Faults:

Steering rack assembly required replacement at 36,000 miles.

The engine 'pinks' intermittently.

General Comments:

Having owned Accords in the past, I was looking forward to a hassle-free driving and ownership experience with this example.

In most respect, the Accord is above average for a mass-market medium family saloon.

The chassis is highly competent, providing a well-damped, comfortable ride and nicely balanced handling. The car is blessed with an excellent high-speed ride and stability on the motorway.

All of the control interfaces feel properly optimised, which means strong brakes, acccurate steering and an excellent gearbox.

As usual for Honda, the engine has particular strengths; smooth, revvy and strong in the upper-rev range. It relishes being worked hard and sounds great.

The big let-down is the lack of flexible performance on offer at low revs; there just isn't enough torque, and with the air-con on below 3000rpm the car feels distinctly sluggish.

Change down, wind the engine up and things improve, but the need to drive the car hard to make even reasonably rapid progress can become tiring, and does little to aid fuel economy.

Servicing costs seem uniformly expensive, at least in the UK, but on the plus side the dealers are generally excellent and work is carried out to a high standard.

Honda UK genuinely seem to care about customer service, and paid for the considerable cost of a replacement steering rack just outside the warranty period.

Lack of excitement and performance aside, it's difficult to criticise a car which has suffered few problems, is so painless to live with and generally pleasant to drive. I'll be looking elsewhere next time, however.

Faults:

Rear twin exhaust pipes corroded. Dealer tried to clean up before collection, then ordered chrome sleeves which as yet haven't been received, two months later, although supplying Honda franchise very good generally.

Someone (whilst valeting?) shut the driver's door on the seatbelt buckle, causing small rip on door trim. Repaired using super glue.

Some small rattles from the rear seat/parcel shelf.

General Comments:

A superb car. Not the best driver's tool as quite big and heavy for the engine/transmission combo, but comfortable, easy to drive and (above all) known to be reliable.

VTEC engine very smooth, and transmission shifts are imperceptible. Economy is average at around 30mpg in mixed conditions. More autos from other manufacturers should follow Honda's lead and put a gear indicator on the instrument panel.

The Tiptronic-style manual shifting option is a gimmick, but a well-thought-out one; it won't let you over-rev the engine by trying to select a lower gear at too high an engine speed.

Thoughtful touches mark out this car - from the clear, legible instruments to the hook on the bootfloor that you connect to the hatchback, to hinge up the bootfloor for when you need to change a wheel. Nice.

Chock-full of goodies, as expected - full electrics and air-con, but also an electric sunroof (largely superfluous with a/c) and cruise control. Sport model also comes with 16" alloys and rear spoiler, and the first owner added side skirts. Not really neccessary, but does make it look nice!

Ride can be a jiggly at times, but handles well. Excellent room in the front, although rear legroom is not huge, but the boot space is voluminous.