The top three players — Honda, Toyota and Nissan — all have loyal followers, and each manufacturer works nearly continuously to outdo its competitors.

Amongmost successful vehicles, Honda needs little help with the Accord. But for 2008, the Accord was redesigned and it’s a prime of example taking a vehicle that’s already an industry leader and making it better.

Between the coupe and sedan and seven trim options, the Accord is available with more than 30 configurations. My weekly drive was the EX-L. With its new 3.5-liter, 268-horsepower V6 engine and navigation system, it’s the most expensive non-hybrid Accord on the market at slightly more than $30,000. It has a five-speed automatic transmission. (A six-speed manual is also available.)

The new Honda is bigger and “badder” in all areas, which might mean one downside — fuel economy. But that’s not the case. The new Accord, with both four and six-cylinder engines, is at least equal or exceeds previous year models’ gas mileage averages.

How did that happen? It’s because of the Honda’s cylinder-deactivation technology. It allows the engine to run on six, four or three cylinders depending upon driving conditions to maximize fuel efficiency. The new Accord with a V6 engine now averages more than 3 mpg over last year’s V6. And the ‘08 engine has 24 more horsepower.

As the largest Accord ever manufactured, the ‘08 edition offers 14 cubic feet of trunk space in the sedan and and 11.9 cubic in the coupe. It’s the most of any of the major players in the midsize class, although the Altima Camry and Hyundai Sonata have very similar interior dimensions.

Like recent previous Accord editions, the 2008 version performs admirably in all areas, steering and handling to acceleration.

Safety Features — Dual front, front side and side curtain airbags; Fuel Mileage (Estimates) — 19 mpg (city), 29 mpg (Highway); Warranty — Bumper-to-Bumper, 3 years/36,000 miles; Powertrain, 5 years/60,000 miles; Corrosion, 5 years/unlimited miles; Base Price — $30,260.00.

James Raia/www.theweeklydriver.com

Like I experienced when I first test drove the Civic hybrid in 2004, the current version in exceedingly quiet. During stops, it seems like the vehicle’s engine has stopped. Instead, it’s the engine operating solely on electric power.

The hybrid Civic is equipped with a 110-horsepower, 1.3-liter engine with two relatively new features largely known by acronyms, IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) and CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). A five-speed manual transmission was previously available, but now the hybrid is only offered with an automatic transmission.

The IMA, as previously mentioned, allows a vehicle to operate solely on electric power in certain situations. The CVT feature replaces conventional gears with a belt-and-pully system that continuously and automatically adjusts to provide a more efficient and nearly unlimited number of drive ratios.

The exterior features include: chrome front grille, angular front headlamps, a longer, slanted and near panoramic front window and expanded length and width. An the interior also has a long standard features list: 160-watt AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with six speakers and steering wheel audio controls, power windows and locks, front map lights, cruise control, exterior temperature gauge and a navigation system with voice recognition.

Safety Features — Dual front, front side and side curtain airbags; Fuel Mileage (Estimates) — 40 mpg (city) 45 mpg (highway); Warranty — Bumper to bumper, 3 years/36,000 miles; Powertrain, 10 years/100,000 miles, Corrosion, 5 years/unlimited miles. Base Price — $24,350.

James Raia

www.theweeklydriver.com