1988 Honda Concerto EX-i review from Australia and New Zealand

There was an oil leak in the sump, which caused copious amounts of refilling for 2,000KM.

Previous owner had replaced the driveshaft.

I am extremely pleased with the performance of the Conch, as I like to nickname the machine.

The interior aesthetics have been timeless, since the mid 90's and age is now appearing abruptly as I write this.

Good sounding 4 speaker stereo. Although C-QUAM AM stereo feature now useless since many Australian radio stations stopped using their C-QUAM modulated transmitters.

Criticism of the car points towards its fuel consumption, which eats the stuff in less than the business week, five days.

Average acceleration is sluggish,

But if properly encouraged with the right foot can yield some interesting results when jumping out of the emergency lane on the Eastern FWY.

I feel that the choice of engine this car was permitted with, in Australia, was inadequate, as it really struggles when carrying four adults and heavy luggage.

The B20A 2.0 DOHC engine, from the 1988 Honda Prelude, would've been a better choice for a 4CL family car of this nature as its torque would've done this car some justice in the heavy passenger carrying class.

While I have my criticisms about the D16Z's performance, I do enjoy having fun with my Conch, if the lily livered drivers who feel that the 100KM/H sign means 85KM/H don't invade the freeways.

I love to mash the accelerator down, as the rapidly advancing revolutions of the motor keep the automatic gearbox from shifting until it reaches the rev limiter (6500RP/M).

4000RP/M is about where the D16Z's torque shows up.

The maximum speed I have reached in the Conch has been 160KM/H, which is all-right as far as I'm concerned, although some day I may consider options in the distant future.