Faults:

The car had new carpets at a week old.

The car has had a new clutch fitted after 20000 miles.

The car has pinked since it was brand new.

It has been fitted with a new knock sensor and distributor.

The car was returned to the Honda factory in Swindon for almost 7 months.

The car has had a new engine fitted and still displays the same faults.

I have now discovered that without my knowledge the car has been painted and the new colour cannot be matched.

General Comments:

The car itself is well designed and pleasant to drive.

The performance is acceptable if you are prepared to use high revs otherwise it is sedate.

The backup from the dealership I used is pitiful.

The engine was changed without my permission.

I have no idea what happened to my car while it was back with the manufacturers.

The manufacture has now claimed that they have no further responsibility for the problems of this car and that pinking is acceptable.

Faults:

The clock illumination went out within a week of purchasing the car, but was repaired under warranty at the next service.

General Comments:

After previous experiences with two consecutive 3 series BMWs, the Honda is a breath of fresh air. It is far more responsive, the controls are lighter to use without feeling any less well engineered and the seats are in line with the pedals so no more back ache! Although the trim materials are less touchy feely, they are far more durable. Published performance figures are similar to the 318, but the Accord feels much faster and I no longer get left for dead by Novas pumping blue from the exhaust! (Some people never grow up.)

Faults:

Nothing!

General Comments:

The Accord is Honda's answer to the lower end of BMW's 3 series range. It has the quality of the BMW, but with a much better engine than the puny power unit in the 318i. It's a car that drives with the verve of an Alfa Romeo, but you won't need the AA on your friends and family numbers like you would with the Alfa!

The VTEC engine certainly lives up to the hype and can despatch most hot hatches with ease. The secret is to keep the engine spinning above 4000rpm and you will see off most zit faced boy racers. I had no problem attaining a top speed of 135 mph, and in-gear acceleration is impressive.

Very comfortable seats, and nice quality trim and switchgear. This car is definitely a cut above the Mondeos and 406's of this world. Excellent body control and a smooth ride with little roll, very refined cruiser despite being high revving, will glide along at 100mph all day long. The standard cruise control maintains an exact speed regardless of gradients.

Only downsides are the crappy standard Pioneer stereo lacks power, and fuel economy hovers round 28mpg pretty much however you drive it.

Faults:

No faults whatsoever.

General Comments:

This car has got it all. Searing performance, pin sharp handling, five seats, a big boot, utter reliability, great dealers and the best four cylinder engine money can buy.

Even after 26,000 miles in my hands, the noise, and the kick in the pants this handbuilt VTEC engine delivers between 6,000 and 8,500 RPM (yes, really!) make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and make me grin like an idiot. Imagine the noise as a kind of mix between a Suzuki GSX-R1000, and a NASCAR, and you're fairly close. Totally awesome. Driven like this, it passes 60 in less than 7 seconds, and will accelerate like a 747 past 100 mph.

The dash is a bit dull, but the half leather Recaros are faultless, and the standard of build is well up to the likes of anything BMW or Mercedes could offer. Despite being driven hard for virtually every mile I've had it, nothing has broken or fallen off, and it has never missed a beat. All I have to do between services is add about half a litre of oil and top up the screenwash.

Despite its 100 bhp / litre, this is no highly strung prima donna. It's flawlessly reliable, and is equally happy sitting in the car park that is the M25 for hours at a time, as it is screaming to stratospheric revs round a twisty B-road.

The chassis is also very impressive, considering the standard Accord is not exactly razor sharp. Steering is a bit light, but offers reasonable feedback, and the turn-in is as sharp as you could want. Brakes too are among the best of any road car I've driven, wiping off speed no matter how much abuse you give them. Pushed really hard it will understeer, but it's quite gentle, and a touch of left foot braking, or an ease of the throttle sorts it out nicely.

Servicing has been reasonably priced, and the dealers are an object lesson. Work is carried out on time, to a high standard, and a courtesy car is always available. When they've worked on the car, it comes back valeted and looking as new. No wonder Japanese cars walk the JD Power survey every year.

My only slight niggle is that it can drink fuel at an alarming rate, especially if you explore the VTEC zone. My record worst was 16 mpg during a cross country thrash to a mates house, although the average tends to be 25-27 mpg. However, considering the performance on tap, I suppose it's not too bad.

To summarise, this is a car which has more all round ability than almost anything else. It has obviously been designed by people who love driving, and more unusually by those who know what car ownership is like in the real world. Anyone who is cannot understand why the Japanese car industry is the most successful in the world should drive one of these and prepare to be enlightened.

Wonderful.