Your friend has one of those new beastly TLs? I wouldn't want to give the C350 back, either. God the new TL is the ugliest car on the planet, bar none. The W204 looks average, at best, but it's gorgeous in comparison to that.. hideous.. TL.

 

My girlfriend has the new accord, and my family has two w204. All I can say is that she always wants to take my car places, and not hers. Brand has a whole lot to do with the higher price. Do you wanna show up to a place in a benz or a honda... That's what I thought.

As far as from a technical standpoint. A comparably equipped Accord to a base benz runs around $28,000 and the C-class starts at $34,000. So for $6,000 more you can have a benz. Granted the Accord offers more for less, but in the same respect you also get what you pay for. In the sedan the suspension is annoying, its not that it isn't smooth, its just that it is bouncy, this makes for uncomfortable highway driving over bumps, unstable feeling in cornering and FWD makes the car pull and gives you a worse turning radius, which you can really notice in parking lots. And whoever said the accord is so "amazing" on gas mileage must be mistaken. My girlfriend averages 28 mpg with mixed city driving on her 4 banger. I average 24 mpg with mixed city and highway driving... Not much of a difference, especially considering I have a v6 and 4matic...

As far as reliability... I haven't seen why Honda is so crapped up to be reliable. My girlfriend always did recommended service on her older accord on time and at the dealer. In her Accord the engine blew at 70k miles... In the two acuras (the best honda) the tranny blew within 40k on one, and 80k on the second, again, all with regular dealer maintenance. I know that there is always lemons or a chance for anything, but I don't know anyone who as problems nearly that severe on a Benz, and I know many more people that have a benz than a honda.

Lastly, on the topic of upkeep costs, If you average out the services for the c-class, it costs like $300 a year. The services for the hondas are cheap if you just do the oil changes, but my girlfriend on her accord now gets banged over the head for $500+ when all is said and done for all the fluid flushes and oil changes that the car needs every 3 years. That, along with the fact she needs 3 oil changes a year at like $50 each means that her average yearly is about $250. Not too much of a difference.

Is the Accord a bad car? Not at all. It offers a great package for people who don't car about branding and just need to get from point a to point b. But for me, its the little things that count most, and thats what made me get the c-class over the 2-door accord.

P.S. I love how my benz doesn't blow out freezing cold air on me when I have the heat on until the air gets to the appropriate temperature. I just wish I could say the same for my girlfriend's accord, especially during this freezing winter.

 

Econobox vs. Premium?

I'm not sure I get the purpose of this article other than yes, the Accord has come a long way in it's offerings and overall quality over the past few years. That being said this is still an apples to oranges comparison. I've driven a few of each car and they're totally different animals.

 

I owned an Accord Euro (Acura TSX in America) and the 2010 CGi C200... and both are different car. The Euro (TSX) is a bigger but sportier car, while the C is more subtle. Like most ppl here said they are like comparing apple to oranges. But too tell you the truth, I prefer the Euro (TSX) as a driver car.

While the C is... my preference for slow n luxurious driving.

 

I had honda accord, acura, bmw and now MB. Honda is great car, but it is sloppy like most japanese cars, you feel solidness of MB. Only german car I can compare to honda is audi A4. I mean when i drove them they were similar. The best for me always BMW then MB. Audi feels like honda, blunt and plain, no excitement.

 

Isn't the Accord a FF layout?

 

Yes.

 

it is weird that people say accord can not compare to C300. In the past 2 years I have owned 6 MB, even a new S550, they all give me trouble even within 10000 miles.
I just trade in my CLS for a 2013 accord.
Happy with that

 

My first Benz is a 09 c300. I will never drive any Honda in my life after this...