling the family and their luggage in for a weekend getaway, then it sounds like you’ll use the V6 power often enough to appreciate it.
I’ve never been a fan of these modern smallish, stiff-riding low-powered cars…I think I’ll stick with my 4.6-liter Cadillac Deville.
That being said, I recently used a 2008 4-cylinder Accord to tow a 1300-1500 pound (jet ski) trailer on a 5-hour highway ride. Even going uphill at highway speeds, and accelerating (with my heavy foot) on highway on-ramps, its power was perfectly adequate. I was really surprised and impressed with this car!
The V6 version will not only offer more power, but more smoothness and the power will be available at lower RPMs instead of having to rev up the engine. However, modern 4-cylinders are so much smoother than they were years ago—they vibrate far less than in the past.
As the others here have said, it would be a good idea for you to test-drive a sample car with each engine to see what you think.
Other things for you to consider, if you’re thinking about an '06-07 Accord:
Check out the Toyota Camry too. Toyotas tend to have a more comfortable ride and lower noise levels (in my opinion) than Hondas, but lean a little more in curves. It’s up to you which is more important.
Hondas and Toyotas have such high resale values, that I see little point in buying a used one—it seems like for just a few bucks more you could buy new, with better warranty and financing options. I could be wrong, but at any rate, be sure to price out a new model before choosing used.
On the other hand, Hyundais tend to have lower resale value, and thus are a good buy used. The Sonata is similar in size/power/fuel economy to the Accord, but is likely to cost a good bit less. The Kia Optima is similar. Older Sonatas are OK, but I especially like the 2007-up model.
The 2007-up Chevrolet Malibu also has nice styling, good performance (although without the reliability reputation of Honda/Toyota), and should be a good buy used.
I think this might be an overgeneralization (though it may well apply to the specific cars in question here). We have two cars. An Audi A6 with a V6 and a VW Jetta with a turbocharged 4 cylinder engine. Yes, the Audi clearly has more power, but the 4 in the VW holds its own. Absolutely no problem whatsoever accelerating quickly to merge/pass, no problem climbing hills, no lack of smoothness or objectionable noise. It’s a great little engine. The turbo makes a big difference.
When I was in high school, I had a Mustang with a 4 cylinder engine. Absolutely awful. If that were my only point of reference, I’d say “never again” also…