1997 Acura EL owners manual 1998 Acura EL owners manual 1999 Acura EL owners manual 2000 Acura EL owners manual 2001 Acura EL owners manual 2002 Acura EL owners manual 2003 Acura EL owners manual 2004 Acura EL owners manual 2005 Acura EL owners manual
Web analogstereo.com
VALUE-PRICED CAR INSURANCE FROM THE COMPANIES YOU CAN TRUST!

The idea of a small luxury car built exclusively for the Canadian market in Canada was a fairly bold move back in 1996 - even for Honda. But almost nine years later, the Acura EL is still one of Acura's most popular models.
It helps to start off with a winning platform. The EL is based on the Civic sedan, but has different exterior styling and interior trim, more luxury features like automatic climate control and optional leather upholstery, standard side airbags, and standard four wheel disc brakes with ABS. It also uses the 127 horsepower 4 cylinder VTEC engine that's only available on the Civic Si sedan and Civic Si Coupe. Starting at $22,200 for the EL Touring model with a five speed manual transmission, the EL is $700 more than a top-of-the-line Civic Si sedan which doesn't have rear disc brakes, automatic climate control or side airbags - but does have a standard moonroof.
An optional 4-speed automatic transmission adds $1,000 to the price bringing an EL Touring AT model up to $23,200. The EL Premium model goes for $24,200 with the manual transmission and $25,200 with the automatic. Premium models add leather seats, heated front seats, and a power moonroof as standard.
Start up the engine, and there is surprisingly little vibration through the steering wheel and seat. To my ears, the EL's 1.7 litre 4-cylinder engine is quieter than in the Civic Si - there is some buzziness on acceleration, but for such a small engine, it's surprisingly smooth and quiet. As well, the 4 speed automatic transmission shifts seamlessly. New, double-edged window seals and improved insulation in the doors were made standard for 2004, and they appear to be working.
A couple of points about the automatic transmission: the shiftgate is straight, not gated (which I prefer). 'P,R,N,D,D3,2' is indicated beside the shift lever and in the instrument cluster, another good thing. The transmission is responsive to kick-down, and it features grade-logic programming which will automatically hold it in a lower gear while descending or ascending a slight grade - all good things. My only complaint is that the shift lever release button does not have to be pressed to put the transmission into D3 from Drive, or from Drive into Neutral. On a few occasions, I slipped the lever from Park into D3 without realizing it - until the high-revving engine clued me in.