S P E C I A L     :     L O N G - T E R M    T E S T

I’d honestly wish I had something extraordinary to tell you in the 30,000 kilometer update of the Honda Accord VTi-L. Generally, however, the car has fared very well and needs as much attention as your bread toaster.  That’s right, the famed Honda reliability is at work here and except for regular trips to the service bay for oil, the Accord has remained free from any mechanical bugs. 

Probably there are two things that happened with the car since the first update 10,000 kilometers ago, and this is the fact that the car was defaced by a group of cretins who vandalized the rear door, smash the driver’s side mirror and the front passenger door. A quick trip to Honda Cars Quezon Avenue revealed that the damage could all be repaired and shouldered by insurance. 

A week later, the car comes out perfect with all the dents and dings now gone and the paint work miraculously matched with the rest of the car. Now, it looks as if the car is brand new, not having gone through any brush with the evils of our metropolitan society. There were slight problems however with how Honda Cars painted the car in the first place. Outside, the car was good as new, but inside was a different question. Some paint splattered on the dash and the seats and some of the screw covers went missing. 

Surprisingly, Honda Cars Quezon City called us two weeks later and asked how we found their service. We were honest and we notified them of the paint and screw problems. They promptly apologized and offered to clean up their mess for free next time we check in with them. Good customer service…when was the last time we’ve heard this from Toyota Otis or any Nissan service bay? 

The engine still sounds good as ever, although now comparing it to the likes of the VQ engine of the Nissan Cefiro and the newer VVTi engines of Toyota, it is obvious that the VTEC unit of Honda may be smooth and accurate, but it’s still too darn buzzy. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t much of a hindrance to normal everyday driving, but the differentiating characteristics of the SOHC VTEC engine is very noticeable after driving this back-to-back with the all-new Toyota RAV4 long-term test car we have. Nonetheless, performance is still bliss for this 2.3-liter unit. In fact, the engine revs happily towards its 6,500-rpm redline without any degree of unevenness or hesitation. You just have to love the VTEC units when it changes its cam profile—truly excellent.

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