Love the Euro

[razaman]

While my 94 accord was at honda trying to figure out why it died I was given a loaner car:

2005 Satin Silver Accord Euro-S 6 speed with black interior.

Damn fine car! :thumbsup:

I didn't want to give it back! I was supposed to have it for 3 days (waiting for the suspected faulty part to arrive) but they found the problem the same day ($30 fix). Damn, i was so gutted.

Some of my observations compared to my 5th gen:
- Quiet (damn, couldn't hear the engine at idle inside the car)
- Lighter steering but still responsive
- Quicker and faster Acceleration
- More comfortable (heaps)
- Centre console and displays are fantastic
- Brakes are soo much better then the 5th gen.
- You sit ALOT higher (but you don't feel awkward like the 6th gens)
- Interior no bigger than the 5th gen (suprised)
- Boot no bigger either, maybe because of the full size spare? It was as long but not as deep.
- Rear vision just as bad, but no complaints. Spoiler doesn't really effect the rear vision.

I always liked the Euro but now I really want one! There are also couple Euro R's for sale in NZ at the moment - would love one of those but very expensive!

Raz

[adammet04]

dude you so have the euro bug....

at least you in NZ,

we have too many in Aus already, so i give you permission to buy one.. LOL

:p

[The-Genesis]

i wish i had bought the manual because i am that sort of driver. the automatic doesnt come with much thrills.

[albii]

i wish i had bought the manual because i am that sort of driver. the automatic doesnt come with much thrills.
the auto is nice......but you cant compare it with the manaul to exploit the euros full potential.. :honda:

[h22a accord]

auto is pretty gutless actually.

[yfin]

auto is pretty gutless actually.

I disagree - I think the auto power is not bad at all. It is still comparable to slower new V6 autos including Avalon and even V6 base model Commodores (save for the newest model).

[Slugoid]

My auto's can keep up with manual Mazda 6's. Only reason why it feels gutless is because gear ratio is longer so it takes longer to get into the power range. 2nd gear redline in an auto is already 110km/h+ and there is no way to shift to 1st when your above 40km/h or so, so most of your useable gear is 2nd and 3rd.

[h22a accord]

yesterday i did a standing start in an 05 euro lux auto with VSA switched off and while 1st gear it seems spirited, when it changes to 2nd it feels like a dog.

[Aratahu]

I love my auto as well, and I'm really not sure where you're picking the word "gutless" from. If all I did was night time driving or country roads, manual would have been the choice - but for city use it's just great. My feeling is also that I get heaps of usable performance from any situation; not having to worry about downshifts if suddenly required is great. If I want to plan ahead, I'll just put it in sequential.

In my old a Civic Hatch 02 5MT I was never able to switch it into 1st unless I was going less than 20-30kph anyway, so if the Euro MT lets you go into 1st at +40 speeds then that's certainly a big kudos to the MT.

As for my manual driving proficency, I got high marks for heel toe downshifting by my Jim Murcott High Performance Driving instructor in the Civic. I reckon I'll get a 2nd car in about 4-5 years time and it will be something like a STI if they've put side + curtains into the model at that time. Now, _that's_ a performance car.

[h22a accord]

sti, meh...i want a new porsche 911 carrera. its twin turbo 4wd and does an 11.9 sec quarter mile from the factory, then and only then will be satisfied with the power from a car lol.

[Aratahu]

911.... Unfortunately I didn't say anything about becoming a millionaire in my last post :) Keeping things somewhat more realistic, the new M5 looks great too - how cool is that launch control system (http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/06m5.htm).

[V205]

I reckon the that M5's interior is fugly!


911.... Unfortunately I didn't say anything about becoming a millionaire in my last post :) Keeping things somewhat more realistic, the new M5 looks great too - how cool is that launch control system (http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/06m5.htm).

[The-Genesis]

yesterday i did a standing start in an 05 euro lux auto with VSA switched off and while 1st gear it seems spirited, when it changes to 2nd it feels like a dog.

i totaly agree. a 6speed auto would had been a much nicer choice im not sure why honda doesnt make a 6 speed auto box? an extra gear would do wonders.

