Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Car Reviws

Car Reviws

2011 Honda Accord Coupe EX-L Navi, an AW Drivers Log:

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 07:17 AM PST

ASSOCIATE EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Cars like the Accord coupe are a rare breed in the market. Besides this and the Nissan Altima coupe, there are no other coupe offshoots of regular midsize sedans. Toyota even abandoned this segment when it chopped the Camry Solara from its lineup not so long ago. Luckily for the people who do shop this segment, the Accord and the Altima are both strong entries.

As for this particular Accord coupe, it's a 2011 model to which Honda gave a mild freshening. On the outside are a new grille, new bumpers and new wheel designs. Other upgrades include a standard USB audio interface, new gauge faces and a rearranged center stack, and V6 coupes get a two-position driver's-seat memory setup.

If you directly compare the V6-equipped versions of the Accord and the Altima, you'll see that they match up almost identically. Both engines are 3.5 liters in displacement, with the Honda barely beating out the Nissan in the horsepower column (271 vs. 270). However, the Altima has the slight upper hand when it comes to torque, with 258 lb-ft compared with the Accord's 251 lb-ft. The most striking difference comes at the scale, where the Nissan with a six-speed manual rings in at 3,294 pounds, while the Accord is a porkier 3,423 pounds, for a difference of 129 pounds, which is a fair amount.

These coupes are in no way supposed to perform like sports cars. Their mission is to be comfortable cruisers that can handle being pushed hard from time to time, and both of them do it well. To me, the Accord is overall the more refined package of the two, with a handsome, high-quality interior built from nice materials. The engine-and-transmission combo is also one of the best on the market with fluid shifts from the six-speed gearbox and a great V6 that is not only smooth but also carries a lot of punch.

For normal driving, the suspension damps harsh impacts well, and little wind and road noise penetrates the cabin. Steering is fairly light but responsive, and the brakes are confidently strong with good pedal feel. When you decide to get at it, the Accord responds respectably with lots of grip through corners from the wide all-season Michelin tires, but there is a noticeable amount of roll. Of course, push it too hard, and you'll understeer.

Around a road course, I would rather be in the Altima, which is more responsive overall. However, if I was just looking for a coupe for the streets, it would undoubtedly be the Honda for its stronger all-around credentials. The Altima's interior isn't as comfortable, the Nissan V6 drone gets tiresome after a while, and the manual's shifts are crunchy compared with the Honda's. I also happen to like the Accord coupe's bolder-looking sheetmetal.

2011 Honda Accord Coupe EX-L Navi

Base Price: $32,480

As-Tested Price: $32,480

Drivetrain: 3.5-liter V6; FWD, six-speed manual

Output: 271 hp @ 6,200 rpm, 251 lb-ft @ 5,000 rpm

Curb Weight: 3,423 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 20/22.1 mpg

Options: None

2009 Nissan Cube: Long-termer wrap-up:

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 07:08 AM PST

Our love affair with the Nissan Cube cooled off toward the end of our year with it. During the first three months, we were smitten with the funky, asymmetrical box. The cargo room, decent steering and loud stereo made the Cube a good around-town cruiser and people mover. Airport trips, camping duty and Costco runs were the norm, with rare complaints aside from wind noise at expressway speeds.

The Cube was packed full of options for our yearlong test, to the tune of $5,270. The Preferred package included keyless entry and ignition, upgraded stereo with iPod input, fog lights and rear parking assist. The comically named Ginormous package gave us the aero kit, interior accent lights and other custom bodywork.

It was the looks that drew us in at the beginning. We loved being the center of attention. A few staffers noticed other cars jockeying for position to get a better look. But it was not universal praise for the sheetmetal. “Interesting” was the comment most often heard.

“Well, first, the Cube is asymmetric,” one editor noted, “and that is generally unusual except in concept cars or cars as art or, for God’s sake, cars built by Ed Roth. Also, it seems taller than it is wide. That’s not generally the proportion that designers embrace.”

But we liked it. The only time the styling became an issue was when a staffer tried to unload it in her garage and found that the wide-swinging rear door needed space to open all the way.

The 1.8-liter, 122-hp I4 performed as expected. Entering the fast lane was still a chore, and keeping the Cube steady at speed took a firm hand and a keen eye on the weather report.

That’s where the Cube received mixed reviews. In any sort of wind, the upright box was thrown around significantly, especially on the highway. In the rain, the Cube didn’t inspire much confidence during lane changes or avoidance maneuvers. The one place where it did show its chops was in the snow. The skinny tires made cutting through the white stuff easy, and the well-modulated brakes kept sliding to a minimum.

The continuously variable transmission was generally unremarkable in the first half of the year. It provided enough acceleration for normal duties and kept the noise to a minimum. We chose the CVT because it was the more newsworthy transmission and because buyers are more likely to opt for it than for the manual.

Later in the year, the CVT and the engine grew louder. Several editors called it whiny or buzzy. Some resorted to turning the radio up to drown out the noise. By the end of the year, the combo seemed to be working extra hard.

The CVT wasn’t the only noise in the cabin. In our last quarter, we found rattles in the center stack and the steering column, and the rear seemed to crash loudly over bumps. The year of constant duty took its toll.

We didn’t overuse the Cube. In the first half of the year, it saw about 10,000 miles of service. As our fondness cooled, we logged only about 5,000 more.

Over the course of those miles, the Cube didn’t need any major repairs. Maintenance included three scheduled stops, for a total of $152.58. That’s a very low running cost considering that one scheduled stop in a luxury car can cost twice as much. Three recalls were dealt with, one for tire-pressure monitor nuts, one for the fuel-filler tube and one for the rear door handles. None was major, and none had the Cube out of service for more than an afternoon.

It was a fun year in the useful-but-noisy Cube. What we’ll remember most are the puzzled looks from other drivers, the capacity to stack great amounts of cargo in the rear and the fact that every car doesn’t need to be a wedge-shaped coupe or a mundane sedan.

And we can’t forget about the piece of shag carpet on the dash. What was that for, anyway?

2009 NISSAN CUBE 1.8 SL

MILES DRIVEN (QUARTER/YEAR): 2,636/14,796

FUEL ECONOMY (QUARTER/YEAR): 27.4/26.6 mpg

FUEL COST (QUARTER/YEAR): $265.32/$1.492.99

DAYS OUT OF SERVICE (QUARTER/YEAR): None/none

MAINTENANCE: 11,250-mile service, including oil change, top off fluids, multipoint inspection ($38.47); 7,500-mile service, including oil change, lube latches and hinges, clean and adjust brakes, rotate tires, top off fluids and multipoint inspection ($77.82); 3,750-mile service, including oil change, multipoint inspection ($36.02); recall to replace both rear door handles (warranty); recall to replace fuel-filler tube (warranty); recall to replace tire-pressure-monitor sensor nuts (warranty)

ORIGINAL STICKER PRICE: $22,780

TRADE-IN VALUE: $14,200

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

Labels