2004 Acura 1.7 EL Touring Road Test
30 juillet 2004
par
Alexandra Straub
, Canadian Auto Press
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On that note, recently I tested out the Honda Civic Si coupe and before, the 2004 Si sedan. The Acura EL drives and feels exactly
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The EL Touring is powered by the same 127-hp 1.7-liter 4-cylinder engine found in the Honda Civic Si sedan and coupe. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
the same. The car is as stable as can be whether inching forward in bumper-to-bumper traffic or zipping along the open highway. Despite being underpowered and a little soft in the corners I still feel the Civic/EL is excellent for its market.
The interior and exterior of the Honda and Acura have an almost identical layout, in fact the only difference that kept me from calling it a Honda was the big "A" staring at me from the centre of the leather wrapped steering wheel.
So why opt for the EL when a Civic looks, drives and feels exactly the same? Good question. The Acura 1.7 EL Touring (or base model) offers almost identical standard features
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The interior and exterior of the Honda and Acura have an almost identical layout. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
as the Si with only a slight difference in price. The Touring delivers four-wheel, front ventilated and rear solid disc brakes, while the Si only offers discs in the front. The Si, however, comes standard with a sunroof. It's a tradeoff, safety for vanity.
Both cars come standard with 195/60R15 all-season tires and 15-inch alloy wheels, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and a four-wheel independent suspension. It's a toss up between the Si sedan with the automatic transmission starting at $22,500 and the Acura El with automatic transmission at $23,200; a difference of only $700. There's also the difference of freight and PDI to consider, which is $1,010 for Honda and $900 for Acura, another $110 savings.
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