Just bailed out of an 06 Accord for an 07 Solara
by ItsaToyota » Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:54 pm
I bought an 06 Accord EXL sedan last November after trading in my faithful 96 Accord w/ 170,000 miles. I was always more familiar with Honda products. My 96 never missed a beat and so it seemed like a no brainer to replace it with another Accord, especially with all the improvements Honda had made to this model. I liked the 06, but I found that I had many of the same complaints as I did with the old one... the most significant being the ride quality. The suspension just didn't feel refined at all. While the cars handled great, they just didn't absorb bumps. I'd find myself bracing for the next bump in the road or railroad track crossing. I'm originally from New Orleans (though now live in Orlando, Florida) so I make frequent trips back home to visit friends and relatives, but driving my Accord over the rough New Orleans roads was a nightmare. The car would beat itself to death!! No cushion whatsoever! Eventually, the interior began to develop rattles from constantly being banged and beaten from less than perfect road surfaces. I got to the point that I just couldn't take it anymore (not to mention the unacceptable road noise!) I felt a new car (especially a 2006) should have FAR more suspension refinement and sound insulation... especially one that cost as much as my Accord did. It was a shame, because I loved everything else about the car. The 4-cylinder engine was fantastic... very smooth and powerful for such a small engine. The interior design was also a work of art, very beautiful displays. The car felt more expensive than it was. That was, of course, before you drove it! Honda's engineers need to either go back to school or wake up and realize that this isn't 1996 anymore.
Moving on, I got to thinking about the few times I've ridden in friend's and co-worker's Toyotas and was impressed by the smooth ride and ultra quiet cabins. THIS is how a new car should feel, I thought. The suspension absorbed any kind of road imperfections and rail road track crossings with a solid, muffled feel.
As I drove home from work last week, I decided I should do myself a big favor and take a look at some of the offerings from Toyota. I test drove the 2007 Solara and I was sold within the the first minute of the test drive. WOW!! I can't believe what I have been missing! This car felt solid, it was soft, quiet and drove like a million bucks in comparison to the Honda. I couldn't believe the level of refinement. I drove the car over some rough roads (the same roads I HATED driving over in the Accord) and the Solara handled them in perfect stride... I barely felt a thing! Have I died and gone to heaven? Road noise? HA! This car seemed as quiet as a church mouse. The interior quality also seemed much finer in the Solara and the sound system had much more clarity. Best of all, I could turn up the volume and not have the door panels rattling like crazy! Overall, the Solara felt MUCH more polished than the Honda. I bought the car that evening and didn't even say goodbye to the Accord. I can't believe Honda does as well as they do with Toyota building cars like this... I mean, the differences are obvious. The Accord drove like a Civic and the Solara drives like a Lexus ES330.
The only good thing I have left to say about the Honda was that I did appreciate their dependable engines.
Now, here I am with my first Toyota having owned Hondas in the past. I know Honda tech like the back of my hand, but am a complete noob when it comes to Toyotas. My goal is to learn and become just as familiar with Toyotas. I came from a rather small but very friendly and family oriented Honda Accord forum in which I was a very active senior member. My username was ItaHonda, so I chose ItsaToyota for this forum. I look forward to meeting all of you and becoming an active member on here. I'll get off to a slow start as I'll be doing a lot of research, but I'll pick up the pace once I become more familiar with my car, Toyota and this forum. I absolutely LOVE my Solara, in fact, I never thought I could love a car this much!
Any information, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. How is the reliability and durability of my V6 engine? Should I be on the look out for any problems down the road? I prefer to keep a vehicle well beyond 100k miles, and considering how much I love this car... I may keep it for an exceptionally long time! I average 30k highway miles a year, as I doi a lot of highway traveling. Dependability is VERY important to me.
Here she is:
Moving on, I got to thinking about the few times I've ridden in friend's and co-worker's Toyotas and was impressed by the smooth ride and ultra quiet cabins. THIS is how a new car should feel, I thought. The suspension absorbed any kind of road imperfections and rail road track crossings with a solid, muffled feel.
As I drove home from work last week, I decided I should do myself a big favor and take a look at some of the offerings from Toyota. I test drove the 2007 Solara and I was sold within the the first minute of the test drive. WOW!! I can't believe what I have been missing! This car felt solid, it was soft, quiet and drove like a million bucks in comparison to the Honda. I couldn't believe the level of refinement. I drove the car over some rough roads (the same roads I HATED driving over in the Accord) and the Solara handled them in perfect stride... I barely felt a thing! Have I died and gone to heaven? Road noise? HA! This car seemed as quiet as a church mouse. The interior quality also seemed much finer in the Solara and the sound system had much more clarity. Best of all, I could turn up the volume and not have the door panels rattling like crazy! Overall, the Solara felt MUCH more polished than the Honda. I bought the car that evening and didn't even say goodbye to the Accord. I can't believe Honda does as well as they do with Toyota building cars like this... I mean, the differences are obvious. The Accord drove like a Civic and the Solara drives like a Lexus ES330.
The only good thing I have left to say about the Honda was that I did appreciate their dependable engines.
Now, here I am with my first Toyota having owned Hondas in the past. I know Honda tech like the back of my hand, but am a complete noob when it comes to Toyotas. My goal is to learn and become just as familiar with Toyotas. I came from a rather small but very friendly and family oriented Honda Accord forum in which I was a very active senior member. My username was ItaHonda, so I chose ItsaToyota for this forum. I look forward to meeting all of you and becoming an active member on here. I'll get off to a slow start as I'll be doing a lot of research, but I'll pick up the pace once I become more familiar with my car, Toyota and this forum. I absolutely LOVE my Solara, in fact, I never thought I could love a car this much!
Any information, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. How is the reliability and durability of my V6 engine? Should I be on the look out for any problems down the road? I prefer to keep a vehicle well beyond 100k miles, and considering how much I love this car... I may keep it for an exceptionally long time! I average 30k highway miles a year, as I doi a lot of highway traveling. Dependability is VERY important to me.
Here she is:
- ItsaToyota
- Just Licensed SolaraGuy
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:09 pm
