No, really, this is the new Honda Accord. It's not brand new, but a middle life, crisis averting facelift. Not that there's a crisis. Oh, never mind.
As you'll already have guessed, Honda has tweaked the lights and bumpers at both ends, and made the car a little more environmentally friendly. Further than that, Honda says it rides and handles better as well, and is safer because of a few bits and bobs on the technology front.
The 2.2-litre iDTEC diesel gets cleaner, losing 9g/km to drop below the 140g/km threshold for the first time. Power stays at 148bhp and torque at 258lb.ft.
Fleet buyers will be kicking their heels now, because both the manual and automatic version of that diesel - and the manual 2.0-litre i-VTEC petrol - all sit below 160g/km (the Write Down Allowance threshold). Fuel economy ranges from 40.9mpg for the petrol model to and 53.3mpg for the diesel manual.
There's more spongy stuff sandwiched between the layers of metal now, so it's quieter, and the dampers have been revised to better suit UK roads.
We'll let you play spot the difference yourself with the styling and trim changes, which are quite subtle. Active Cornering Lights are now available on upper level versions, and bi-xenon lamps now dip themselves automatically from high beam if an oncoming car is detected.
The new car debuts at the
Geneva Motor Show in March, at which point we'll know about prices and exact specifications. Because they'll have been announced by then.
Mark Nichol - 28 Jan 2011