The Good and Bad with My New 2018 Honda Accord

Car Buying is a Real Pain

If you ask my wife about my car history she would tell you it’s not great. And I totally agree with her.

Up until late 2018, I’ve never owned a brand new car. Yes, we’ve bought cars for her, but I’ve always driven second-hand cars. Working from home the past ten years has really limited my drive time. When I was commuting, I really didn’t have the proper funds for a nice new car. Money saved on cars is something I will always appreciate.

That being said, there were plenty of times I wish I had a newer car. Here is the list of cars I’ve owned since the age of 16.

• Buick Skylark – My first car. It came right from the next door neighbors. It was a 1981 maroon Buick Skylark. It only lasted a few years through high school. It got the job done, but I didn’t miss it once it left my hands.
• Ford Explorer – This was the truck I had in college. Probably the most memorable of all the used vehicles I’ve ever owned. It took me and my buddies all over the country and more. It was an awesome truck until I blew a head gasket and sold it to CarMax. We were both suckers at the time.
• Honda Accord – This was a more reliable used car. It was seven years old with only 50k miles when I purchased it. It had all the bells and whistles at the time and I drove this car for quite a while. It got me where I needed to go and that’s about it. Nothing special! I sold it in decent condition to a college student. I’m hoping it worked out for her.
• Toyota Avalon – I scooped this up when I moved to snow country. This is the old man’s car I regretted getting soon after I bought it. I picked it up from my parent’s friend. I had sold the Accord recently and needed a car. It had snow tires and everything, but it was just lame. Never again!
• Lexus RX350 – At the time I purchased this car, I was doing well financially and decided to splurge a little luxury. The only thing I got was a Lexus lemon. I probably spent over $5,000 in maintenance and issues with this thing. I really wanted to roll it off a cliff. Every bump I hit was frustrating. This is when I decided it was time for something new.

It Was Time to Buy a 2018 Honda Accord 2.0T

For me, a car is a car and really nothing more. Sometimes I’ll take a ride in a nice car and it makes me want more. However, I can’t really reason spending a fortune on a ride when I only drive  6,000 miles a year. For those miles, I do want something I can enjoy. At the time of purchase, we were leasing a Honda Pilot that was about to expire. Although I’m living in the snow belt I decided to get a sedan. The 2018 Honda Accord to be exact. My model was was just below the touring edition which pretty much has everything I needed. You can look it up on the Honda site for all the different specs.

Overall, I’m very pleased with this car. I’m only 2500 miles in, but I feel like I’m getting what I paid for. The 2.0T engine adds a whole new element to my driving. I’ve never owned a fast car. This car has some great acceleration and it is fun to drive. Come spring, I’m looking forward to opening it up a bit. I just need to get through winter first.

Top Five Things I like About the 2018 Accord

• Aggressive Front Exterior – Honda has come a long way when it comes to their exteriors. The front look on the 2018 is very aggressive. It has a much stronger appearance than just your basic sedan. It was probably one of the top five things that sold me on the car.
• Fun to Drive – This can mean a ton of different things, but for the most part it’s quick and handles the road really well. I’m able to go much faster than the other cars mentioned above. It has a very comfortable driver’s seat.
• Sports Mode – The sports mode allows you to take advantage of the paddle shifts and use the turbo on the engine. You definitely get a more fun sports car type ride when this is engaged. The tachometer is digital and looks really cool when this is activated.
• Brake Hold – This feature I haven’t used much but will start to soon. If it is engaged, every time you come to a complete stop you will be able to take your foot off the break. The car won’t move until you hit the gas pedal.  A nice feature when you face a lot of lights. As you press the gas and come out of brake hold, it’s like you were holding the brake the whole time.
• Trunk Space – The trunk is large enough to hold most items I’ll ever attempt to put back there. Not the most exciting thing in a car, but it does make a difference when you need to put an extra set of golf clubs in the back.

Top Five Things I Don’t Like About the 2018 Accord

• Apple Car Play – Although the idea is there, the safety precautions in it are just a pain in the ass. If you change anything on your phone while in car play, it takes you out of the screen you were looking at. Apple Car Play is good for waze, Siri texting sometimes and Spotify, but I hardly use it for anything else.
• Nowhere to Put your Phone – They want to push the ACP features, but when you plug in your phone, you really don’t have a solid place to put it. In 2018, you think they would have an ideal spot for phone storage while driving. I do like how it has the 2nd USB charger in the center console.  I actually use this vs. the charger area on the lower dash.
• Downshift Slip – I’m not sure if this is a bug in the system or something bigger. When I get up to speed but hover between 50 – 55, I notice a downshift in gear. It doesn’t happen all the time when I’m at this speed, but it does occur often enough where I feel a little jostle. Mainly going up hills.
• Not Built for Snow – Living in snow country I knew it wasn’t the ideal car for snow. It is, after all, a front wheel drive vehicle. I thought with new tires I could get through the first season, but right away I noticed how fast the tries spin on snow. Just before a big storm came in I purchased some Firestone Winterforce tires. They did really well, I’m happy to not to be white-knuckling it or afraid I won’t make it up some hills. A good investment in my opinion.
• Remote Start Key Fob – Where I’m located it’s nice to have a remote start. The Accord does have one. The issue I face is knowing if the remote start actually worked. If I’m in a closed window building and I can’t see the car, I don’t know if it started until I get to the car. It would be nice to have a feedback response letting me know if the car started or not. Maybe another flash on the FOB or even a ping to your smartphone.
• Honorable Mention – The windshield wipers – I have the same issue on the 2018 Pilot. It tends to start smearing dirt and not completely cleaning the window when using the wiper fluid. You can spray all you want but the upper passenger side just doesn’t get fully clean.

I know some of the dislikes get a little picky, but these things are important. People may say it’s not a luxury car, so don’t expect all the bells and whistles, but that shouldn’t matter. With the amount I spent on it, it should do all the important things correctly. Overall, however, I really like this car. As long as I don’t drive in a blizzard, it should get the job done while providing a lot of fun. I haven’t had it in warm weather yet, so I’m looking forward to having the windows open and cranking the Afternoon Grind Spotify Playlist.

Keep an eye out for future updates on the Honda Accord 2.0 Turbo. It’s a great car and I suggest you take it for a test drive.

Please feel free to reach out with Any Questions.