The Honda Accord has been one of America’s most popular family cars and it has consistently been a high scorer in Consumer Reports’ tests. This 8th-generation model has grown in size and is more powerful than the previous model. Stability control is now standard and crash-test results are impressive. We purchased two Accords, a four-cylinder LX-P for $22,795 and a V6 EX-L for $28,695. To share our first impressions of this redesigned family sedan, we have pulled tester’s notes from the logbooks from both models. Unless otherwise specified, the comments would apply to both variations.

“Not the all-around slam dunk I expected.”

“Good value for a lot of car.”

“Accord keeps growing and is a worthy family car, but it’s starting to lose the fun-to-drive spirit of previous generations.”

“Really nice driving position.”

“One of the most refined 4-cyl. engines.”

“Great improvement on already excellent car.”

“[4-cyl] Interior seems austere—no lower-back adjustment, no trip computer, no outside temp.”

“Don’t get me wrong—it’s a very good car, but I’d buy an Altima 2.5S instead.”

“Front visibility is still not as good as two generations ago.”

“Fair amount of wind noise.”

“Lots of useful storage areas.”

“Still not the quietest on the highway, but not as noisy as the last Accord.”

“This remains an excellent car that is enjoyable to drive and easy to live with.”

“Seat is very firm and I can’t adjust cushion to tilt to be flat enough—almost too supportive.”

“Cheapo trunk hinges can crush luggage—Honda’s cutting costs.”

“Center console with radio is busy, takes time to learn.”

As you can see, for the most part, our testers still enjoy the Accord, but we had some gripes. We'll see how the Accord stacks up against its competitors when we publish our test results in the February issue, to be posted online in January.

—Liza Barth