Road Test: In a sector that has never had it so good, the Honda Accord Tourer offers head-turjing good looks, but at what price, asks Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor
REGULAR READERS of these reviews – yes, all three of you – will know that we have long used this bully pulpit to trumpet the merits of modern estate cars.
The age of boxy estates is thankfully over. In those days the estate was nothing more than a glorified van with rear seats welded to the floor and sometimes a couple of cushions in the boot for a few extra passengers. Motoring fun was not a feature of the engineering criteria: if couples needed these big family cars, then they’d already had their fun.
These days the family burden is shouldered by the people-carrying MPVs, box-like symbols of sacrifice for most motoring enthusiasts.
The estate, however, has never had it so good. Some would point to the efforts of Volvo to make middle-class family motoring cool in the 1980s, but it was really the designers at Audi and Alfa that made estate cars look smart.
The Europeans were the first to really appreciate the merits of big-booted motoring. Slowly, just like our diesel epiphany, Irish motorists will hopefully follow suit.
From the extra flexibility they offer, through to their increasingly smart styling, estate cars represent far more attractive and sensible options than their regular booted brethren.
They also offer serious alternatives to SUVs, which so many of us are foregoing for fear of being blamed for singlehandedly destroying the planet. Indeed if you consider the practicalities and space options offered by estates compared to mid-sized SUVs, in many instances you’ll find the estate a much more practical purchase. Not only that, it’s lower centre of gravity makes it a better handling proposition.
Then there is the styling. Take a handful of mainstream offerings and consider the saloon or estate. Mazda’s new 6 estate is a better looking car than its sibling, so too is the Citroën C5 estate and the Volvo V50. At the premium end consider a BMW 3-Series Touring against an X3: no contest.
The Accord Tourer takes the regular model’s styling and pushes it from “good looking car” to “head-turner”. The end result is arguably the best-looking car currently in Honda’s range.
Its wide stance and sweeping lines give the car a real presence, both on the road and in the car park. It looks sleek and that’s not something you would have dreamed of saying about the previous estate model. That car was all about practicality, with a great big boxy boot at the rear and long rear windows that made the car look like a mini hearse.
This is a far more attractive proposition and with the 2.2-litre diesel engine it’s a worthy adversary for a host of higher-priced premium offerings.
When Honda first released its own diesel engine fitted in the previous generation Accord, it was something of a landmark event. A devout petrol-engine firm, it begrudgingly accepted the need to build a diesel, but took up the challenge with the same determination that has won it great plaudits for its petrol engines, which power everything from speedboats to lawnmowers across the planet.
The end result was as lively and well engineered as we’d expect from the Japanese engine experts, but the added boon was that it came cloaked in so much sound proofing you could barely hear it tick over. A whispering diesel has long been the motor industry aspiration and it seemed that Honda had achieved this goal. Sadly when the same engine made its way into the CR-V, the usual diesel rattle had returned and in this Accord it would seem that some of the sound-proofing may have been sacrificed.
Yet it overcomes this annoyance by packing a very impressive punch and good fuel economy. During a week’s driving that took us to three corners of this island, we averaged an impressive 7.5l/100km (37.6mpg) with the car heavily loaded and frequently sitting in town traffic. That’s well above what we normally achieve for similarly-sized cars.
Its handling is also to be commended for it manages to mix a very comfortable ride with responsive handling. A pair of big comfortable front seats certainly help, but it’s the car’s suspension that deserves most of the praise for smoothing out the worst excesses of Irish roads. It might understeer a little more into bends, but overall the handling is as good as its saloon sibling.
The Accord Tourer boasts all these merits, yet it comes with one major flaw. In their efforts to add some panache to the package, Honda seems to have sacrificed load space in the rear.
The aspiring premium car brand has been rather coy about revealing loadspace details, which is not entirely surprising, for the boot space has dropped from a whopping 1,707 litres to a rather meagre 1,183 litres. What’s more, with the rear seats up and measured against the saloon version – up to the top of the back seats – the saloon variant is actually bigger.
In its defence, the Accord Tourer does boast a handy 53 litre underfloor stowage area, but in the end it’s just not as spacious as its predecessor and would not match larger – though more expensive – rivals like the Volvo V70 or more mainstream models like the Citroën C5 estate or Mondeo estate.
It’s a case of style over substance and that’s a very difficult line to tread in the estate market. On a more positive note, the car boasts an incredibly impressive specification level, particularly if you splash out the extra €3,800 and get the executive version, which is well worth the difference. The large soft leather front seats are ideal for longer journeys and the added toys all have a practical function. Even in these financially chastened times, it’s good value when considered against some of its premium German rivals, where the air in the tyres seems to come as an extra .
The Accord Tourer faces several serious rivals, not least the four identified in our panel. Alongside these are the Mercedes C-Class, the Volvo V70 and the lesser spotted Alfa Romeo 159 Sportswagon. For us the Volvo would be the hot favourite, although the price difference is sizeable.
This Tourer has the looks and the punchy engine to match, with a strong price offering for a car that will hold its value well.
Its weakness is that in a segment where practicality and boot space is vitally important, that’s the one crucial area where the Accord doesn’t excel. Losing nearly 600 litres in loadspace – the equivalent of the boot in a Mercedes S-Class – is too much sacrifice for a car that’s supposed to be practical as well as stylish.
Honda Accord Tourer 2.2 EX
CC: 2,199
0-100km/h: 9.6 secs
BHP: 148
Motor tax: €447 (Band D)
Consumption: 5.9l/100km (48mpg)
Price: €43,595
Factfile
Engine: 2199cc common rail turbodiesel engine putting out 148bhp @ 4,000rpm and 350 Nm of torque @ 2,000rpm with a six speed manual transmission
Specification: Vehicle stability assist; trailer stability assist; cruise control; dual front, side and curtain airbags; ABS; brake assist; side impact protection beams; ultrasonic alarm; chrome roof rails; front foglights; dual zone climate control; leather multifunction steering wheel; front seat lumbar supports.
Executive (EX) versions add: electric sunroof, leather seats; auto-dimming rearview mirror, rain-sensing wipers; auto headlights; rear parking camera and parking sensors; and power tailgate.
L/100km (mpg):urban - 7.5 (37.6); extra-urban - 5.0 (56.5); combined - 5.9 (47.9)
CO2 emissions: 157g/km
Tax: VRT – 24 per cent; motor tax – €447
Price: €43,595 (starts at €38,295 for 2.0 petrol ES version and €39,795 for 2.2 diesel ES)