It's been about 3 weeks since my wife and I purchased her Liquid Platinum 2008 EX AWD Journey with wheat interior. It's well equipped, with what I believe are the Premium, Navigation, and Technology Packages along with Wood Trim and Roof Rails.
The EX replaces her 2006 Honda Accord EX-L 4 cyl. w/ 5spd AT, which served us very well for 122K miles. While my wife thought her Accord was fine, she started to get the itch for something newer, different, and nicer.
The wife started throwing around lots of names of certain car models she thought that she liked: X3, XC60, Q5, X5, XC90, EX35, RDX, MDX, Yukon, Suburban, Expedition, etc. She was generally looking at luxury SUVs, and some of the large ones as well. However, since we only have a modestly sized one car garage, she focused more on the compact ones. After all, she's the one who parks inside and she didn't want to give up that perk.
While I like to drive 'sporty' type cars, I like to spend my money on cars that will give me a great ownership experience. To me, that means having a car that drives pretty well, but won't give me headaches from equipment problems and operating cost. I've traditionally been a Honda fan, and I still own a 2005 Pilot for family and household duties.
My wife traditionally likes to buy her cars new. She's also developed a taste for higher end trim packages. However, with some of the cars she had in mind, I didn't want us to shell out near $40K+ for any of them.
Quickly going through her list, I know that I probably wouldn't budge if she wanted a European vehicle. I admit that they are nice, but the practical side of me was deathly afraid of the maintenance and repair costs once the warranty and/or free maintenance periods ended. I like to work on cars sometimes, and some of those makes seem to be difficult to service. Also, it seemed like some of the European models were still too new to show any reliability data or to buy at a decent price .
While Lexus puts out some nice cars as well, my wife didn't really seem too interested in their models.
I would have considered the RDX, but we honestly never got to check one out. Even though I'm a Honda/Acura fan, I wasn't sold on the turbo engine they used. In addition, we know some people who own one and my wife didn't want to have the same car as them. And from what I have read from you guys in comparisons with the EX, it seems like we picked the right car.
I have very limited experience with Nissan vehicles and virtually none with their Infiniti line. However, I couldn't really rule them out either. The only negatives I could think of for the EX were that the interior looked a little tight, and that we never see any; I figure higher volume models are easier to get parts and accessories for.
Then one day while driving past our local Honda dealership, my wife saw the EX in front on display. When she got home, she told me to call our favorite salesman there. We weren't planning to get another car and I really didn't want to go there, but I figured that I'd be fair and take a look at it with her. We checked it out first on the dealer's website, and it had four things she really wanted: AWD, navigation, a backup camera, and a luxury nameplate
. When we got there and checked out the car, she was in love. The test drives were pretty much just a formality, since they are mandatory for any car we buy. Although the vehicle was not brand new, it was in excellent condition, had low miles, and the price was right. A few hours later, after some negotiation and number crunching, the Accord belonged to the dealership, and the EX belonged to us (well, it belonged to her really) . I know this is like comparing apples to honeydew melons, but I will be primarily comparing the EX to the Accord. Please bear in mind that it may sound like I will be bashing the EX, but I am not. If I felt that negatively towards the EX, I would've crushed my wife's spirits and flat out refused to let her get it. Besides, I'm just a stubborn, biased, and picky person when it comes to my taste in cars, and could find fault in almost anything if I wanted to
. Driving Experience: The EX drives quite nicely. I'd say that the steering feel comparable to the Accord, but would give the Accord a tiny edge. If the EX had 18" rims it might have improved, though I'm not really sure. Since the EX has a higher center of gravity and ride height, it leans a little bit more in corners. The Accord felt very confident being pushed in the corners once I put the Michelin Primacy MXV4s on it. I haven't really had a chance to push the EX in the curves, so I can't really compare it (and my wife would not be too happy if I did)
. Like some of you have mentioned, the visibility is hampered by the rear head restraints. Since the Accord only had 'ok' sight lines, I don't think it's visibility from the driver's seat was that much better than the EX's. The seating height does help visibility when compared to the low seat of the Accord. The Accord's K24 engine was very nice for a N/A 4 cyl, but is obviously blown away by the power of the VQ35. Torque off the line isn't huge, but the passing power easily presents itself when summoned. The transmission sport mode would be really nice if the upshift/downshift positions were reversed; I find the positions counterintuitive when compared to true manual transmissions, which I used to drive back in the day.Comfort: The Accord never had a jarring ride, but it was just a little bit on the stiffer side. The EX suspension seems to be more compliant. The 17" wheels, generous sidewall, slightly higher ride height, and Michelin Latitude tires probably help in this department. I can't really comment on the amount of road noise when comparing the two, because I'm used to the loudness of my Pilot. I heard that the VQ35 has a reputation of being a bit unrefined at times, but I never experienced it. The Accord driver seat fit me like a glove. The EX driver seat fits me well with it's many adjustments, and the memory positioning is convenient. I already expected the EX's rear seats to be tighter, but they don't seem to give up that much space when compared to the Accord.
