Car Review: 1996 Honda Accord

The Honda Accord is, in my opinion, one of the most reliable vehicles on the road. In particular, the 1996 model has proven to be the ideal car for me. With a simple and elegant design, lacking any unnecessary frills or decoration, the ’96 Accord still maintains a certain sporty poise that makes the car a lot of fun to drive. The engine is fairly quiet, but with a distinctive “Vroom” sound that makes the car seem sportier than it really is. Even with only a four cylinder engine, it can reliably provide ample acceleration when needed.

Where the Accord really shines is in its durability. My ’96 Accord has 206,000 miles on it, and aside from replacing the airbags after a fender-bender, the most expensive part I’ve ever had to replace was a bad alternator. Its age shows in a few minor problems – one of the door locks sticks a bit and the radio readout flickers in and out sometimes – but the engine stills purrs as sweetly as it did when I first bought it.

In this age of fluctuating gas prices, a car’s miles-per-gallon rating has become one of its major selling points. Though an older car, the ’96 Accord excels in this area: on the highway, I get about 28-30 miles a gallon. City start-and-stop driving cuts this down to about 25-26, but still quite respectable. Of course, as an older car, the ’96 Accord’s gas mileage is highly dependent on the degree of maintenance you’re willing to put into it. I recently had to replace an air sensor that was cutting noticeably into my gas mileage – that said, the part is rated for 100,000 miles, and mine didn’t go bad until 200,000.

For being almost 13 years old, the ’96 Accord requires relatively little maintenance. As long as you make sure to change the fluids frequently and keep it safe from major damage, it should work with relatively few problems. I have never had the slightest problem with the transmission.

My model came with a cassette deck, but I’ve found that a cassette to CD adapter (purchased at Wal-mart fairly cheap) works just as well with my iPod as it does with a portable CD player, and without any pesky skipping problems due to bumpy roads.

I will mention that I had frequent problems with the air conditioner: while the compressor seemed to work fine, the car constantly leaked freon, but I’m not sure if this is an issue with the model as a whole or just with my specific car. As AC wasn’t something particularly important to me (I haven’t had a vehicle with reliable AC since my freshman year of high school), I eventually stopped putting freon into it and just roll the windows down.

With dual front air bags, good handling, and a relatively durable body, the ’96 Accord makes a great, safe car for a first-time driver, without the expense of some of today’s modern vehicles. Don’t let the age fool you: as long as the car has been maintained well, even an Accord with 150 – 200 thousand miles on it can still be a great car that will last for years.