Is it a BMW? Maybe the Audi A4? Or the VW Passat? Le Peugeot? No, It's the new Honda Accord. Acc-ord: The name reminds me of the French d'accord, which means "I agree" or "OK".

And I agree. The new eighth generation Honda Accord looks sleek, dynamic and sporty and has a lower and wider track for a solid, planted feel. Look at the new low-slung, chromed, angular grill, the new cool, clear projector headlights and the muscular, pronounced wheel arches housing 17-inch alloy wheels.

The side view also reveals a new higher waistline matching perfectly the raked roof line. The rear break light cluster is very BMW. The new Honda Accord takes on a sharp European design to become perhaps the best-looking Honda ever.

Furthermore, the new Honda Accord has been upsized. The floor space is now lower, and the wheel base is longer to provide more space, especially for the back seat riders. There's enough room back there to be comfortable, even when front seats are far back. The luxurious leather-upholstered cabin environment is quiet and vibration-free thanks to an active noise control system, and it's a very comfortable place to be.

Our demo, the Honda 2.4 EL (NAVI), the top of the 2.4-litre models, came fully loaded with all the goodies: dual-zone air conditioning, front power seats with memory (and lumbar massage for the driver), electric rear sunshade, cruise control and a sporty Formula One-inspired paddle shifter on the steering wheel.

But it was the infotainment centre that caught my attention. A real-time information technology package: hands-free Bluetooth, CD/MP3/WMA (with an auxiliary input jack for connecting portable music players), and a premium sound system with a subwoofer. Only the high-speed Internet connection was missing.

And the navigator: the Honda Accord GPS connected to a 40GB hard disc. For music fans, that's 3,000 songs, more than enough music for Phuket to Bangkok back and forth. The Accord 2.4 EL (NAVI) is probably is the best navigator on the market. The navigation screen is large and easy to read, with a user-friendly joystick and command wheel. No more maps. Everything is click-on: the highways, expressways, the U-turns and the bypasses, the attractions, the aroy-aroy restaurants, the hospitals, and the police stations. When the car is stationary, you can watch DVD movies or your digital home movies, and when reversing it switches automatically to a parking camera, a real-time parking movie. Everything is connected to the on-board info centre, including pertinent driving information like fuel consumption, average speed, distance to destination and other data.

For the driver there's a lot of buttons to push on the centre console and the steering wheels. Every car should have a multifunction steering wheel so you can always keep two hands on the wheel.

Under the bonnet, the main focus is the new, second-generation Honda i-VTEC in-line four cylinder 2.4-litre 5-speed motor with 180 horsepower, more powerful than previous models and more frugal. During our test drive we managed 13 kilometres per litre on the highway and about 9 kilometres per litre in the city. And the good news: The new Honda Accord is E20 compatible. That's 20 percent grain alcohol (ethanol) or Stolichnaya and 80 percent unleaded petrol. It also runs on gasohol 91 or gasohol 95 (lower ethyl alcohol petrol blends). At this moment, E20 is the cheapest in Bangkok at 36.09 baht/litre. Gasohol 91 sells at 36.59 baht and gasohol 95 at 37.39 baht. However, the number of E20 pumps is limited, and only Petroleum Authority of Thailand sells it.

On the road, the Accord's four-wheel independent suspension features a double-wishbone design in front and a new multi-link setup in back. The Accord is taut without being punishing, and the sedan recovers quickly without any extra bobbing after hitting a bump or dip in the road.

The safety package is comprehensive, with dual i-SRS front driver and side airbags, including side-curtain airbags with an occupant position detection system. There's also vehicle stability assist combined with an anti-lock brake system and electronic brake force distribution, making those slippery curves less challenging.

In conclusion, the new Accord feels refined and solid and is perfectly suited for Thailand highway cruising or urban driving. It's perfect for an eight-hour Phuket-Bangkok long haul if only the E20 gasohol fuel had been cheaper. This latest version of the Accord is ready to take on the prestige imported rivals from Germany. The really good news for potential buyers is that all the improvements and additional features haven't pushed up the cost. The sticker price for the new Honda Accord 2.4 EL (NAVI) is 1.647 million baht. The base model 2.0-litre Honda Accord is priced at 1.240 million baht.