Convenience Features: Well, the only advantage I could give to the Accord was that it had lots of convenient bins, cubbies, and cupholders, which Honda always seems to do right. Otherwise, the EX is loaded to the gills with technological bells and whistles. Pretty much no comparison here.
Quality/reliability: The Accord was pretty damn good in my book. I had no real issues with fit and finish. There were only a few issues I had with it. 1. Weak battery, which I upgraded to the V6 version. 2. OEM tires; the MXV4 Energy tires lasted long and gave good gas mileage, but seemed a little stiff and slippery in the wet. When they wore out, the Primacys went on and were a big improvement. 3. Light bulb for seat heater switch went out; I never bothered to replace it. 4. Vibrating brakes. I changed out the stock rotors early and the pads with aftermarket parts. The vibration eventually returned, but not as much as before. 5. Door check started to go bad. I didn't bother to fix it. 6. O2 sensor went out after 110K miles, which I easily replaced.
While I can't comment on the reliability of the EX, it seems like the one we have hasn't had any issues. And based on the what's been posted in the forum, it doesn't seem like there are many problems with this model. The fit and finish are good. And the car was made in Japan, which traditionally means that the quality should be top notch.
Ownership costs: Again, knowing that the EX is a luxury vehicle, I know that ownership costs will be higher. The Accord ran on regular gas, had 6-7K mile oil change intervals, and was easy and cheap to maintain. That's something I'll miss about that car, as it probably was only halfway through its life. The EX maintenance intervals are shorter, recommends premium, and gets worse gas mileage. However, to be fair, the Accord probably averaged between 26-28 mpg, while the EX is getting about 21.5 or so being driven on the same routes. It always seemed hard to get the Accord to match it's EPA highway numbers, while I had little trouble achieving them with my Pilot. Also to be fair, the Infiniti dealership only charges $10 more for oil changes than the Honda one, and their labor rate is $110 vs. the $105 for the Honda dealer. Insurance costs us $167 more per year for the Infiniti. The yearly state registration fee is also about $25 more per year than the Honda, but this is because they are in different vehicle classes (car vs. wagon). We had to buy an extra smartkey from the dealership, which was $220. The only major fear I have about this car is all the electronic goodies that it has, and how much it might cost to repair them out of the warranty period. However, it makes me feel better that this isn't a German luxury brand, which tend to intertwine their electronic systems more and seem to have more problematic systems.
Other things to note: Unlike most of you guys, I actually prefer the 17" wheel and tire package over the 18" one. While I will miss the days where 15" and 16" wheels were the most common and I do not like how the auto industry keeps growing their wheels to ridiculous sizes, I know that they won't be moving back in that direction. Besides, larger wheels let us have better brakes for these cars that seem to get heavier every year. In general, the 17" wheels also allow for slightly cheaper wheel and tire replacements, longer tire wear, and a bit more comfort when compared to the 18" ones. I would also think that they would be less prone to tire and rim damage on our pothole ridden roads.
I wouldn't say that the Accord was an exciting car, but it was possible to have fun driving it. What I liked about it most was it's ability to do mostly everything we needed it to do while giving us little to no problems. The EX invokes a more emotional response to the car. The other day, I heard my wife start the car in the garage. The exhaust note was slightly aggressive, yet not obnoxious; it projected the visceral potency of the VQ35, but was still classy and a bit understated. I'm not sure that I could properly describe it in words. The EX is clearly a more exciting car when compared to the Accord, and I don't believe that it will give us too many problems as well.
Overall, I can't say I'm not happy with the vehicle so far. It is the wife's daily vehicle. As long as she is happy with it, my words and opinions do not matter much. It has a smaller footprint than her old car, so it gives us more garage space. It's a hatchback, so it offers more potential cargo space than a sedan and is easier to load and unload the trunk area. The higher seat height gives her a better vantage point. She makes it a point now to park far away from other cars and take a longer walk, something she never did with the Hondas. The other day, she actually took the time to figure out how to pair the bluetooth to her cellphone; that's saying a lot, as she's never done those kinds of things before and always left them to me. Other than the additional smartkey, we've purchased the Infiniti all-weather mats (because of the wheat interior color) and an Infiniti license plate frame, which she specifically requested.
Sorry if this post was long winded, but I thought I'd share my story and give my 'unique' perspective on the vehicle. I try not to post too much on forums like this, but if I feel that it adds value or helps someone out, I'll do it. Thanks for reading.
. Anyway, when the vehicle was finished being serviced, she said it almost felt like she was checking out of a 5-star hotel. 
It felt like I was more connected to the car and it was a nice departure from the damped isolation I’m more used to. The car still generates interest, as my Dad has received several offers to buy the car off of him (probably from the tuner crowd), even though it’s not for sale. But it's too bad that Honda doesn't make em like they used to. 