Whats a good "modern" replacement for a CB7?

[The_Head]

I like my Accord, but lets face it, its almost 30 years old. What would you recommend to replace a CB7 that's not another CB7, lol. I've been kind of eyeing the 06-11 Civic sedans. They seem about the same size as a cb7, maybe a little smaller.

Any other suggestions? Looking for another sedan that has the same qualities as our beloved cb's. Doesn't even have to be a Honda, but Hondas are preferred of course.

[wtfisafleek]

I don't know of any other car that would be such a well-rounded machine. Good on gas mileage, cheap parts and consumables, relatively easy to fix, cheap to maintain, roomy, comfortable, reliable.. Even newer Hondas have gotten way more expensive and complex, though they're still more reliable than some other stuff out there.

I was telling someone the other day how valuable they really are reliability wise. They're so reliable that I see another one on the road every day. I can't say the same about my '90 Buick Regal. I can't think of any other 25-28 year old cars that there are or ever were at any point in time this many still on the road this many years on. Maybe there were a whole bunch of that first batch of Mustangs still on the road in 1989, but I seriously doubt it. And they have a big leg up on the CB7s given their production numbers.

[Losiracer2]

my friend has an 04 TSX 6spd that he dailies in Michigan...so it takes the abuse in the winter and runs just fine.

[sonikaccord]

I would also say the 1g TSX. I looked at two or three before I settled on an E46 ZHP.

So I'm going to say...a BMW is the replacement, why?
Reliability and maintenance costs, let's get this out the way first since it scared me away from owning one previously. These cars are solid if and only if they are not neglected. The common problems have already been noted by others in the E46 community and DIY-ability is much easier than on the CB. Everything that you need to get to is easily accessible after you take out a few things. It has not left me stranded once, except for a flat tire...after I took care of the said common points of failure

Parts cost to do everything right can be expensive. I've spent roughly $1500 per year taking care of things plus mods from a bone stock/unmaintained car using OE or OEM parts. The same can be said for any car really. You can still go to Rock Auto and pick up generic parts for cheap or get reman parts for just a bit more. I shop through FCPEuro so I'll never have buy a part twice. (Lifetime replacement on anything purchased from them, no matter what)

I get around 26-28mpg, it is very comfortable. It's pretty much what I wanted to build the CB into. A great daily driver. Handling is great even when stock with the sport package. It's a pretty car with subtle, clean lines, simple if not boring interior. Straight 6, FR, 50/50 weight distribution, yada. Now my only complaint is that it's too refined. It needs a little more eagerness, which can probably be solved with a diff swap and some M3 motor mounts to make it more rough around the edges.

[Raf99]

I would not say the 1st gen TSX, but the 05-08 TSX. The first gen has a lot of bugs and I speak from experience. Some are:

- The inner boots on the axles wear out causing steering wheel vibration at a certain speed
- The CD players break eventually
- The "self lubricating" door hinges will seize up causing the worst squeak you'll ever hear
- Blue light above the cup holders stops working
- AC seizes up
- Power steering line will rust out near passenger corner where the elements can hit it (part that goes to the cooler)
- Clutch pedal plate on the firewall / the spot welds will break making the pedal and engagement change / not work

Some are not too bad, but if you go with OEM parts you'll pay. They wanted $900 CDN for each axle. $600+ for the AC unit.....

The only cars that compare to the cb7 I guess would be the TSX or a Toyota Corolla IMO.

[The_Head]

Yeah, I've been meaning to ask how old high mileage K-motors hold up. My guess is probably fine if they have been taken care of. I've also been eyeing some of the 03-04 4 cylinder Accords.

and speaking about the TSX... I've always wanted one of those TSX sport wagons since they came out. I suspect being nearly 3000 lbs with only 200 hp they're kind of slow, but I like wagons.

[CyborgGT]

^ My base RSX has 230,000+ miles on it, and it still feels great. I've had a couple sensors go bad, but they weren't expensive and I replaced them right away. Just normal maintenance otherwise. I had a differential failure that had me swapping transmissions, but mine is the only case I've heard of.

I've been thinking about this, too. Not in the interest in buying anything else, but just imagining something modern that I would guess has the same things going for it. TSX/TL sound good, but if I were to get something, I think I'd go with a newer 3-series wagon.

[wtfisafleek]

I was in the military in the early 2000s, based in San Diego. This guy in my unit, he was probably 22 or 23, he went and got a brand new Type S with probably 20% interest and blew the motor up maybe 3 months later.
I'd driven with him a couple times so it's no wonder. He'd zing that thing up to redline all the damn time. He was kind dumb so it wouldn't surprise me if he was the type that would rev it a shitload when it was cold to warm it up faster.

[CyborgGT]

^ And neglect the oil? Mine consumes it at least as bad as the H22.

[gloryaccordy]

I had an 8th gen Civic with the 1.8. It was a good spiritual successor to the CB. Problem is the game has moved on a bit. It was slow, loud and had very weak A/C. I would look at the new Civic 1.5T. Basically exactly the same size as a CB7, while addressing a lot of the issues I had with it (noodly chassis, no torque). Just a shame it's so ugly...

[owequitit]

I like my Accord, but lets face it, its almost 30 years old. What would you recommend to replace a CB7 that's not another CB7, lol. I've been kind of eyeing the 06-11 Civic sedans. They seem about the same size as a cb7, maybe a little smaller.

