Accord Euro R vs BMW 130i - Which KiwiCarLife Car is Better?

In the final comparison with the 130i I discuss whether I made the right choice in switching to BMW, or whether I should have stuck with my Accords.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:48 Exterior
1:14 Drivetrain
2:16 Interior
3:17 Roll Race
3:27 Accord Driving Experience
5:41 130i Driving Experience
Thanks for Watching!

[@OrangeChicken417]

Euro R is timeless

[@KiwiCarLife]

They’re really nice aye

[@lucaking4041]

Can't lie mate the look on your face every time you end up back in the CL chassis speaks for itself.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yes but don’t I have that face every time I drive something good?

[@lucaking4041]

@@KiwiCarLife Doesn’t seem the same as that Euro R smile

[@hikarikono5778]

I’d agree that objectively speaking the 130i is probably the better car but the Euro R is just special man…

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah that's fair

[@The_Noticer.]

wow that rolling race was actually super close :O

[@KiwiCarLife]

Very close!

[@jerrytong2209]

i thought the same

[@toomythejester]

as a soon to be owner of a honda accord i would very much prefer the euro r

[@hondamanvtec2894]

What accord ?

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@hondamanvtec2894 they are nice cars, but honestly if you drove a 130i I can guarantee you’d prefer it

[@toomythejester]

@@hondamanvtec2894 cl9 base model manual

[@gyallis4life617]

Keep grinding you'll get it soon. Wonderful car

[@GandhiBeatz]

No place to argue that 130i is a better car on a paper, but thats the essence of Honda - not producing engines with huge displacements, not producing extremly fast car from 0-100, but yet they produce cars that are fun do drive, and that should be an essence of a sporty car. I bet an old Honda with 1.6 engine can put much more smile on a face than some supercharged 5.0 mustang, with enormous difference in price and more enormous difference in reliability

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah that’s as maybe but my point is this 130i isn’t an expensive 5.0L mustang whatever… it’s actually cheaper than a Euro R! Times are changing and JDM’s are not good value for money any more hence why people (including myself) are turning to euros. And regarding reliability, I’ve had more issues with my accords than any other cars. BMW has had no issues at all

[@spadgm]

Good comparo mate, I would have to say these would make a good pair in a two car garage. You have your front wheel drive fun performance covered and the rear wheel drive fun performance driving covered!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah they’re a good combo for sure

[@Killerconceptz]

Cheers from a newly acquired 06 tsx in the states! Best car for the money by far, even cars 10k over what the market is! Ps keep making cl9 content! It’s what brought me here!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Glad you’re enjoying the new car

[@brichpmr]

I really enjoyed this video comparison....two excellent machines! For context, I've owned a 2012 Acura TSX Wagon for 8 years (the Accord Tourer in Europe, rebadged for America). It runs the K24z3 with good torque and smooth up the rev range with paddle shifters. For my daily driver needs and the enjoyment of a Honda well screwed together, this wagon is a real unicorn here.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah there’s not many TSX wagons around. Nice car!

[@accordarchives9673]

It's interesting what you say about the "Accord" years of the channel, and I'd probably agree; there is kinda a gap between supply/demand for Accord content/KZbinrs (even though you made 100s of Accord videos.) Even Japan only has a few that still make Accord content, let alone CL7 Euro R content. The only one that still active is probably "Red" from Red Memory who also does Silvias. These comparisons are great by the way, keep it up!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man, yeah I can't keep making the same old content all day long that's the problem. Gotta try new stuff

[@heidirosenz]

That Accord is giving me vibes of my 1996 Autech Pulsar. That thing revved like crazy, was the 2.0 litre version not the higher hp 1.6 but had a fantastic lumpy idle and outrageous body kit with whale tail and spotlights.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yes similar yeah

[@victorwilks88]

I love both of them ...cant choose buddy

[@KiwiCarLife]

They're both very good in their own right

[@AllDayBlazer89]

Euro R for the w!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Good cars

[@ferdz43]

Both are definitely really good cars, different type of fun. Different driving dynamics, comes up to personal preference i reckon.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah for sure, personally I like something raw but still usable, and the BMW ticks both those boxes for me

[@ferdz43]

@@KiwiCarLife Can’t wait for more content on the E46 👀, going to be another exciting one for sure 🔥

[@bubbles4136]

Love the BMWs, but for me, nothing beats a good ol VTEC Honda.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Lots of people seem to agree

[@craigauty6756]

Havent driven either but can easily see how the 130i is the better car but the accord has a more connected feel which is something special. I have over 500hp now but had more "fun" ringing out a 2zz in a celica gts i had

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah I’d agree

[@Mikeywelcs]

Im picking up a 2006 CL8 accord tomorrow so its the 4wd model, i think ill give you a message when i swap it to manual and k24 and you could give it a review. Pretty rare car in new Zealand.

