The one time I spent time with a Honda was in 2004, an Accord DX sedan. The Thrifty Car Rental fleet at Columbus was in transition until they got their new LX cars in that year, during Mopar Nats. Their rental fleet was very "international" with Hondas, Hyundais, Mitsus, etc.
It was a nice car and I could see why people buy them. The car had 30K on it and it looked newer, except for some swirls in the paint from the automatic car washes. It felt "like it was carved from one rock", rather than "assembled". The interior was "1975 Office Modern", durable and tasteful, but nothing really snazzy.
It was the drivetrain that I was more attentive to. The trans was smooth and the engine quiettt. On the way back to the motel one day, I had the cruise on and wanted to speed up a little to get past slower traffic, so I hit the "+" button twice. I noticed the tach needle swing up and if the radio hadn't been low, I would not have heard a slight engine sound increase. Otherwise, very smooth. When around the car, I punched the "-" button and slowed back down. THEN I started noticing more things. At the 60-65mph cruise, the engine was right at 2000rpm, maybe a little less, two punches on the cruise to increase speed resulted in the same tach needle swing as before. Same smoothness.
I'd read the "Car and Driver" tests of the Honda sedans, which they loved. No mention of low engine power below 2000rpm. I had noticed their acceleration times from idle, though, which were generally faster than others. The reason? A very low low gear ratio! The 2nd gear ratio in the automatic was more normal.
In some of the neighborhoods west of the OSU campus in Columbus, the intersections are somewhat "tight". I'd noticed that when turning left, usually, about the time I'd get straightened out, the car would increase acceleration with no throttle input. What was happening was that with a normal throttle input, by the time I got straightened out, the low gear would result in 2000rpm being passed, so more power. By the time it hit 3000rpm, power was happening, but not below that. Never did hear about this in the road tests! Froma very high tech 4 cyl from a noted manufacturer, I would have expected a more even transition than what I'd felt in power production.
The Chrysler Turbos (in LeBaron convertibles we'd rented in Columbus, in prior Mopar Nats excursions) had some weakness until the turbo started to work. If you pulled out into traffic, throttled into it, felt you needed a little more throttle, then the turbo would come on. If you drove normally and kept an even throttle, it all worked fine.
The Chrysler 2.7 V-6 (LH car) was a little weak below 2500rpm, but not like the Honda 4cyl. The trick with the 2.7 was to be at a speed that was low enough to get the "deep kickdown" to put the engine in the power band at WOT. Then it came on like something more than 200 horsepower.
So not that the Honda engine is a poor design, just that from all I'd read, my expectations were possibly a little high. The deep low gear gets the engine out of that "weak" area quickly, so you feel the acceleration quicker, which is probably where their performance orientation perception began (in stock form). That low gear ratio is the KEY. Past that, a very finely-built engine that will last a long time if taken care of. Were it not for that powertrain, it would sink lower into the "appliance car" neighborhood, to me. Fuel economy was a little better than expected, a few mpg more than other cars I'd rented.
As I said, I could see why people like these cars so much, even a cult following of sorts. BUT not a "true family car" in the manner of a '60s Plymouth Fury. Maybe a young family, then with ONE kid, or an older couple that might need to take another couple with them to eat. NOT a cross-country 1-2 week family vacation, where rear seat legroom, "hip" room, and TRUNK space are important considerations. Be that as it may . . .
The year after that, I upgraded to a Dodge Charger R/T. Black on black. Many thumbs-up on the freeways in THAT car. Might have been that "HEMI" nameplate tastefully placed on the front fenders? That thing HAD a HEMI in it. Oh, and it made "happy sounds" with the throttle cracked, engine and rear tires, hehe.
CBODY67
