2004 Honda Accord EX review from North America

Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with this car during our first year of ownership.

The 2004 Honda Accord EX V6 is a well appointed, reliable and comfortable family sedan that has plenty of power and handles superbly. I highly recommend this car.

The fit and finish and quality of materials, both interior and exterior, is top notch.

This car has one of the smoothest V6 power plants around. It has gobs of power and it is coupled to an equally smooth 5 speed automatic transmission. (I test drove the 4 cylinder Accord EX. In my opinion, there is simply no comparison whatsoever between the vehicles! The V6 is by far the smoother power plant and well worth the additional price.)

Because of the power train and the superb handling and build quality, this car rivals the much more expensive Acura. The leather seating and interior is beautifully executed. The car looks like a much more expensive vehicle, particularly under the hood and inside the cabin.

The handling is nimble and true, even though this is a fairly large automobile. It handles almost as well as my Volkswagen Passat even though it is a much larger and heavier vehicle. The stock Michelin tires are all right, but I expect that when it comes time to replace them I will purchase tires that will make this car handle even better than it does now.

Traction control and ABS brakes are standard on the Accord EX V6. It is excellent in rain and snow.

The car comes with front, side and side head curtain airbags standard and has a five star crash test rating.

Presently, my wife drives our Accord most of the time while I use my 1996 VW Passat. I expect that this Accord will be extremely reliable due to the fact that we have not had any problems at all during the first year of ownership and because Consumer Reports rates its reliability as "above average".

My wife's previous car was a 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S. The build quality of the Altima was terrible in comparison to this Honda. After two years of service the Altima also felt loose in its steering and suspension. This Honda feels like it is brand new after 7,500 miles.

We also just sold our 1989 Nissan Maxima, which was built in Japan (unlike now, because US Nissans are assembled in the USA) and was one of our favorite automobiles. When new, that Maxima felt solid like this Honda. I expect this Honda to wear as well as the Maxima.