[V205]

Euro (and the latest 2005 CRV update) already have a 5 spd auto gearbox which is 1 more than most of it's competitor's 4 spd auto.


i totaly agree. a 6speed auto would had been a much nicer choice im not sure why honda doesnt make a 6 speed auto box? an extra gear would do wonders.

[PNR888]

In the good old days, Most auto gearboxes are 3 spd. Only prestige cars have 4spd auto.. and they have the privilege of having "4 speed Auto" badge on boot lid.
then 4sp auto has became the mainstreams. MB broke the silence and introduced 5sp auto, then followed by BMW.
When BMW introduced its current shape 7-series.. it added an extra gear to its Auto box.. soon after that MB launched 7spd auto to its V8 models, and now v6 models too..

By the way it is going now.. it is just matter of time before we see a little Toyota Echo has 8 or even 9 speed auto box fitted standard..

[The-Genesis]

hehe, a question? more gears = better acceleration? interms of power and torque managment?

sorry if i talk non sense because i dont know much about cars.

[Chris_F]

doesnt the jazz come in an auto with 7 gears?

[Aratahu]

genesis - I'm not an expert either, but basically I think you've got to think of it as this: Your vehicle has a certain minimum speed [e.g. reverse] and a maximum speed.

Your engine has a certain amount of power and torque, but coupling it straight to the wheels won't work - if geared for going fast, you'd need another vehicle or mechanism to push you up to the speed where the engine could start working, or if geared for being able to do this yourself - you'd end up with ok acceleration and a low top speed - or abysmal acceleration and a medium top speed. So you need some gears that can let the engine operate at different powerbands and get the car started.

Speaking as a 30-something year old, think back to your one geared first pushbike - it got pretty tiring in the end, didn't it? The richer blokes on the block with geared pushbikes would always ride faster than you, or you'd put in a helluvalot of effort where they could just cruise.

To let the car operate efficiently, several gears are in place to connect the engine [e.g. your legs] to the wheels. As on a pushbike, you can't start off in the lowest gear, that's too much hard work. So we start off on a high gear instead, letting you quickly get up to speed - but then you run out of RPMs (how fast you can pedal) and you need to change to the next gear.

So each of the gears have their own power curves, if you've seen dyno charts that show this much power and this much torque for each RPM. It rises and rises from pretty low to the cars rated maximum and then tapers off until you hit the rev limit.

The first older & cheaper geared pushbikes had something like 3 odd gears; whilst this was definitely an improvement by giving you three different powerbands, it would still mean a lot of speeds where you were either going too fast for the 1st gear or too slow for the 2nd - so as to speak. The more gears the merrier, as you can operate in the powerband you are the most happy with for any given speed.

So cars are essentially the same - you find your wanted powerband easier having more gears, regardless of what you actually want to perform. It could either be optimal acceleration or low power cruising at high speeds [when you want low RPMs to conserve fuel].

The more technical among you, please update any errors or omissions above? Thanks :)

[The-Genesis]

thanks for that awesome explanation, my undestanding is much clear now. You did forgot to mention there is some power loss in autos via torque converter. :P

[Suntzu]

I just got back from a 600km round trip in my new milano red 6 sp manual. I had a 3.5l Magan sports 5 sp auto before. I can tell you that the Euro is just as quick as the v6 magna in most situations but is a much more precise and refined vehicle and handles 3 time better.

The auto would take the edge of it but what do some of you guys expect from putting a highly strung 2.35l 4 cyclinder with an auto box? Its gunna mute it a little. Get the manual if you wanna Zoom! I know I did!

[albii]

aahh yes but the 3.5 magna does go pretty hard..

[Aratahu]

And for those especially wanting the comfort of effortless city driving, 90% of the manual's power still leaves plenty of zoom for country roads left in 2nd or 3rd on sequential. Got to love it.