Test drove impressions Accord & X gen Civic

[JMM]

Hi Guys,
Since I'm looking to replace my very trusted and reliable '07 Accord EX-L V6 3.0 that I love, now with +150K miles and still performing great.
Looking for sporty driving that would put some joy and to continue with the long reliability experience from Honda. I test drove a Honda Accord 2.0 Sport, Accord EX-L Hybrid, Honda Civic 1.5Tw/. CVT transmission, Honda Sport MT & Honda Civic Si (The Civics all X gen, I don't like the looks of the new Civic Xl gen, it looks too humdrum for me. Focusing on the driving experience:

ACCORD 2.0T: Very strong and fast engine, very good shifting 10 AT, suspension/chassis felt very stable, great steering and good brakes. A great car!

ACCORD HYBRID: Similar performance to my V6 engine with much better fuel economy, transmission shifting felt much better than a CVT.

X Civic Sport:
Love the looks of this specific Civics but the 2.0 engine is very slow, even with the 6MT.

X Civic 1.5T with the CVT:
Looks good not as appealing as the sport model. The Powertrain combination wasn't that strong and I hated the lack of shifting feel of the CVT, I would not consider this Powertrain combination on the heavier Accord.

X Civic Si:
I liked the driving experience of this car, excellent shifting feel of the 6MT, better Powertrain combination for the Civic (besides the R that I haven't tested), great performing chassis/suspension, great seating position, agile light feeling.
Don't like the looks of the front and rear artificial square plastic vents or the big rear spoiler. (Apparently the '20 Coupe Si would look better. This one was a '19 Si sedan.

At the end I love the internal space and power of the 2.0T Accord and the economy of the Hybrid, but the external design of the Sport Civic looks beautiful and sporty. Probably a '20 Civic Si coupe would be the way to go.
Difficult decision!

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[rwk226]

The Accord 2.0T definitely is the fastest stock. With that said, it's traditionally viewed as more of a highway cruiser than a backroad/track warrior (not that it can't do so), but a better all-around car would be the Civic Si. You'd get better MPG, car responds extremely well to a tune and modifications, cheaper to insure, and would be extremely fun to drive on back roads or a race track.

The Accord Hybrid would probably be the best for MPG but the least fun of the bunch. The Civic Sport 2.0L 6mt would be a bit more fun, but as you've noted already, simply not a fun car to drive due to its lack of power.

This choice definitely depends on what you want. Do you want to have a highway cruiser that's got TONS of overhead for performance modifications? Go with the Accord 2.0T. Do you want a better all around car that's also got good overhead? Get the Si.

 

[arpypat]

I replaced my 2005 Acura TL 6mt with a 2019 Civic Si sedan and love it!!! Perfect daily driver if you prefer a manual transmission.

The Accord is real nice also if you need a bigger car. The 2.0t MOVES, but even the 1.5t Accord isn't too bad.

Honestly, it's still not a great time to buy a car. Used 2019 Si's are more expensive in 2022 with 30k miles than they were New in 2019 with 0 miles on them...

 

[JMM]

Yes I prefer driving a MT. From the videos that I saw the one on the Accord was considered a bad shifter by two different reviewers, very loose.
The short sporty shifter on the Si felt very precise.

 

[JMM]

Yes, prices on the used market are crazy at this time.
I sold a '16 Camaro SS with low miles at the beginning of 2020 at $28800, now the same year car is at the $35-40K range.
Probably it would be better to wait until the used car market stabilizes back to normal.

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