L O N G    T E R M    T E S T

Who could ever forget the Energizer bunny?  The little critter kept on appearing in every conceivable place—even dueling with Darth Vader in an US-only advertisement.  Of course, in the end, parent company Eveready decided to kill off the pink drumming rabbit in favor of the less remarkable Battery Man. 

Despite the loss of the Energizer bunny, we still remember the ad’s tagline: it keeps on going and going and going.  Much like the deceased battery-operated and slightly cool (and gay) bunny, the Honda Accord does pretty much the same thing.  Crank it every morning and it will just keep on going and going and going regardless of the time, the place and the driver.  Of course, unlike the rabbit, this car is still very much alive and kicking. 

When we first got our long-term test Honda Accord well back in 1998, it didn’t think that the 1.2 million peso entrance fee was worth it.  It carried a lot less toys than the similarly priced Nissan Cefiro and it didn’t have a remarkably great engine.  That said we were remarkably surprised at the Accord’s compliance when it comes to everyday duties.  It’s a comfortable, slightly sporty and elegant large saloon that’s under appreciated in the local scene. 

Forty thousand kilometers later, the story is still the same. 

The biggest plus point of the Honda Accord has got to be the very plush ride.  Though not as good as the Toyota Camry, the Accord gives a good balance between enthusiasm and comfort—giving the driver a bit of feedback with regards to the road conditions without attempting to shake out your half-digested ham and cheese sandwich.  The ride is remarkably smooth even when the tires have been pumped up to 35 pounds per square inch (psi). 

The build quality is solid as the Accord has no squeaks and creaks from the body work or any of the interior fittings.  That is except for the center console, which is largely to my fault.  Fiddling around with the 2-DIN radio, I accidentally snapped the radio spacer into two.  This causes some irritating creaks when going over uneven pieces of road (mental note: never mess around with the radio other than the volume).  Of course, a replacement part should silence this up. 

Ergonomically, the Accord is the best one in our long-term lot so far.  We’ve managed to test all the other Japanese executive-level sedans and we found this to be the real driver’s car.  All the switchgears have a nice tick-tock feel and remain solid even after more than two and a half years of using them. 

Though the headlights have been fairly powerful for the Honda Accord, we’ve been tempted to change the headlights and the fog lights into the HID-look PIAAs.  Though it cost us close to 9,000 pesos in total, the investment is well worth it as it gives the Accord even better night driving vision as well as a plus increase in terms of pogi points.

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