Honda Accord Type S Tourer (2009) CAR review

The 2.2-litre diesel engine in Honda’s Accord looked a little undernourished on paper – until now. It’s been boosted by 30bhp to a much more competitive 178bhp, and torque is up from 258lb ft to 280lb ft – and spread from 2000-2750rpm. To capitalise on the extra grunt, Honda’s added a new model at the top of the Accord range, called the Type S. We tested it wrapped up in five-door Tourer bodywork.

Not cheap, at £28,195. Worth it?

Well, as it happens, Ford’s top Mondeo estate, the 2.2 TDCi Titanium X Sport, aside from needing a bootlid extension to carry the badge, costs £700 more than the Accord and leaves you without sat-nav. It’s more spacious (something we’ll come to later) but seems just a little, well, common in comparison with the Accord. And I speak as a bit of a Mondeo fan.

Read Honda’s blurb and you’ll find the company citing Audi’s A4 Avant as the competition, in which case the fully loaded (leather, heated electric seats, nav, keyless entry, auto lights and wipers, hands-free phone, parking sensors) Accord starts to look better value.

In reality, it’s somewhere between the two in image terms, and it will hold its value much better than the Ford.

Nice inside?

Again, it’s somewhere between Ford and Audi. The dash looks slick and is finished in subtle, soft-touch plastics, with a style that’s kind of mid-Pacific rather than archly Oriental or European. It’s well-made, with snicky, short-travel switchgear, tight and accurate panel fit and a general feeling of durability.

That said, the further down you stretch your fingertips, the cheaper the plastics get, and the leather trim’s a bit smooth and shiny too. The doors slam with a bong and it lacks that feeling of denseness that characterises the best Audis.