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Anybody moved to Volvo, Merc or BMW from 7 Gen Accord?

M

makkan00

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Location
London
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Accord 2006
Guys
Happy new year :)
Just wondering if somebody has moved from accord to volvo, merc or bmw 3 series?
If yes, which one? Your findings?


I had bmw 3 series 2008. I had to put a decent deposit on a house and hence had to sell it. Sensible car was accord and I bought one. Still loves it except my job has changed and I spend 4 hours on motorway daily. It is excellent car but giving my back a grief (despite of lumbar support) and head restraints are not comfortable if you wish to rest your head on it for a while. Monday, Tuesdays are fine after weekends but Wednesday onward, I get I start getting severe neck / back pain. My job is desk based these days and does not help. Cannot switch the job therefore looking to get back to bmw 3 series or merc or volvo. Not sure if it will be a good move or I will regret it.

Any comments, opinions?

Thanks.
 
Funny, I do 104 miles a day and have exactly the same issues!!!

My old Subaru was so much better, especially the ride quality. (Bilsteins - Stiffer but still more plush)
Seats were spot on too. Bought 5 years ago and put 80k on it with no problems.



The reason I swapped is that the Honda costs half as much in fuel, and if I was going to have a diesel it'd be the N22 as its a cracking motor.

The extra couple of hundred quid a month in my pocket makes it acceptable, but I bought a cheap one and fired the money catapult at it to make a reasonable commuter for the next £100k.
Still ironing out the niggles, and some days I wish I'd just gone and bought an 8th gen instead.
 
Goodluckmonkey said:
Funny, I do 104 miles a day and have exactly the same issues!!!

My old Subaru was so much better, especially the ride quality. (Bilsteins - Stiffer but still more plush)
Seats were spot on too. Bought 5 years ago and put 80k on it with no problems.



The reason I swapped is that the Honda costs half as much in fuel, and if I was going to have a diesel it'd be the N22 as its a cracking motor.

The extra couple of hundred quid a month in my pocket makes it acceptable, but I bought a cheap one and fired the money catapult at it to make a reasonable commuter for the next £100k.
Still ironing out the niggles, and some days I wish I'd just gone and bought an 8th gen instead.
Click to expand...
I am doing approx 160 miles / day and half of it is enjoying heavy traffic on M25. I have gone for accord due to its bullet proof engine and car was 'value for money' as it comes well equipped.

My last few cars were lowered on eibach springs and despite of hard suspension, I never had any issues. BUT then I never drove that much on daily basis and hence I am not sure if other cars will resolve my 'alleged problem'. Beamer had quieter cabin with better seats and driving at 60-70 MPH it was solid. Less jerks / bumps means less stress to spine. Accord is excellent and no complaints with the engine / Acceleration. But suspension is not good and car is bumpy / crashy / less stable on motorway leading to unnecessary stress on the neck / back. I have tried all sort of seating positions and none is useful. I have never seen such a poor design of head restraint in any car as of yet! Seats are reasonable but lateral thigh supports are a lot harder than bottom part of the seat and very uncomfortable after 60-90 minutes of sitting. Again this might be just my opinion and others do not have to agree with me.

Going back to your comment, I guess stiffer suspension means car is more stable on the motorway with less jolts. It all depends on whether your driver mostly on motorway or A-B roads. I guess if most of the drive is on motorway then cars with stable / stiffer suspension is better for us or at least for me.
If most of your journey is around town, A / B roads, then perhaps those cars look after you which have softer suspension. I have considered MK8 but I do not think that car is any better than MK 7.

To start with, seats are very similar in design to MK7. I have thoroughly compared the seats (but not person experience). Then car is a lot bigger and less nimble compared to MK7 (due to size). This is what I have gathered after asking on mK8 forum. Then it has dpf which is potential can for worms. Defo better looking car IMO and better steering wheel but I am not convinced that spending another 5-6K on MK8 will resolve issues.
 
my cl9 seats i find hard on long drives and kill my back,but my euro r has recaro's and they are great ,i dont do many miles.but i drove 6 hours straight one day,i got out feeling great.

you can get them off ebay for £300 plus an airbag resister

goodluckmonkey
nice sabura legacy.i will probably get a jdm bp5 after my euro r
 
Think the accord has just too much lumbar support for me, and the fact the headrest is non-adjustable is just crap.

The thing that Honda are great at though is the right elbow to door to steering wheel position.

Ironically the most comfortable car I've ever driven is still the Nissan 200SX (S14) I had 10 years ago. The driving position was perfect.

Suppose the only way to find out is to try a few cars if they'll give you enough time to do a 100 mile motorway run on test.
 
Ukcl9, it was a 3.0R Spec B with the 6 speed manual. 270hp with a couple of mods, rear and centre LSD's, quick rack, and bilsteins as standard, and I added the Brembos. A real sleeper, and a great family car. 26mpg average over the 80k I owned it was the killer though.

Keep thinking about a new-shape diesel leggy, though the accord's growing on me.
 
It sounds like you really need to be test driving any potential new cars for the best part of a week to see how your back gets on with them. Have you considered hiring a couple from your shortlist? Ok, it would be expensive but it would be cheaper than throwing thousands at a new car that seemed ok on a short test drive but murders your back by the next Thursday.
 
Which Merc are you looking at?

I got both a Merc and Accord, I actually bought the Accord as a 2nd car... As I find sometimes I randomly need to move things around.
 
Major774 said:
Which Merc are you looking at?

I got both a Merc and Accord, I actually bought the Accord as a 2nd car... As I find sometimes I randomly need to move things around.
Click to expand...
What Merc do you've?
What is it that you like about Merc when compared to Accord and vice versa?
 
