The CD5 vs CD7 Accord – What’s The Difference?
The CD5 and CD7 Accord are both special cars that Honda has cemented in history and car culture. The Honda Accord is undeniably one of the most popular vehicles that Honda has ever put out. The Accord was produced for years, with the kind of consumer purchasing them, that can back any argument you want to make for the Honda Accord being an excellent car.
As much as some people might think otherwise, the market is generally right and if a car is selling between 200,000 and 400,000 vehicles in North America alone each year, they have to be doing something right.
But there are a lot of different Accords on the market now and they can’t all be perfect. Some must be better than others or at the very least different from others. A common comparison people like to draw up is the Honda Accord CD5 vs the CD7 Accord. What are the differences, which is better, which is better value for money, and do they still hold up today? We are going to get into all of that and more.
A Quick History Of The Honda Accord
The Honda Accord first entered the market in 1976 and has remained in one form or another until this day. It’s coming up on the fiftieth anniversary of the Honda Accord which in the world of automobiles is pretty wild.
The Accord has had many different body shapes and styles over the years and, as car manufacturers are inclined to do, has had many different sizes. Including the CD5 Accord and CD7 Accord, of course. The Honda Accord started out life as a compact car but was bumped up to mid-size in 1989 by Honda standards and interestingly the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards.
A Summary Of The Honda CD5
The Honda CD5 ran from 1994 until 1997 and was technically a sedan. The CD5 was therefore naturally a four-door and was one of the larger models that saw in the new era of being a mid-size vehicle rather than a compact car.
The Honda Accord CD5 houses a 2.2-liter petrol engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission or a 5-speed manual transmission as stock. The Honda CD5’s engine was one of the immensely popular F22B engines (F22B1-F22B3) so you can expect both power and performance out of it.
A Summary Of The Honda CD7
The Honda CD7 Accord similarly ran from 1994 until 1997. However, unlike the CD5 the CD7 Accord was a two-door coupe and therefore far smaller and lighter. Despite being smaller than the CD5 the CD7 Accord also had a 2.2-liter F22B engine (The F22b – F22B5) and was similarly available with either a 4-speed automatic transmission or 5-speed manual transmission as stock.
The CD7 was naturally incredibly popular as it was fast and powerful and the idea of a compact everyday car was far more popular (outside of North America and Australia, at least).
The Differences Between The Honda CD5 And The Honda CD7
The Honda Accord CD5 and Honda Accord CD7 are clearly very similar in a lot of ways. But they aren’t identical. The most glaring difference is obviously that the CD7 Accord is a two-door coupe compared to the CD5 which is a four-door sedan.
Size is immensely important when it comes to the functionality of a car, not necessarily the driving experience or performance of it. However, you will also find that since the CD7 Accord is so much smaller but has the same engine it is noticeably faster and has quite a lot better fuel efficiency.
Additionally, you have to take into consideration which CD5 you are comparing to which CD7. If you compare the F22B1 engine CD5 and CD7 naturally the CD7 Accord will be far faster because they are almost identical mechanically but one has a lot less weight holding it back. However, it is important to note that there is a version of the CD5 that comes with a B22A3 engine as its default engine and that the B22A doesn’t hold up the B22B in many ways.
The F22A ran from 1990 until 1993 with the A3 naturally landing somewhere in the middle of that. The A3 had been retired for a year before the first CD5 or CD7 came out and was brought back out of retirement for an early addition CD5.
Which Is Best The Honda CD5 Accord Or The Honda CD7 Accord?
In terms of which is better, you are going to naturally need to consider what you are using the car for and what kind of functionality you expect out of your vehicle. Are you looking for a sustainable everyday car that is great for taking the kids to school?
Then you will obviously be better off with a Honda Accord CD5 because the difference in space both in the back seats and in the trunk is huge. On the other hand, if it is just you or you and a friend/partner then the coupe will likely meet and even succeed in your needs and expectations. If you are interested in pure power and performance the CD7 is the clearly better choice and actually a newer CD7 compared to the oldest CD7 is trivial when compared to newer cars.
Which Is Better Value For Money The Honda Accord CD5 Or CD7?
There is so much variance in price depending on which model you are interested in and which year for which model. There are 8 different options to choose from in total and each of those options could be in vastly different conditions with vastly different mileage.
In the real world, the best value for money is likely to be the newest Honda Accord CD7 with the least amount of miles/owners. If you magically find yourself in the position that all the cars have the same mileage and history then the best value for money is probably still going to be the CD7 but an older model, that is cheaper, may suit your needs just fine. And the extra 20-odd horsepower is a non-factor.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now have a great idea about all the similarities and differences between the Honda Accord CD5 and the CD7 Accord. While they are mechanically very similar their differences in size and functionality make them starkly different vehicles.
While there is no subjective best of the two in terms of power and performance the CD7 Accord is far and away the best choice. Especially the newer ones. However, even the oldest CD5 with an F22A engine will be a solid and reliable car for you if there are few-enough miles on the clock.
