Honda Accord Limited Edition 40th Anniversary

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By Alborz Fallah | October 01st, 2009

In addition to the Honda Civic Limited Edition 40th Anniversary, Honda will also release the 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Accord to celebrate 40 years in Australia.

Powered by a 133 kilowatt, 2.4 litre 4-cylinder i-VTEC engine, the Accord takes the honour of having the most power (4-cylinder) in the large car class. It’s mated to a 5-speed auto transmission with grade logic control and steering wheel mounted paddle shifts.

Despite the power Honda’s official fuel economy figures put the Accord at 8.8 litres/100km whilst emitting only 209g of CO2 per kilometre.

Starting from $34,990 drive away, the Accord LE gains fog lamps, deluxe tailored floor mats, reversing sensors and Bluetooth which Honda says represents around $1,300 in value.

There will only be 800 LE units available.

D

I’m sure everyone is now going to rush out and by this so that they can get special floormats… wow!
KingCobra

$29,990 driveaway would be a more appropriate price for a Thai made, front-wheel-drive, 4 cylinder sedan.

Yianni

Agree. Honda’s have been overpriced for a little while now. Their sales have been dropping globally more than most other manufacturers yet they still don’t get it.

It’s funny when you hear then blaming the low AUD for their price rises in the past 12 months but these cars are built in Thailand. Other Japanese manufacturers didn’t feel the need to raise their prices by 1000′s like Honda even with their Japanese built cars as well.

Hopefully they’ll learn one day that people don’t like getting ripped off.

PaulS

I agree that Honda’s sales in Australia have been dropping, but everywhere else they are one of the more stable and better performing car manufacturers. Their strenght as a company lies in profitability and not sales.

Price comparison wise: an Automatic “Limited” Mazda 6 costs $34,776 driveaway with no alloy wheels. The next one up for that, “Classic” is priced at $39,245 drive away.

JEKYL & HYDE

gee now let me think…mazda 6 or honda accord.no brainer.accord euro maybe would have more hope,and if one did happen to choose the bigger honda,what about aurion,falcon,commodore.all less money,with much the same features,and 6cylinders with as good fuel economy…

PaulS

True… though specs and size wise, Mazda 6 is more akin to the Accord… Mazda 6 is much much prettier though, no doubt!

You are right about Aurion, Falcon and Commodore going for much less money… You’d be able to get them for even less money when hundreds of them flock the local fleet car auction pool
Shak

No you wont. My parent bought their large accord one year ago. When they went shopping i helped them and i actually researched for alomost one month. No other large car out there has the level of equipment or fuel economy or resale or quality for this kind of money. when we drove all the Commodore had the best drive and the falcon had the nicest drivetrain but my parents really like the Accord for its interior and the way the VTEC revs up to 7000rpm all day. I anyone can find me a better value car than the VTI Luxury then ill happily bow down.

Mazdaman

You can pick up a Mazda6 Classic around the $35 d/a with very little shopping around, I picked up a 2008 Luxury hatch DEMO early this year For $38000.

$1300 ‘extra value’ is a pathetic special, no wonder they are still advertising 2008 cars at the END of 2009.

I nearly bough a Honda limited edition 3 years ago, that year it had $3000 of ‘extra value’ except the change over price was $3000 extra.
What ‘special’ it was more like paying for mandatory options – rip off Honda

DON

Agree. I don’t like getting ripped off so after nearly 20 years with Honda (Accord 90, Integra 91, CRV 98, CRV 2002) I decided to dump Honda and now I am driving new Outback 2.5I premium which is $800 cheaper than current CRV luxury. By the way, in Thailand, Accord is more expensive than CRV so it does not make sense that, in Australia, CRV is more expensive than Accord.

Mazdaman

totally agree Don
I miss the good old days when Hondas where some of the best cars to come out of JAPAN.
Not the boring badly styled toyota clones they are nowadays.
They use to ‘special’, not now

Martin

I was nearly about to post the same thing.

Krish

NEVER buying another HONDA AGAIN!

