The new Honda Accord Euro model.

I have just driven two of the new Honda Accord Euro Australia model.

Update the V6 is now available in Australia!

The Honda accord is a mid-sized auto that has been around for 30 odd years in Australia and just gets better with every newer model.

Honda seems most determined to win market share in this mid sized car market with this model.

There is no doubt that this is a competitive market with strong offerings from Europe and Japan now being challenged by Korea as well.

The interior of the new Honda euro is all luxury.Quality is obvious even to the non technical.

Controls are well placed and functional with logical layout, helping with familiarising yourself with the controls very simple.

The car looks good from every angle and does not have the ugly rear that many modern cars seem to have adopted. Under the bonnet is one of the cleanest most functional engine bays you will find. All serviceable items are easily reached.

Japanese companies the calibre of Toyota Honda Mazda and Fuji Heavy Engineering have been making quality cars for many years and the best of them have been made in the last few years as competition has been getting tougher for car manufacturers trying to divide a market share that has been getting smaller.

The last few years have been as competitive as hell in the mid sized market with good innovative cars coming from all except Toyota who seem to be making very boring cars that sell well.Toyota's accelerator pedal problems have now resulted in suspension of it's biggest selling models and could be in real trouble with 8 million recalls!

There are the usual European line up of mid sized sedans and wagons still appearing in many guises but all are pretty much ordinary over-all and designed to fill specific niche markets, but if you want bang for your buck you still can't go past the Japanese offerings.

Honda is still strongest in this market segment with the best fit market fit for this type of car.

this well priced and equipped model has all the right things in the right place especially for passive and active safety that will, if typical will prove long term to be as good or better than all other players in this tight and now potentially rich market.

historically although some of the early model Accords had a few design faults, (fuel pump comes to mind,) on the whole the Honda Accord has been one of the most reliable cars on the road for the last thirty years.

I have previously driven both the standard and luxury models of the Euro series when they first arrived here, and apart from the extra air bags there were few features that would entice me to spend more for the top of the range model until now, although I did like the first Euro luxury pack very much.

This new Accord is a real drivers car with up-market comfort so if the driver enjoys a lot of luxury and creature comforts to please the family.

the base model lacks nothing in quality, and of course there is a trade off in weigh, with the luxury car coming in a bit flabbier although it has little affect on performance.

The extra weight of the luxury pack may just help soften the ride even more in my view as a driver. This is not an expensive car, but like all Honda motor vehicles in Australia we get better value for money in this market than many other countries.

This car has nice high speed handling that requires little skill to drive quickly. The wheel and pedal inputs are easy to get right so it is effortless to drive.

Around the Inner city it is a piece of cake to park and quiet as a nun with vd to boot, and you can still feel the brakes easily at lower speeds. When you take off from traffic lights it is smooth and quick.

The latest 2.4 litre engine is a gem again, with smooth and quiet operation and a nice quiet authoritative throat from the exhaust that lets you know that this motor is quite comfortable The engine and transmission mapping is magnificent, the whole drive train is as near to zero loss

Typical of Honda their electronic and electrical equipment is reliable and first class components mean better reliability.

The complete drive train is smooth . Bump steer is absent apart from informative feel under severe acceleration.

I like that, it makes the car sure footed to drive when I am pushing hard and want to know how much adhesion is left to control the car.

Economy at 8.9 is damn good with this much trim and comfort..

Simply put the amount of fuel that goes in for the amount of power out is as tight as a fishes backside, and that my friends, is a bloody fine engineering achievement when the other big players in this big money game are hard on your heels.

Honda has not been given a free ride in this world wide segment of the ever dwindling auto market, most of their models have a strong track record to keep Honda buyers coming back..

The new 2009 model Accord Euro runs the 2.4 litre DOHC (double overhead camshaft) VTEC in line east west 4 motor producing a healthy 148kw of power.

This is not a big or very heavy car and with the super smooth power delivery through the automatic transmission it is flawless to drive hard, delivering all the power through the drive train on to the black stuff. With 234 NM of torque and a beautiful smooth power progression it is nicely sporty or very refined depending on how you want to drive it.

The bigger seats still have that soft yet firm feeling of previous Honda seats are will hold there shape well for many years any indication is they will once again be even better than the very good seats in last years Accord Euro model.

As in any of their sedans the seats are pretty easy on tired backs and I have done quite a few long comfortable trips in Accords in Australia.

These are probably going to be better again, but for now I will say they are great seats, they feel so comfortable even after an hours drive in City traffic.(Melbourne peak hour)

To sum up the value eg what your get for your dollar Is more features and plenty of poke, it handles and feels like it should, and is quieter inside than the previous offering which was already very quiet and well behaved. It has instant strong throttle response while remaining easy for anyone to drive with good handling and great safety.

Inside the cabin of the new Honda Euro model for 2009 is refined splendour with every conceivable comfort offered as standard on the luxury model. The standard version is also very well equipped.

The 24 satellite GPS has a database of maps and did not send me up unmade roads or dead ends like some do.

Climate control, radio and driver information is controlled from a multi directional multi jog dial that is easy to use and located in the floor console.

Heating is very good as you would expect without a lot of noise, yet strong quick heat. Air conditioning is very well ranged and comfort is quick even in Melbourne's ever changing climate.

Paddle gear change on the steering wheel is very fast and smooth on the Automatic and well located for me at least.

The compact disc changer is well located, low on the console.

no less than 10 speakers produce clear sound with good bass, mid and treble control.

Driver Safety and other Safety features.

Vehicle stability assist is flawless and works in conjunction with the motion adaptive power steering which gives the driver excellent road feel and adds to the safety features in keeping with the rest of the passive safety devices which includes in the design a means of keeping the power plant from intruding in to the interior.

Thrown in to a corner at high speed the car is very neutral with no lashings of under or over steer.

This has got to be the best value for money I have seen in a mid size car

Throttle is fly-by-wire and produces instant response from both motor and transmission.

I will write more when time permits, but suffice to say this is about as good as it gets.