Hondas Accord is probably South Africas best entry level executive buy. Its now been joined by a Labrador friendly Tourer version too.

South African Honda buyers did not have option on the previous generation Accord Tourer; a capacious, but admittedly aesthetically challenged car, which featured a flat-slab rear tailgate and huge overhang section behind the rear axle line.

The latest Accord Tourer is an altogether more palatable suburban lifestyle partner. Although wheelbase has been reduced by 15mm to 2.7m, Accord Tourer is 80mm wider and rides on a 75mm wider track, ushering in more responsive handling dynamics and improved shoulder room for occupants.

From the B-pillar backwards Accord Tourers roofline now features a pronounced downward curvature. Fusing with a significantly restyled... // Wheels24.co.za

Islington Gazette (Enlarge photo)

And where the previous model looked a little ungainly, Honda engineers have lopped a centimetre or so off the new model's length to bring it more into proportion.

It's a more muscular, sculpted and cohesive look but in silhouette the Accord is pretty much unchanged - and that's deliberate, says designer Hiroyuki Ikegami.

He says: "When a premium German brand has a full model change, they always retain consistency. They apply and evolutionary approach - not revolutionary."

But in the Japanese firm's bid to swipe sales from Europe's elite, what has moved on is a noticeable increase in quality. Not that any recent Honda has been poorly built - but the newcomer is one of the first models to feature soft-touch plastics which are good enough to rival those found in Audis and BMWs.

The... // Islington Gazette