My cousins 2006 CRV had his auto gearbox replaced after 120000 KM, with log book servicing.

Funnily enough my mum had her 2006 Accord Vti’s gearbox replaced after 101000 KM. Again with full log books.

On top of that, any day over 35 degrees, the rubber around the doors look like they are melting on my mums.

Ill stick to my Subaru thank you very much!

Fasthonda

Wow! based on two examples I’m sure people will take your word as gospel and apply it to every Honda vehicle.
The Honda gear boxes are one of the best in the business.If you want the worst you need not go any further than the WRX .They must hold the record for one of the most unreliable gear boxes over the years!

KingCobra

Not really, in the US, Accord transmisions have a bit of a reputation for going ‘bang’

Fasthonda

I never had any problems with my transmission in the Honda cars I’ve had.You must be thinking of Ford transmissions.

KingCobra

There was quite a large recall in the US for Honda Accord transmissions and a few lawsuits as well, similar to the Ford Tauras problems in the early 90s. Being a much smaller market for Accords here, problems are less known, like any other car really.
nothanks

Well said..Spot on….That’s reason why Aussie are so ignorant regarding car manufacture’s reliability performance……

PaulS

My parents are still running their 1999 Accord with more than 200,000 kms on the meter…. so far changes have been driving belts, etc… not gearbox.
Devil’s Advocate

Whilst I am not disagreeing with you about the reliability of Honda gearboxes Fasthonda, in all fairness you can’t really compare a Manual to an Auto WRT reliability/longevity etc. However I agree that Honda’s FWD MANUAL transmissions have some of the best feel in the business. I have felt better, but these were in a RWD car which you can’t really compare fairly. Honda Autos on the the other are IMHO nothing special and not a patch on their manuals.
Krish

Im basing my comments on FACT champ. Dont have to take it as Gospel. I too thought that Hondas were reliable, and bought my mum the car as a present three years ago. Now after having to fork out $2500 for a re con gearbox just after 100000KM, in my eyes Hondas are a POS!!! My cousin on the other hand had to opay 4700 for a new gearbox for his CRV. This is fact buddy, I have owned a BMW, Ford, Audi, Toyota, Lexus and Subaru, all from new, and have never had an issue with any of these cars (except the Beamer – Sunroof got stuck..LOL). Now judging by your name, you are an avid Honda supporter, so Im telling you from a non biased open minded individuals view, Honda have gone WAY downhill!!!! My grandfather owns a Honda Legend in Fiji which he has been driving from 16 years, never missed a beat, but they just dont make Hondas like they used too…they maybe “fast” but not for very long…

Fasthonda

I don’t care that you drive a BMW.Worldwide figures Honda has always topped even BMW in the reliablility area.There are people even on these forums that have been burnt by BMW’s so called reliability.
I wonder how many things have to be replaced after a BMW does 100,000 klms?
I’m not saying Honda is perfect and people from time to time may have problems but when people open up these issues they better make sure that their vehicle’s reliabilty history is in very good shape.

Krish

I currently drive a Subaru Liberty GT. No where in my post did I mention that I am currently driving a BMW. As i mentioned, when I OWNED my BMW the only thing to go wrong was the sunroof, and quite frankly Honda can sell 100 million units per year (hypothetically), but in my eyes, and after my experience, they are building rubbish cars now days.

spellbound

I wonder if they are 2008 build , mate just got the V6 top of range luxury job saved $8000.00 on a 2008 build .

They obviously still have a lot sitting in thailand and here .

Nice drive in the V6 , took it over the commodore .
Mazdaman

Krish, you got it in one mate.
Honda is still trading on its good (and at that time deserved) reputation from the 80s & 90s.
Unfortunately they just aren’t that good anymore.
Sam 300TD

I like Hondas. Is it true they are one of the few car companies that is a private company and also family owned? This could have something to do with the pricing issues. Who knows what product/volume/profit mix they are going for? They also have the marine and Motorcycle businesses to balance the mix. I wonder which sector is most profitable for them??????