[@KiwiCarLife]

That would be awesome! Hit me up on insta

[@Mikeywelcs]

@KiwiCarLife will do man.

[@xo7605]

Andy is the goat

[@KiwiCarLife]

Haha good man

[@jorman915]

I’m indifferent, I just hope that 135i has the vanos with the lift, and N/A too that would sound nice

[@KiwiCarLife]

130? Vanos is different to VTEC

[@jorman915]

@@KiwiCarLife Yes 130 and I’m sorry I meant valvetronic not vanos.. it’s a smoother version of vtec

[@allanbowman9797]

Just do what I did, I love my Euro R but at the end of the day FWD is not for everyone. If it was RWD it would be perfect. So I also bought a IS200 which is turbocharged so at the moment I'm just enjoying them both. I've tracked the Euro R and it's a beast for what it is ..but I dont have the heart to turn it into a full track car...so the IS200 will be stripped down

[@KiwiCarLife]

That is a good combo to have for sure

[@allanbowman9797]

@@KiwiCarLife thanks. Happy so far but we will see. You have good taste and know value performance. Plenty of BMWs on my list as well but I am just shy on the risk of replacement parts which may be a bit of a myth. A non turbo 1 series was next on my list..or an older 3 series

[@thatguyben3128]

_Bias here, Honda for me 😎 but respect for the Beemer_ … _please let Andy know if he decides to tidy up his headlights there’s a product called _*_CERAKOTE CERAMIC HEADLIGHT restoration_*_ it’s by far the best value and longest lasting product_ 👍🏽👍🏽

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh yes will do I’ve heard that’s good stuff

[@supersantos2007]

Honda euro R for the win punching way above it's weight class 2l 4 fwd vs 3l 6 rwd.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah remember though this one has a lot of modifications on it. A stock one wouldn’t come close

[@supersantos2007]

@@KiwiCarLifebut it's still a 2.0l 4 cylinder Vs a 3.0l 6 cylinder try your 130i Vs xr6 FG, sv6 VF, crown Athlete 350, 350gt or 370gt skyline ect your review will be very different talking about torque differences and power etc

[@IBOO57]

Euro R with a Rotrex.... perfect.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Did a review on one of them!

[@Krasimir2310]

Euro R !

[@KiwiCarLife]

Good car

[@17t135i]

It's 12k for a clapped CL7 Euro R with 200,000km with a big list of faults, or you can get a mint 130i at half the Ks for 10k. N52 is one of the more reliable BMW engines, 130i wins for me, however im potentially biased 😂

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah exactly this is what I’ve been trying to say but everyone is still fanboying for the accord

[@jimes69]

They were great value for money before covid, now almost 20k for a clean Euro R isn't worth it unless you really want one bad. Basically, can get a ITR or CTR for not much more, but yeah that's still overpriced for that to.

[@divin3kag3242]

@@KiwiCarLife it make sense to fanboy over the accord euro r because its limited and at that point peak honda. Dont forget you can still step up to a 135i and to option it out how you want will be difficult. Also it wont take much to make a base accord and build a killer k24 or k24/20 frank and still be better than the 130/135.

[@jerrytong2209]

how much more power has the euro r got?kept up with the bmw

[@KiwiCarLife]

Given it has headers, exhaust, intake, tune id say it’s making about 180kW, but it does weigh 50kg less

[@jerrytong2209]

@@KiwiCarLife yeah bmws are too heavy now..theres a handful of euro r's in the uk with over 250bhp 2 have just over 260bhp

[@mvnorsel6354]

My mission, should you decide to accept it, is for you to test a manual Mitsubishi 380.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Unfortunately they don’t exist in nz

[@macentire56]

it's actually insane how cheap 130i's are now, I be seeing them sold for 4k now

[@KiwiCarLife]

Exactly. Euro R’s are still all over 10-15k

[@IBOO57]

Unfortunately for a Manual in Australia there still around 12k and hard to find. Auto obviously way cheaper.

