Upscaled look

It doesn't drive like a big car, and it doesn't look like a large car.

But the 2008 Honda Accord sedan has an interior so roomy it puts the Accord into the federal government's "large" category for the first time.

The expressive, 2008 Accord arriving now in showrooms looks so upscale, its rear-end styling reminds me of a BMW. And the new Accord has more features, improved safety and more powerful four- and six-cylinder engines than any previous Accord.

Unfortunately, prices also increased.

Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price for a five-passenger Accord sedan with four-cylinder engine and manual transmission is $20,995.

This compares with $18,265 for a base, 2007 Accord four door and $19,230 for a 2008 Toyota Camry with four-cylinder engine and manual transmission. A 2008 Accord sedan with V-6 starts at $26,595, $1,200 more than a 2007 version.

Prices for the 2008 Accord coupe are higher, too, and start at $22,495.

Among the reasons for the price hikes are the elimination of the lowest-priced value package Accord and the addition of new equipment.

All 2008 Accords come with standard steering-wheel mounted controls for the audio system and cruise control. New Accords also have anti-whiplash, front-seat head restraints and electronic stability control, among other things.

The new head restraints weren't in the previous Accord, and stability control and steering wheel controls used to be available only on upper-trim models.

The Accord's standard curtain air bags also are more sophisticated than before and can stay deployed longer during crashes.

Closing in on 10 million cumulative sales in the United States since its introduction in 1976, the Accord has racked up more sales than Camry and Ford's Taurus.

Indeed, according to Honda, half of Accord sales go to previous Accord owners -- a noteworthy statistic for a more than 30-year-old nameplate. With 82 percent of Accord owners telling researchers their car is "just right" in size, I question whether a bigger Accord was needed.

But that didn't stop me from enjoying the comfortable, wide front seats in the test Accord sedan. Front passengers have more space between them, thanks to a wider, nicely padded center console, and they get 2 more inches of hip room than in the previous Accord sedan.

A low, sweeping cowl -- the dashboard area in front of the front passenger -- adds an airy feel. And back-seat passengers enjoy 37.2 inches of legroom -- the most ever in an Accord -- while trunk room remained unchanged at 14 cubic feet.

Honda engineers widened the sedan by an inch and lengthened it by 3 inches, so the 2008 Accord is nearly 5 inches longer than a Camry.

Note the new Accord sedan just barely tips into the government's "large car" class with 106 cubic feet of passenger volume. This compares with the 101.4 cubic feet in the Camry, which, like most Accord sedan competitors, is classified as a mid-size car.

Meantime, the Accord coupe, with a slightly smaller interior, has 104.1 cubic feet of measurable passenger volume, up only 0.1 cubic foot from its 2007 predecessor.

Even with the new size, the front-wheel-drive Accord has an easy-to-drive, agile personality, though the turning circle that has grown from 36.1 feet to 37 feet.

A double-wishbone suspension remains up front in the Accord, but the rear double wishbone is replaced by a new, multilink suspension. Together, they provide a ride that feels connected to the road but not harsh or busy.

Steering feels more confident than before, and a noticeably quiet interior adds to the sense of a quality ride in the Accord sedan.

Honda boosted horsepower to 177 in the base, 2.4-liter, double-overhead cam engine with four cylinders and i-VTEC variable valve timing. This engine produces a well-managed 166 foot-pounds of torque at 4,500 rpm for performance that will satisfy most drivers.

Honda touts this engine's 22-mpg government rating in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway for the 2008 sedan with manual transmission; it's scarcely changed from the lower-powered four cylinder of last year.

But with consumers becoming increasingly attuned to gasoline prices and imported oil issues, I wished for a bit higher mileage from a newly engineered Honda.

The uplevel 2008 Accord engine -- a 3.5-liter, single-overhead cam V-6 with i-VTEC variable valve timing --is the most powerful Honda production car engine ever with 268 horsepower and 250 foot-pounds of torque at 5,000 rpm.

At 19/29 mpg, the V-6 mileage ratings, of course, are lower than those for four-cylinder Accords. But intriguingly, they are higher than the 2008 ratings would have been for last year's V-6 with 34 less horsepower.

Chalk it up to better intake and exhaust functions, higher compression ratio and a variable cylinder management system that lets the V-6 operate on six, four or three cylinders, depending on drive needs, terrain, etc.

All V-6 Accords come only with a five-speed automatic transmission. In the test car, the shifter moved a bit too easily through the gears, prompting me to miss "drive" and go to "drive 3" many times.