Shak

Your right. I think you’ll find that the Automotive sector is most profitable thanks to the large North American market but their marine sector is not far behind.

Yonny

My immediate family has bought/owned many Hondas over the past 30 years, including Accords, Civics, CRVs and the Jazz. I myself bought a new Jazz GLi earlier this year (have owned many 2nd hand Hondas previously). It seems to me that Hondas now are generally overpriced (think Jazz, which should be at least $2000 cheaper than it is – never pay full retail for one, that’s all I’m saying) and trailing the other manufacturers in terms of innovation and more tellingly, safety (Honda can’t put ESP in a Jazz? Why not? Hyundai can put it in their small car). Oh, and they are not as well made as they used to be.

Back on topic, not sure this special edition Accord is all that special – floor mats? Knock an extra $3000 off the price, that’d make it special.
arrogantpom

I like the Accord V6 motor, think it would be better placed in the Accord Euro. Luxury editions for both are great, but cant get over that price. Damn. Compared with Toyota, Ford and Holden similar spec’d cars, i think they are way over priced. Shame!

Fasthonda

The V6 option in the Euro is available in the USA.From the reports I’ve read it’s very good but there is more of a tendency for the car to oversteer.

PaulS

I think Honda’s main issue in Australia is not really the price, to be honest. It’s their brand name reputation, market segment and dealership network. In many Asian countries no Honda comes without a leather interior and the dealers there throw a lot of extras (HONDA MATT IS A STANDARD THERE, NOT A FREAKING OPTION OR SPECIAL EDITION FEATURE!!!) and they have great sales people and really upmarket dealerships. This way, they look luxurious and it justify their higher price.

Honda should really decide what they want to be in Australia and stick with it. They were swinging to mainstream/great value bandwagon at one stage with the popular Honda Accord Euro and Honda Jazz but seems to have changed their stance lately to be a bit of a pricier, exclusive brand. Its all just market confusion.
Andy

For the potential Honda Accord buyers reading this, please disregard the above comments of the individuals who clearly anti Honda. I was a Honda mechanic for the last 8 years and have only found another job because it was so damn boring. Nothing but straight services with the odd loose plastic. Go to your local Honda dealer and see the above vehicle for yourself as well as a Euro. Then drive over to Holden and compare. If you can’t see the differences with the build quality and craftsmenship then your an idiot. Although this car is great along with all prior Accords the Euro is the one to by as engine feels more spirited and suspension tuned.
Yonny

Whoa, Andy, slow down! I don’t think anyone was saying Hondas in general are crap cars. Far from it. But some models do have their problems, as in fact all cars do. But you are right, for overall reliability across their entire model range Honda is pretty hard, if not impossible, to beat – and that is why I bought one. Build quality too is excellent – but from my own personal observations of my Jazz (2008 GE Jazz GLi manual, Thai-built), one currently in the family (a 2004 GD Jazz GLi auto, Japanese built), and one owned by a friend (a 2007 GD Jazz GLi auto, Thai-built), I think build quality has slipped a little, and the quality of materials has dropped as well.

But compared to the piece of crap South African built Focus I had before the Jazz, the Jazz is built like a Merc with build quality and paint quality the Focus couldn’t even dream of.
Wayne

I just traded my 04 euro in on the 40th anniversary Accord. Looking forward to having more room. The Euro has been great, 158000k’s no dramas at all. Wouldnt have a Falcon or Commodore, god forbid, a Camry!

Rear-Wheel-Jive

158,000km is just run-in for a car !! I have a 03 Ford Fairmont with 274,000km and it has been fantastic, I have towed horses, caravans, boats, delivered firewood down treacherous rural fire tracks and commuted daily in Sydney traffic. I love it that you consider a car driven to work or the shops for only 158,000km is considered to be some amazing act of car durabilty, ah the Honda Kool-aid is strong with this one.
Sammy

What only 158,000km and that is supposed to be good??? And I bet you never towed with it too! Get back to me about reliability when you have hit 320,000km like I have in my VX Commodore.