Faults:

Developed piston slap at around 150,000kms, and deteriorated very rapidly from there.

Loss of low end torque (probably due to the above).

Issues with the hydraulics on front brakes.

General Comments:

Before I bought the Euro R, I had just sold my BMW 330ci, so I was expecting quite a significant downgrade in performance. However I must say I was very much pleasantly surprised by the Euro R.

The red top H22A had some serious punch when it is revved into Vtec. For what it is, a moderately sized NA engine, it certainly has a lot of power in the top end to match the power of V6s. Overtaking on open roads was a breeze, and 100km/h to 140km/h is easily achieved in a few seconds in 3rd gear. Pity the Vtec kicks in quite late at 5800rpm, and the engine redlines at 7400rpm, making the best bits of the engine available in a very short time!

The handling of this car is also exceptional; whilst it is a FWD, I had to push it fairly hard to feel any understeer. I’ve found the factory Euro R suspension set up to be quite good, not harsh enough to make daily driving a pain, but solid enough to handle itself nicely when thrown around at speed.

Overall the car was performing very well (as well as being very, very cheap to run and insure for a car of this caliber) until I noticed some strange rattling noise from the low revs (1500rpm to 2000rpm) one day on my way to work. Didn’t pay too much attention at first, but it got worse and worse, until a point when I realised the big end bearings are on their way out. By then there was a considerable loss in low end torque and Vtec had less oomph. Very sad indeed as I was quoted a ridiculous amount to rebuild the engine and it was probably a cheaper option to replace the whole engine.

In the end I had it sold as I couldn’t be bothered with the cost/time for a transplant or a rebuilt.

Despite the bearings crapping out, the Euro R is still a very good car. Can’t be compared to turbo cars in sheer power, but they definitely have their place as a well engineered and well balanced sports car.

For people looking at buying one, yeah why not, but best is to find one with less than 100,000kms on the clock, as I was told the R-engines will need a lot of work once they age.

Faults:

Nothing, touch wood, and judging by the accompanying service history from the dealer, little else. Although I have only had this car for a few months, I am well acquainted with Accords (previously owned a 1990 2.0 EX) and this one seems to live up to Honda's high reputation for reliability.

General Comments:

In summary, an absolutely lovely car that can be categorized as follows:-

Powerful, blows away most other saloons on the road.

Spacious, certainly a lot larger than my old 1990 Accord for both head and leg room.

Well engineered, not only does the car look great, but components have been well placed for an ergonomic and user friendly touch.

Comfortable, used it for a couple of relatively long journeys without problem.

Quiet, sometimes I could not tell that the engine was on without looking at the tachometer!

Faults:

Power windows always had problem. Although I changed 3 times, it will disorder so soon.

Gear box need to change when 150000KM. I bought a secondhand gear box. Cost HK$ 3000.

General Comments:

Running cost is not high. About $1.3 per KM. (In Hong Kong, one liter petrol cost HK$ 10.6)

The seats is really comfort. I really like the power seat.

Engine runs smooth.

Air-condition is really good.