Goal:  Find an affordable and reliable second car that is fun to drive to replace our 1993 Volvo that we sold to our nephew.

The Car:  2004 Honda Accord LX, 4-door sedan, 4 cylinder, manual transmission, the LX comes standard with power windows, locks, AC, cruise control,  ABS brakes, 6-speaker stereo.

Price (new car) - My local Honda dealer matched the price quoted on CarsDirect.com of $17,500.  This is the bargain of the year - an affordable, high-performance car that is practical and fun to drive. 

The standard 4-cylinder engine in the 2004 Accord is a real high-performance engine when combined with the manual transmission. This is a very sophisticated engine that can match the performance of more expensive 6 cylinder midsize cars.  It was tested at 7.9 seconds from 0 to 60mph.  Amazingly, it is also rated 26 / 34 in city and highway miles per gallon

Interior with the stick shift.  The manual transmission is a dream to use with a short-throw stick and very smooth clutch action.  The LX comes standard with a 6-speaker stereo with great sound.

Side-view of the Accord.  The somewhat boring exterior hides a powerful sports car on the inside.  

Front-end of the Accord.  This color is called satin silver.

On the practical side, the 4-door Accord is surprisingly roomy on the inside with more rear- seat room than most mid-size cars. 

The backend of the Accord

Michelin radials and ABS brakes are standard.  The car has a firm suspension that feels like a European touring car.

This site created on June 27, 2004.  Photos by Mark Gallagher using a Canon S400 digital camera.