Today I just picked up our 2008 EXL Navi with the 5 speed manual. It's white with the Ivory interior. So far I love it! There are so many features, that clearly it's going to take a while to figure out all of them. I really enjoyed saying "xm channel 6" and having it turn on that station. Not necessary really, but fun. And calling home with the hands free link was cool.
No problems with the transmission so far. It shifts very smoothly, even more smoothly than our 02 in terms of clutch action, transmission, etc. No clunks that I heard. It seems perfect.
Man, is it a big car. It's nice to have all that room, and the doors now shut with a Mercedes-like bank vault feel. My 02 LX a good car (and we're keeping it), but wow have they upped the standards on almost everything on this one. Well, I guess there are a few small little features that went away (lights on the rear doors, coin drawer to the left of the driver, but that's about it), but they have added so much. Sometimes it almost seems a bit too much, but I'm really enjoying it so far. My dealer said that someone recently turned in a Lexus on an Accord like mine (except it was an auto rather than a manual), and he said he liked the Accord even better than the Lexus. It's a pretty impressive piece of machinery.
I do think the next generation Accord, in 5 years, will probably be a shade smaller and less massive. Impressive that it gets 22 mpg in the city (based on the trip computer over just 30 miles or so) when it's so big and so new. I'm hoping maybe it'll pop up 1-2 mpg in a thousand miles or so.
Anyway, bottom line I love the Accord. And particularly my special ordered model, which may be the only one like it in the country at this point. My salesman said that some other dealerships far were trying to trade for our car, but he kept telling them sorry--this one is sold.