Lexus are better than all of these :blink: , the level of kit and refinement on Lexus is tremendous. Build quality is superb, down to the solid clunk from the door shut. Reliability, well how hard is it to fill it up with petrol, that's about as much maintenance it needs.

I don't do huge miles so mpg is not something that worries me much, the economy i get in my Lexus around town is low to mid 20s. I want a V8 so am keeping my eyes peeled, I think its at a stage in my life where I wont get an opportunity to get one again.
 
Depends on the age of it. If you compare a Lexus of the last decade to an old LS400 in terms of build quality, they're poor.
The penny pinchers in accounts have made their mark on them. Same goes for most brands though, even Honda.
 
I took an infiniti M30d out the other week ,
Fantastic equipment , smooth and powerful however the centre arm rest had the most annoying squeak to it and seemed really badly fitted and quality to the rest of the car ,i know it sounds trivial but it completely ruined the feel of the car , i know a few guys who work at the nissan factory up our way and they have made a concious effort to push infiniti as a brand as the profit is way better than the run of the mill jukes etc and i definately think they are a credible alternative to the lexus
 
They don't have any branches though and I believe many of the infinity range need dedicated repairs from an authorized dealer (might not be right on this but think its what i read)

Infinity are to Nissan what Lexus are to Toyota.
 
blueagle said:
What Merc do you've?
What is it that you like about Merc when compared to Accord and vice versa?
Click to expand...
The thing is... Both cars are very different lol

The Mercedes is a E55 AMG... You probably get why I wanted an estate :D

BWMs are more of a driver's car, whereas, the Mercedes is better for comfort and daily driving. Always go auto and never manual, I find the suspension stiffer in BMWs.
 
Mercedes - Comfortable, nice interior, auto gearbox is awesome, gadgets. Bad points - parts are more expensive, sometimes electrical problems.

Honda - Cheaper parts, simple... turn the key and go. Bad points - ride quality is not as good, rust is too common lol, not as much gadgets.
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]I run a CLK 320 diesel for my daily commute and use a 2.4 exec auto CL9 for carting kids around at the weekend, I did previously use as a daily commuter also.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]My personal views based on my cars/options:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Accord Pros[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Sat nav interface is far better than the Comand 2 system in the CLK[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Sound system as standard in the Accord is far better than the standard merc offering (not had the pleasure of testing the options e.g. Harmon kardon)[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Auto wipers seem light years ahead, Merc ones are hopeless[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Cheap parts and easy maintenance, Merc has a far more complicated Star system which can make the simplest fix a complicated one.[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Xenon headlights, missing from my CLK and a massive miss given how good the Accord ones are[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Elec heated seats, again missing from my CLK spec but sorely missed recently during those 2 days when it would’ve been useful[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Accord Cons[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Pre facelift sat nav has no updates beyond 2011[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Seats could be more comfortable (though this wasn’t an issue until the merc came along)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]CLK Pros[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]7 gear auto gearbox is brilliant, super smooth. Accord one is by no means bad, the Mercedes box is just pretty special[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=10.5pt]Huge torque makes motorway manoeuvres comfy without being a hugely revvy affair[/SIZE]
  • Cheap parts? Dare I say my experiences have been pleasantly surprising. By no means cheap but certainly not as bad as people make out. BMW are far more expensive in my experience. E.g. my recent Mercedes wipers (made by Valeo) cost me £33 from the dealer (walk in purchase). Cheapest Valeo branded I could find was £35 which is the same wipers minus the Mercedes logo. Honda wipers set me back around £24 when replaced last year.
  • Customisable lock/unlock options around lighting and folding mirrors. I set my mirrors to fold when locked which helps when I trying to figure out if the car is locked from afar (really bad at locking, not remembering then running back and checking)

CLK Cons
  • Star system makes things difficult for the sake of being difficult
  • Rear axle goes through tyres
  • Gear shifter is easily knocked into manual mode (nudge to the left)
  • Auto wipers are absolutely cack
  • Sensitive light sensor leaves auto lights on most of the time
  • People seem to think you’re loaded

[SIZE=10.5pt]Between my CLK and Accord there's nothing in it in terms of build quality. CLK is as you’d expect from Mercedes but the Accord has the best build quality of any Honda I’ve owned over the years (8 in total from 1992 EG Civic to 8th gen Civic). RWD vs FWD, petrol vs diesel, different shapes and huge weight differences make them very different cars but both are comfortable nonetheless. Back to the original question in terms of overall comfort it’s close but the CLK shades it with the more comfortable seats.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]As a daily driver, I choose the CLK which for motorway cruising, comfort and economy it works for me. If I had to choose 1 car to keep forever I’d take the Accord. A brilliant all-rounder and hands down the best car I’ve owned. I’ve had faster, more fun, more economical and more power. But being so easy to maintain, ticking so many boxes and typically being so reliable it’s hard to beat.[/SIZE]
 
I had an X reg V70 T5 before my Gen VII Accord Tourer CDTi (2005). Have driven both cars from London to Cornwall frequently, and both on family holidays to South of France, Lake District etc. The Volvo seats were exceptionally comfortable, although I never had a problem with the Accord's driver's seat. I did find lack of height adjustment on the Accord's passenger seat made me even more reluctant than usual to share the driving.

The Accord Tourer (now gone, just joined here in case anyone is interested in my Honda wheels shod with winter tyres) was a great car, better (sportier) handling than the T5, in gear acceleration was if anything better, bigger boot and obviously more economical, but I still look back on the Volvo as one of the best cars I have owned. It had that premium brand feel that the Accord does not quite achieve and the 5 cyl growl was lovely.
 
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