by mtodde » Tue Jun 01, 2004 8:03 pm
I looked at the 2004 Accord EX V6 Coupe, but fell for the Solara V6 SLE. The Accord is a nice car, but in comparison it doesn't have the same style as the Solara...they were within $500 of each other MSRP wise the way I wanted to equip them and the glide, er ride, of the Solara closed the deal. Plus the Toyota dealer offered a bigger discount and trade in for my old Rustang than Honda did. After the Mustang, the ride of the Solara was just awesome. The Accord offered a power passenger seat and dual climate control, but I'm single so I really didn't care about that...the other Accord advantage was that the seats seems to have better side support, but that may have more to do with fit than anything else. The Solara V6 SLE offers a much better sound system, standard fog lights, bigger trunk, gated/sequential shifter, significantly upgraded interior and superior ride to the Accord. Plus the V6 SLE comes with 17" wheels standard while the Accord only offers them on the 6 speed (that comes with a better stereo than the automatic, but still no competition for the JBL system).
I also considered the G35, but the monthly cost and higher insurance were a turn off. Lots of folks seem to have problems with the 350Z that the G35 is built on too.
The Acura TL was another one that was slightly more than I wanted to pay, but is an excellent value. The TSX was too noisy with the 4 cylinder but otherwise was an excellent car.
I've had my V6 SLE for 2 1/2 weeks and love it so far. I owned a 99 SE V6, but had to sell it a few years ago when I was out of work. Due to a moment of insanity I bought a 2002 Mustang GT, but was never really happy with it. With the reduced insurance cost on the Solara, it was basically a wash on the monthly car expense.
