Welcome to the site! We're such a diverse bunch that I'm sure you'll hear the good & bad about Accords.
Quiet? I thought the '02 was a bit quieter than the '03.... I'm not talking rattles, just road sounds. The '02 had a "tankier" feel kinda like an Olds form years ago.... All cars have their share of noises, it's just what's annoying to you & what your ears deem "normal". The only way to know is like previously mentioned, drive the ones you're debating between.
The tranny: The problem was only a fluid problem. In some circumstances it wasn't getting to the spot needed. The oil jet kit seems to have "cured" it. As far as reliability, so far there hasn't been a rash of them quitting. All of us are keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way. I think if it does happen, Honda will extend the warranty like it did before.
Heated seats are awesome! The driver's seat also heats the lower back. It's wonderful when you've got an ache!! They heat pretty quick. We enjoyed them so much that we added the feature to the Pilot!
The sound system? Well, I don't like paper speakers, so we changed them out. Luckily that's something you can check out in the lot!!
The Nav: we use our's more than I thought around home. Around home it has found places that we hadn't been to before. I like not needing to make an issue out of getting someplace new to us. I'd figured we'd only be using it on roadtrips. It has been a life saver then!! We also have a hand held, they are limited to what you've downloaded into them & so if you change your plans away from a computer, you may not have what you need. As an example, (the ones here have heard this already) on a trip to SoCal, stuck in traffic, we had to pee. The hand held didn't have the community in it that we were in, since it was farther north than our destination. The car's Nav system allows us to get off the freeway where we feel the need & will get us back on. There's limits to it too though. Newer or rural areas are sometimes not there or not complete. A plus side to gettign an Accord with Nav is the voice commands & the trip computer! Seeing your mileage (mpg) as it happens is cool!! You can alter your driving patterns to improve it.
I do agree that the Acura has a few more bells, but no real difference in longevity. So if money isn't a big issue, check them out.
Sometimes we do gripe about our Accords, but most of us love 'em anyway!
