Test Driving the 2015 Honda Accord Sport | Matt Rutherford

Christmas came early for me this year. Well, not really, but earlier this month, I did feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Despite what you might expect, this was a bitter-sweet experience. Let me explain what happened.

I have been driving an older car. When I say old, I definitely don't mean vintage. That usually means something worth keeping. No, this is an old, beat up, 98 Toyota. Don't get me wrong. It's been a great car and has been reliable for several years. However, it is getting a little long in the tooth and, well, it would be nice to drive something newer. Alas, I can't afford a newer vehicle right now. We just bought a new family vehicle. I need to hold on to my commuter car for a while longer.

Well, a few months ago, my wife won a contest. I didn't even know she had entered the competition, so her winning was a pleasant surprise. She won a week long test drive from Ken Garff Honda, in Orem. Well, knowing our family van was getting old, we figured we would test drive a new Honda Odyssey, giving our family something nice to ride for a few days.

Unfortunately, our old family van died and had to be abandoned in Wyoming (long story). We purchased a new van before my wife even had a chance to test drive anything from Ken Garff. So, when it was her turn, my wife gave her week long test drive to me.

I felt pretty lucky, getting the prize to a contest I initially didn't even know existed. We contacted the dealership and made arrangements for me to pick up the vehicle of my choice. Being a Honda fan who was sad to give up his last Accord a few years ago, I chose an Accord for my test drive. We went to pick it up, signed an insurance document, and away we went. The staff at Ken Garff were friendly and helpful and the entire process was pretty painless.

But you want to hear more about the car itself, right? That's why you are here. All I can say is, "Wow." I was blown away. The car I got was a brand new, 2015 Honda Accord Sport, fully loaded. The vehicle only had 21 miles on it when I sat in the driver's seat. I don't think I've ever driven such a new car before. 

So, let me just say that there are many things to like about the Accord, but I can't speak much of what goes under the hood. Sadly, auto mechanics are not my strong point. I am a therapist, not a car person, so when I review a car, I can speak of the mechanics in only general terms. My main focus in this review will be the user interface.

First off, I loved having the Bluetooth connectivity. I could play music and take phone calls through the car's interface, and it was a breeze to set up. There is a nice, large (yet unobtrusive) display in the center of the dash that showed me the song playing and who was calling. I could also see how many bars my phone had and even see how low my phone battery was. Nice.

Of course, that display was also where the backup camera displayed what might be behind me, including indicators to let me know my anticipated path, based on the turn of steering wheel. It also was the main display for just about every electronic setting the car had. It was intuitive to use and I am serious when I say that the display was unobtrusive, though. I didn't feel like it was distracting me from the road. On the contrary, having my music, phone calls and so forth in one place made it easier to focus on what I needed to focus on, driving. And though there is not much to say about it, I liked having the thumb controls for volume, cruise control, phone calls, and changing the display, right on the steering wheel.

Other nice features of the user interface: lots of storage up front, USB plug for electronic devices, easy to adjust the seats. There are a couple of other features to mention, both having to do with fuel economy. First, the "Econ" or energy saver mode button. As I had it explained to me, the button takes away some of the energy used by the car, specifically with the AC and the engine. I did not notice much of a difference, but apparently, this little button can make a big difference in energy consumption.

The second thing about the interface that needs mentioning is related. There is a little indicator, near the speedometer. This is just a bar that goes left to right. The farther to the right it is, the better your gas mileage. When you are speeding up, the bar goes to the left, and you know that your gas mileage is dropping. Wow. That small indicator changed how I drove. It was very rewarding to keep the  mileage as high as possible, with smooth, rather than abrupt acceleration and coasting when possible. In other words, I was trained to drive more economically.

"But how did it drive?" I hear you asking. Well, I was certainly spoiled for a week. Turns were smooth, even on roundabouts. The suspension is tight, to where I barely felt bumps in the road. The car had a lot of power and accelerated without hesitation. Oh, it was nice. I did need to check myself, because it would have been easy to speed in that thing. I didn't, but boy, was it tempting.

I drove it to and from work. Most of the time, my driving was on city roads, which afforded little opportunity to go very fast. I also got some construction zone driving in there, making a bumpy road pretty smooth. But one day a week, I drive up to the Salt Lake area, so I got to try some freeway speeds. Boy, did this car deliver. It did not hesitate to get up to *cough* the speed limit and I felt very safe the entire way to work and back.

Ok, some final words. I drove this beautiful piece of machinery for 149 miles and had a good experience. I actually was a little offended that the starlings (dang birds) that harass my wife's and my cars ended up pooping on this Accord. 

But that did not ruin my overall experience (of course, not!). Neither did the shiny plastic facing on the passenger side, above the glove compartment. In bright sunlight, this would shine in my eyes. I know, a minor quibble, but honestly, that was about all I could find to complain about.

All in all, it was a bittersweet week, because I knew I would be returning the car at the end of the week. And during the week, I had to endure several admiring looks from strangers, and explain to coworkers that I just had the car on loan. Such sacrifices. And yes, the return to my old clunker was difficult, as well, but all of it was worth the sacrifice.

Favorite Hondas | Blogger Contest Runner Up

I've owned two Honda's in my life.  My first car was a 1980 hatchback Accord.  That car kept going forever. I fell in love with the distinctive purr of the Honda engine.  Sadly, I totaled that car and replaced it with a Ford. WORST mistake EVER.  The Ford was awful and broke down when it was only four years old!  The engine exploded and the repairs on the engine were costly. I felt betrayed. By this point, I was married, so my husband and I drove to the dealership and told them we ONLY wanted a Honda.  They totally delivered. We bought a sweet 1992 teal Accord with a sunroof and a car phone!  That was a plus at the time, for sure! This car took us everywhere, and did all that we asked of her. We had the Accord for six years and would have kept it for the life of the vehicle, if we could have. We only got rid of it because it was totaled when someone hit the car.

My fondest wish is to own another Honda!  Let me tell you what I love about these cars.  I love the room. Our current car is a little cramped with four kids.  I also love the storage space.  I have car envy with ALL of my friends who have room for their kids AND their stuff on long road trips.  I LOVE how long they last!  Did you know that the Odyssey is the only minivan that is proven to last 20 years!?  You probably did.  I love the two sliding doors with those sweet automatic doohickeys that open the doors from a remote!  My kids will love that.  I'd love to dispense with the DAILY fights of WHO is shutting the door.

The memories that come to mind when I think of our teal Accord aren't memories like the exploding engine from my Ford Escort, but the fact that we could take it ANYWHERE.  That Accord went to beaches in California, the hot desert in Arizona to the mountains in Utah.  I remember bringing home my first two children home from the hospital in this car.  Once, when we were driving in Arizona, on the lonely highway between Kingston and Phoenix, my one year old son choked on a piece of ice.  This was the kind of ice that had been frozen in a circle and the middle was hollow.  My son was chocking and gagging, but getting just enough air through that center hole. It sounded a bit like he was breathing through a straw.  We quickly pulled over to the shoulder in  HOT Arizona sun and I practically threw water in his face.  The end goal was his mouth, to melt that ice that was causing my son such panic.  In the end, my son was wet (crying about being wet), the car seat was soaked, but he was breathing and the car was just fine.  It just kept purring until we reached Tucson!

Kari Rutherford is a 37-year-old part-time stay-at-home mom, part-time blogger and part-time secretary.  She spends most of her days chasing around her four kids and trying to catch up on everything she has to do.  She rarely succeeds. Among other places, you can find her on the blog, MomPlusKids.com