Honda Accord 2005: The Weekly Driver Review

Written by James Raia


The Honda Accord is arguablyrepparttar most reliable, well-respected vehicle onrepparttar 102763 road today. It's notrepparttar 102764 most luxurious orrepparttar 102765 fastest car. It doesn't have luxury car status or solicit overt double-takes from passersby.

But what it does is have is plenty of high marks in nearly every ranked category – comfort to acceleration, instrument control efficiency to ride quality. And what it will likely earn viarepparttar 102766 public is its overwhelming best-buy status in many consumer guides.

The 240-horsepower, automatic V6 EX sedan was my weekly test vehicle. The 350 miles I droverepparttar 102767 car included a 200-mile trip to San Francisco. The outbound ride was smooth, particularly considering Honda's surprisingly easy-to-use navigation system.

The return trip, unfortunately, began atrepparttar 102768 peak of rush-hour traffic. It took nearly an hour to drive only a few miles out ofrepparttar 102769 middle ofrepparttar 102770 financial district and ontorepparttar 102771 freeway.

Gridlock is never a good thing, with perhaps only one exception - fodder for a car review. During my hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic, a few drivers lost their temper. A few bicyclists maneuvered throughrepparttar 102772 slow-moving maze a little too close to my car. A few pedestrians' patience levels were tested in hustle-bustle of a big city at 4:30 p.m. And a guy even got out of his car, walked across two lanes of standstill traffic, tapped on my window and asked if I could move back slightly so he could enter a parking lot.

As a testament torepparttar 102773 new Accord's comfort, withrepparttar 102774 windows rolled up,repparttar 102775 stereo on and no place to go, all was fine. Even a stranger knocking onrepparttar 102776 window – a potential road rage scenario – wasn't a problem. The guy asked nicely and I cordially obliged.

Sincerepparttar 102777 Accord was introduced in 1976, Honda has refinedrepparttar 102778 model nearly every year, with this year's offering no different.

The 2005 Honda has all ofrepparttar 102779 same qualities ofrepparttar 102780 top-rated 2004 model, plus more. The V6 models now haverepparttar 102781 added standard safety features of traction control as well as front torso and side curtain air bags. Dual-zone automatic climate controls, leather upholstery, leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, satellite race, outside-temperature indicator, 6-disc CD changer, power sunroof and navigation system with voice control are also standard features that placerepparttar 102782 Accord close to a luxury classification, yet still underrepparttar 102783 $30,000 price point.

Honda Pilot 2005: The Weekly Driver Review

Written by James Raia


Like its popular brethren,repparttar CR-V, Odyssey and new Element,repparttar 102762 Pilot completes Honda's best-buy SUV and van line. And like any of those offerings or anything else in Honda's arsenal, it's hard to find serious fault withrepparttar 102763 Pilot.

Introduced in late 2003,repparttar 102764 Pilot replacedrepparttar 102765 Passport and it sharesrepparttar 102766 same basic chassis and powertrain asrepparttar 102767 MDX,repparttar 102768 complementary choice from Honda's upscale Acura division.

My test drive forrepparttar 102769 week wasrepparttar 102770 top ofrepparttar 102771 line's EX L 4-door wagon that includes both a navigation system and second seat DVD entertainment system. With those additions,repparttar 102772 Pilot further enhances its position atrepparttar 102773 forefront ofrepparttar 102774 midsize SUV ranks that includerepparttar 102775 Ford Explorer, Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander.

The three Pilot models all offer a V6, 255-horsepower engine paired only a 5-speed automatic transmission. The HP total represents an increase of six percent fromrepparttar 102776 2004 model, further adding torepparttar 102777 vehicle's status amongrepparttar 102778 quicker midsize SUVs. It has a 0-60 mph test rating of 7.9 seconds.

Further performance areas forrepparttar 102779 Pilot are all at least average or above. The driver sits "tall" inrepparttar 102780 vehicle, so steering and handling are fine forrepparttar 102781 car's type. But it should never be mistaken for anything other than a SUV with cornering limitations.

Braking is strong andrepparttar 102782 standard all-wheel-drive system seems well-suited for trails and in inclement weather conditions.

Like other Hondas, controls and instrumentation as well as styling and indoor space are thoughtful and styled simply. The automatic shift lever is located behindrepparttar 102783 right side ofrepparttar 102784 steering wheel and doesn't block access to other controls. But it's also too easy to shift in and out of transmission settings.

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