MANY years ago I ran a  Honda Accord for four years and over 100,000 miles.

It never put a foot wrong and other than normal servicing at the proper intervals it did not require any attention at all.

It was an excellent example of Honda's fine engineering which is widely recognised by other manufacturers as being amongst the best in the world.

The latest generation Accord is a good looking stylish car which certainly rivals the three famous German marques for quality.

It is also much cheaper and offers much more equipment for the standard price.

I like its sharp styling and Honda have also acted to reduce emissions to make it more attractive to company users and private buyers.

The comfortable cabin has bags of space for five adults and in this ES GT specification offers every creature comfort as well as an excellent satnav system.

The ride and handling are first class although the suspension may be a little on the firm side for some tastes.

As usual with Honda the real star of the show is under the bonnet.

The 150bhp 2.2-litre turbo diesel is a really fine unit and is very smooth and flexible.

It powers the sizeable Accord to 132mph and can sprint to 62mph in just 9.5 seconds. There is very little noise or fuss at any speed and I really enjoyed pushing it along.

The manual six-speed gearbox is as good as anything on the market and gives the GT a real sporty feel.

The large 460 litre boot will be more than enough for most people and the cabin also has numerous storage areas.

It was easy to select a fine driving position and the Accord was a delight to drive in town or on the open road.

It was always tempting to push hard when I got the chance but the Accord still returned excellent economy.

The official combined figure is 50.4mpg, so technically it is possible to achieve 700 miles between fill-ups.

I was probably a bit heavy with the old right foot and did not get many long-distance runs it but still achieved an average of just over 43mpg.

If you are a badge snob the Accord is probably not the car for you but if you want a vehicle that will rival Mercedes, Audi and BMW for quality and engineering excellence - the Accord is well worth a look.