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I am considering buying a Honda Stream around '07-'09. I had a 2001 Stream which was great for years but blew two head gaskets in the last couple of years of it's life, the last one being a few months ago. I have wondered if that might be related to the fact that it was only a 1.8 engine and we were loading it up and driving long hours to go on holiday occasionally. The newer version of the Stream is a much smarter looking car and as far as I know a slightly different engine. So I'm considering going down that road again because it's a really practical car. I don't need a 7 seater anymore but I appreciate the boot space it offers with the seats down. I'm thinking about getting the 2.0 for a little extra power, but the 2.0's have a CVT transmission, whereas the 1.8's are a standard automatic. I've heard bad things about early Honda CVT reliability. Would 07, 08, 09 be considered early? Would they have likely ironed out the problems by then? I can't afford to be stuck with big issues. But I've driven both and the 2.0 was a nicer drive. The 1.8 feels like it's lacking a bit.

Hello I too had a early stream with a k20a engine, It was solid but had issues with Air fuel ratio sensors, the engines are quite strong and head gaskets are quite rare.

If you are looking to update your vehicle it sounds like the right time to do so the 1.8 R18a engine is fairly lively and performs well with its conventional 5 speed automatic, this would be my preference if reliability concern, however I haven't herd of any issues with the CVTs in these models, comparable vehicles are the Toyota Wish but it only receives a 4 speed automatic.

The newer streams have difference trim levels including a RSZ model, a simple family model with dark interior would be the stream style X package