Any other suggestions? Looking for another sedan that has the same qualities as our beloved cb's. Doesn't even have to be a Honda, but Hondas are preferred of course.

Honestly, the 8th gen Civic is a pretty fantastic replacement for the CB7. They are a little smaller outside, but about the same inside due to better packaging.

They don't have too many major trouble spots and if you get an Si (which I highly recommend), performance will be a little bit better than a basic H22 swapped CB7. The standard LSD and relatively well tuned factory suspension helps as well.

They do have a bit more highway road noise than a CB7, but I took mine on several very long cross country trips and it really wasn't an issue. Mostly you will notice it on broken pavement, where all Hondas have a tendency to be a little noisier.

Parts are cheap, and in the case of the Si, they really only had some timing chain tensioner issues, some idler pulley issues, and a couple of other pretty minor things to deal with. I think the "regular" models had even fewer issues, but were significantly less fun. Maintenance is also cheap if you don't want to do it yourself.

My biggest issue with that generation is that they seem to have fairly widespread paint issues if the finish isn't cared for, which was consistent with most water based paints from the era.

I would also agree with the 1G TSX.

Oddly, if you can swing it, I just test drove a 10th gen Accord the other day and THAT reminded me a lot of the CB7, but with modern conveniences and safety. It had the same low cowl, low dash, great visibility, European feel that made the CB such a great car. You could actually see major portions of the hood again!

[deevergote]

I’ve only driven a TSX once (an 04), but I do feel that it’s the closest newer car to an H22 swapped CB. The CB was fairly luxury-oriented for its time, so comparing it to a lower-mid-level luxury car such as the TSX is fair. Though I do feel that the 1st gen captures the feel better than the 2nd. That 1st gen is now old in its own right, and not entirely problem-free, as Raf99 mentioned.

My 05 Accord hybrid has a bit of a CB-ish feel inside, but it feels like a big, heavy car. Not tossable like I remember my CB being.
My Fit, however... 2nd gen. Had some unexpected refinement, it was comfy, tossable, surprisingly quick for its power output, very reliable, efficient, and not terrible to work on. I don’t know if the 3rd gen is better or worse (it is no longer Japanese-made after the 2nd gen, if that matters to you.)
Honestly, of every car I’ve ever owned, my Fit was the only one to come close to being as engaging and enjoyable long-term as my CB7 was.

[HenRoc]

I actually split the drive time between my wagon, my gfs 2011 Sonata and my newest aquisition : 2006 Tribeca

Its hitting me that the wagon is definitely up there in age and I've lost a bit of steam modifying since it was strictly just a daily for about a year. The Sonata I feel is a pretty good modern replacement for a CB.


On the Sonata:

This is my girlfriends daily she bought off of her father last year. This year we took it to Kalamazoo, Chicago, Fort Wayne , Marysville , Cleveland and Niagra Falls and back home back in April for vacation and it did very very well. Averaged about 35 MPG highway.

All the maintenance such as oil changes I do myself to save some money.

Major compenents that were replaced by myself within this year were:

- Wheel bearings (front)
- Lower ball joints
- Brakes (all four)

Only mod I've really done to her car is upgrade the stock HU with a touchscreen unit out of a '14 model. Bluetooth is standard and I loved the XM feature.

Right now there's a class action lawsuit against Hyundai for their four cylinder 'Theta' engines in which the connecting rod bearing would actually fail and there is a TSB where they check for a faulty dipstick and metal shavings within the oil pan itself.

Recently back in July her car ended up getting a new motor from Hyundai after going through said TSB they even warranty the new blocks for 15 years unlimited miles.

Other than this major issue its been a great car.

As for my Tribeca:

In short I bought it for $800 from my gfs brother with 184k original miles.

Only things wrong with it that I fixed:

- Transmission line was rusted it leaked transmission fluid so for about $65 (soft lines from dealer, transmission filter block, rust free hardlines from the JY and one bottle of transmission fluid) I fixed it.

- Replaced the rear brakes with new rotors and emergency brake shoes

- Metal return line for the coolant was also badly rusted and that was a bit of a pain to replace.

This was also a damn steal because it has brand new tires that are about a year old and the only downside is that it doesnt have bluetooth so I use an adaptor that transmits using the radio that I also can't replace because it's one unit.

It's still worth $4,500 so I can still resell it at a later date and get my moneys worth out of it and hop into something else. Right now it's a good vehicle to use for the dogs that we have.

Cons:

- Oil change is 7 quarts
- Since it's AWD it guzzles gas
- Changing items like spark plugs are a pain in the ass
- Suggests premium fuel but I use 89

Pros:

- Heated seats (front)
- Seats 7
- RES with an adaptor to plug in a video gaming system!
- Its a comfortable cruiser

[sonikaccord]

How does the Sonata drive? It's not a rental car feel is it?

[gloryaccordy]

How does the Sonata drive? It's not a rental car feel is it?

I have a 2013 Optima Turbo, which is supposedly the sportiest variant of that platform/generation. I don't know that I'd call it a CB replacement. CB7s are very light on their feet; easy to see out of; connected to the road. 8th gen Civic nailed all that. Optima is more fun than I expected, but it feels big, has really high shoulder lines, pretty disconnected from the road as well. I prefer that because I drive 22K miles a year and just wanted something relaxing. I am planning on new wheels and a suspension but that's just going to be for looks.