[@eithias671]

i still prefer erl

[@KiwiCarLife]

Fair enough

[@ghostinthemachine76]

I wonder why they called it the Euro R. To my knowledge, it was never sold in Europe.

[@KiwiCarLife]

It’s because it’s the “Accord Euro” plus the R. The regular CL9 that this is based off was developed for the European market as a smaller European style accord

[@ytyndale3643]

VTEC is the answer

[@KiwiCarLife]

It does sound good, although in this one coz it comes in at 4k you can’t really hear it

[@IBOO57]

Out of Curiousity have you driven an FD2R before?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yep I’ve driven a couple

[@IBOO57]

@@KiwiCarLife how would you say it compares to a Euro R? I have driven an fd2r and was blown away. I assume the Euro R is just not as sharp and being heavier not as fast. The main thing that I loved about the fd2r was how well sorted the gearing was for the cars power delivery more manufacturers need to focus on this.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@IBOO57 the Euro R isn’t quite as good yes, but I’d say it’s 90% there and costs half as much

[@IBOO57]

@@KiwiCarLife that's interesting in Australia the price gap is nowhere near half. It's a bit of a no-brainer for Kiwis then.

[@Darthabeymo]

​@@IBOO57interesting what is the price gap between euro r and fd2r in aus? Its true over here a you can get a decent euro r for 15 - 20k nzd and then a decent FD2 goes for an easy 30k plus

[@JZ__Ben]

What's more reliable?

[@hondamanvtec2894]

Lol The Cl7 is up there with a Toyota Corolla

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@hondamanvtec2894 I’ve had no issues with my BMW, my accords both had engine lights for knock sensors failing, transmission crunches interior rattles and they both burnt oil

[@The_Noticer.]

​@@KiwiCarLifeye, ive had a run of bad luck with all my three hondas.

[@topmarques]

Having bought a Honda S2000 new and now with a BMW 130iLE manual now there is no comparison. Honda is a gutless unless you're 5k rpm up. Not quick in the real world.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Wow fans of my channel would call you crazy going from an S2000 to a 130i! But I’d have to agree, the N52 is a far superior engine

[@CL9k24a3]

I was thinking those 260ish hp 6cyls are hot untill I have seen dyno of fbo k24 vs flat6 of porsche. K24 made it look bad everywhere, even k20 keeping up with much bigger motor.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah but you can’t compare a stock N52 to a fbo K24, ofc the freer flowing and dyno tuned engine is going to have better curves. Do the same mods to an N52 and then compare them. Or, just buy an N52 in the first place for less than a Euro R and get a car that makes more power from the factory without needing to spend 10k on bolt on modifications, just to make it no faster than my 130i

[@CL9k24a3]

​@@KiwiCarLife10k in k24 gets you to 300hp. Spend a bit more and you have btcc/dtm spec engine of the past at home for fraction of cost.

[@CL9k24a3]

​@@KiwiCarLifeyou absolutely can compare. 600cc less and 2 cyl less than bmw. K24 being heavily detuned from factory and now makes 260hp with my header and intake mani. Nothing to it. Would rip up that beemer in no time. You put fbo on bmw and not gonna get much up put dc dic in k24 and goets to 280hp.

[@0nTheRedline]

Euro R all day long. Sorry but the 130i just looks pedestrian by comparison.

[@KiwiCarLife]

But does it drive pedestrian?

[@Inspherespace]

I think you mean the Euro R looks pedestrian, it looks good but 4 door box saloons are pretty common .. the 130i is a pretty unique design whether you like it is subjective, it also doesn't have a pedestrian (fwd econobox) drive configuration either..

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@Inspherespace yeah that’s the thing. Looks are subjective but the 130i makes up for any perceived appearance deficiencies with the unfathomably excellent driving performance.

[@0nTheRedline]

@@Inspherespace Market would beg to differ with that statement. One car is a sub 8k common as you like ecobox the other is an appreciating over 20k in most cases asset. Ask yourself why that is.

[@clivelewis6546]

euro R .is king in the wet 😂.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Mmmm the 130i is a lot of fun in the wet, and a lot better than the altezza HAHA

[@savagedrake3555]

e87 is a one of most ugly bmw cars ever

[@KiwiCarLife]

Compared with other chris bangle cars from the era I'd have to disagree

[@proro1974]

​@@KiwiCarLifesure compared to those it's a beauty but that's a low bar. Compared to the other BMWs and even other cars it's rather homely.