Although the Accord engineering team saw the wagon's basic purpose as refined family transportation, this car is far from boring.Its power steering system, which varies steering effort according to road speed - low effort for low speed, higher effort and increased road feel at freeway speeds - is unusually precise for a family wagon. And even though it can't be confused with, say, a BMW sport wagon, the Accord's handling responses are crisp and prompt.
Our test car had ABS as one of its few options, and as a result braking performance was very good. We'd prefer to see ABS included as standard equipment right across the line, but we'd recommend it regardless of price.
Honda chose ride comfort over sporty handling in tuning the Accord's suspension, and we endorse the priority. Our test car was smooth with no hint of mushiness. The overall feel was faintly European, and it enhanced our sense of control.
We also liked the Accord's large window area that gave us a good view of what was going on, particularly up front. This, too, is a Honda trademark.
The Accord's standard 2.2-liter engine doesn't deliver neck-snapping performance, but we think it might surprise some. With the 5-speed manual transmission - clean gear engagements, easy shifts - our tester moved along respectably, with effortless freeway manners.
Hitching the standard engine to the 4-speed automatic transmission diminishes performance, of course, but not as much as you might expect.
This is an exceptionally smooth engine, free from vibration at all speeds. It may be the best 4-cylinder in the business.
If you want V6 power, you'll have to shop elsewhere. A V6 engine option won't be available in the wagon for another year.
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