1992 Honda Accord LX review from North America

The right headlight was changed about two months ago with the OEM bulb until I decided to upgrade to high-intensity discharge bulbs for both.

I had the B and C pipes of the exhaust changed about a month ago (about $500 altogether).

Just last week, I had both gaskets replaced and new spark plugs and a few other smaller things I can't recall right now.

Overall, the car is fairly reliable and operating costs are low.

Unfortunately, the insurance is surprisingly high and the gas mileage is more inconsistent than one would expect.

For a modest twelve-year-old family sedan with a four-speed automatic, it has surprisingly good performance. I've personally clocked the 0 to 60 at 7.5 seconds (you have to make sure to get a good launch) with a friend's G-force monitor and have reached 102 mph on the highway (in traffic, no less!), and I was really holding back. I have no reason to doubt the factory's 130 mph claim. It corners like a larger 2-door with early (yet negotiable) understeer that can be compensated for by lifting off the gas. 50 mph is easily attainable on an on-ramp, but its real strength is off-ramps, where the speed you can attain is limited only by how gutsy you are, since there is pretty much no downforce and any move above 55 mph is a risky proposition. Although that makes it unsafe, turning at very high speed is possible if you have the skill and cojones for it.

If you're thinking that this is more attention than any bone-stock '92 Accord should ever attain, I plan on studying journalism in college and writing for a car mag after graduating.