Honda Accord Tourer

The Honda Accord Tourer is a stylish looking estate that offers legendary reliability and excellent build quality; however it isn’t as spacious as some rivals and has been criticised by reviewers as too expensive.

Interior

The Accord Tourer interior is a quality product indeed; Honda has used soft touch materials wherever possible to give the car a premium feel. The body hugging, multi-adjustable seats also make the car very comfortable on any journey, whether it be a school run or a family holiday across the continent. Reviewers have criticised the rather confusing layout of the dashboard, stating that there are too many buttons that are hard to differentiate.

Unfortunately in the Tourer’s style has taken precedence over space, meaning it only offers 395litres with the seats up or a mediocre 672litres with them down. If you’re after a big load lugger then the Ford Mondeo or Skoda Octavia estate are better options.

Driving

The Accord Tourer, much like the saloon is a fine motorway cruiser. Some reviewers have noted that on rough surfaces the ride can become unsettled, which in turn can cause noise to enter into the cabin. The Accord also lacks the driving dynamics of the Ford Mondeo estate, thanks largely to a softer suspension set up and ever so slightly numb steering.

The excellent diesel engines and very smooth manual and automatic gearboxes on offer make the Tourer a good drive that many would be very happy with, especially if you are doing lots of motorway driving, but rivals such as the Mondeo or Mazda 6 offer a more entertaining drive.

Engines

When choosing an Accord Tourer, you have the choice between three engine sizes. A 2.0-litre 154bhp and 198bhp 2.4-litre petrol units and a 2.2-litre diesel engine with either 148bhp or 177bhp. When choosing an estate many owners will opt for the excellent diesel options. The 2.2i- DTEC is the pick of the bunch, offering strong performance with very good economy of 51.4mpg.

Petrol engine models, although very refined, are hard to justify due to their heavy fuel consumption when compared to the diesels: 40.4mpg for the 2.0 litre petrol and 32.5mpg for the 2.4litre petrol. The Accord ranges from tax band E-J. General running costs should be relatively low for the diesels but much higher for petrol engined models.

Value for money

Unfortunately the Accord Tourer suffers exactly the same problem as the saloon, it’s too expensive when compared to its mainstream rivals. Honda argue that the car offers premium build quality of that seen on German rivals such as the Audi A4 estate, but the Audi is only slightly more expensive than the Accord and seemingly much more expensive than a Ford Mondeo Estate or Mazda 6. On the plus side it offers very good resale value, so when you come to sell at least you will be able to recoup a large chunk of your money back. All of the Accord Tourer range comes well equipped as standard.

Worth noting

The Ford Mondeo Estate or Mazda 6 offer more space, almost the same feeling of quality and a more entertaining drive. Be aware that the excellent Mondeo Estate is cheaper, and that BMW or Audi rivals cost only a little extra.

Interior

The Honda Accord Tourer offers good looks for an estate, excellent build quality and you know that it won’t break down. It would serve almost any family proud, and it’s only if you really need to haul large objects around that its smaller cargo space becomes an issue. However, when compared to mainstream rivals it does appear to be very expensive.