Honda Accord 2008 review

Thinking along those lines, the new Honda Accord V6 sedan is George Clooney on wheels: instant charisma, and good looks galore. Well-mannered, too. Just driving around the block it feels impressive, and the farther you go, the better it seems.

Honda stepped up the wow factor when it created the current-model Civic, and now has created a new version of its larger brother, the Accord, obviously a graduate from the same charm school.

The six-cylinder model — there is a less clever, less powerful and, naturally, less costly four-cylinder variant — is such a fitting flagship, boasting a silken engine along with excellent road manners.

This is the eighth generation of the Accord series in more than 30 years, bigger than ever, classier than ever. Accords once were medium-sized cars; this one is longer than a Holden Commodore but weighs less, while its six-cylinder engine delivers more power but drinks less.

In the efficiency stakes in its class, only the smaller Toyota Aurion manages to beat the Accord on fuel economy — by a mere 0.1 litres per 100km on the official figures — while not quite matching the Honda power/torque output.

The secret of the Accord V6's success is that it runs happily on only three or four cylinders when full power is not required. (The Americans have been embracing this idea for years, with the current Chrysler 300C also proof that it works.)

In engineer-speak, this is “three-stage variable cylinder management”. It switches itself on and off unobtrusively.

A green “eco” light on the instrument panel tells the driver when part of the engine has gone to sleep but everything comes awake and very much alive — instantly, smoothly — at the slightest prod on the accelerator. Then it simply growls and gets going.

Even when firing on all cylinders, the Accord manages to be exceptionally quiet and refined when ambling along. You almost wonder if the engine is still running, but it is.

So it is quite an achiever, combining refinement with top-class dynamics. It gives a comfortable ride while gripping well on corners and steering with real precision.

And this, in theory, is the non-sporty member of the family. So it will be interesting to see what Honda has in store with the more athletic Accord Euro version, a totally different body that's smaller, narrower and set up for spirited European-style driving, which is coming later this year.

The other big difference between these far-from-identical twins is that the Accord Euro is built in Japan, while the Accord is built in Thailand. No complaints about the quality, and it helps keep the cost down.

Previously, Accords have been about comfort and genteel touring rather than agility and on-road poise.

But while the newcomer is considerably bigger than its predecessor (and looks a lot sharper, by the way), it manages to feel much livelier.

Key Points

HONDA ACCORD V6: Large front-wheel drive sedan, 3.5 litre V6 engine (power 202kW, torque 339Nm) and five-speed auto transmission.

Features

Stability control, anti-lock brakes, six airbags, dual-zone aircon, six-disc CD player, cruise control, alloy wheels, full-size spare tyre.