Honda Accord gets midlife 2011 makeover

You may disagree, but somehow the latest generation Honda Accord never seemed as crisp in its overall appearance as its sporty predecessor.

Honda seems to have addressed that to an extent with the Accord sedan and estate's midlife makeover, the new model set to be revealed at the Geneva show in March and in addition to subtle styling enhancements, the Accord benefits from numerous improvements beneath the skin.

On the styling front, the headlights now boast a cleaner appearance with clear indicators and there's a bolder grille in place. What's more, flagship models now have bi-xenon headlights with an active cornering function. These 'Active Cornering Lights' provide enhanced illumination when the vehicle is turning.

Another new lighting technology for Honda is the High Beam Support system (on bi-xenon models). This system is controlled by a CMOS camera fitted to the windscreen in the area of the driver rear view mirror. The camera detects oncoming headlights or the taillights of a vehicle in front and automatically dips the headlights onto their normal setting if they are on high-beam.

At the rear, subtle colour changes to the lights join a light chrome number plate garnish on the sedan (dark chrome on the Type S).

Inside, most models get new seat materials and door linings, while the Type S version gets additional sporty touches.Beneath the bonnet, the 110kW 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel engine has had internal frictional losses reduced to improve efficiency and emissions, the result being a 9 g/km drop in CO2 emissions for the manual sedan and an 11 g/km reduction for the automatic.

These internal changes have been combined with a host of underbody aerodynamic aids, including a larger front air dam and covers for the underfloor and rear subframe. Honda's engineers have also put effort into reducing the frictional losses in the wheels and tyres with low friction wheel bearings and reduced rolling resistance tyres.

Accords equipped with automatic transmission have also benefitted from minimised frictional losses in the gearbox and optimised ratios to improve economy and emissions.

As a result of all these changes all engines in the range now boast better efficiency and lower emissions but, of course, it's the diesel model that rules the roost in this respect with its 138 g/km CO2 emissions rating.

Noise, harshness and vibration levels have been further reduced with the adoption of higher density foam in the under bonnet and dashboard areas and improved underfloor insulation.

Engineers have also fine-tuned the dampers to better suit vast range of road conditions found in Europe. Says Honda, detailed refinement of the dual mode dampers has given improvement in both high speed stability for highway driving and a significant improvement in ride quality, even over poor road surfaces.