Used Honda Accord Tourer 2008 - 2015 review

The Honda Accord Tourer is probably not the first car that springs to mind when you're considering buying an estate. Indeed sales figures for this car seem to confirm that, because despite it being pretty good to drive and a spacious loadlugger the Accord never set the charts on fire.

In actual fact the Accord, which has been around in various forms for many years, was once one of Honda's most popular cars before families shifted their focus from saloon cars and estates to SUVs. This last version of the car was bigger in every dimension than the model it replaced, in a deliberate move to shift the Accord upmarket and set it against rivals like the BMW 3 Series Touring and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Alas in a competitive, and shrinking, market most people chose to buy the premium cars, but there's still a lot to like about this Accord, and it becomes a much more attractive proposition used. It was designed with the business user in mind, for one, so it's refined on the motorway, with virtually no wind and road noise penetrating into the interior.

Engine choices were limited to two petrols, a 2.0-litre and a more powerful 2.4, and two diesels, a 148bhp and a 177bhp version of the same 2.2-litre unit. The smaller petrol engine feels a little sluggish in the Accord Tourer, and the 2.4 version is a little noisy, whereas the diesels are both pretty smooth with the more powerful version being surprisingly swift too.

The entry-level ES trim model comes with climate control, alloy wheels and electric windows, while EX trim gets leather upholstery, sat-nav and Bluetooth. GT adds a sporty bodykit, while Nav models add sat-nav. There's also the sporty Type S, which gets goodies such as leather-trimmed and heated electric seats

Inside, the driving position is excellent and the instruments clear and easy to read, and the quality of the dashboard and its materials are more than good enough to justify the car's upmarket credentials. There's plenty of leg and head room for three in the back, while those in the front won't go short on space, either. Unfortunately, for an estate, the boot space isn't great. Intrusion from the suspension makes for an odd-shaped space, and while there are 406 litres of space with the back seats in place and 1183 litres when they're folded, it's well behind the load space offered in estate car rivals such as the contemporary Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat.

As you'd expect from Honda, the Accord has a solid reliability rating. However, although the Accord Tourer represents decent value used, the Ford Mondeo Estate offers a bit more for less money.

Find a used Honda Accord Tourer in the What Car? Classifieds here

Think of £5000 as the starting point for an Accord Tourer, at the time of writing, this for a 2008/09 car with an average to high mileage for the year, and a full service history. Up this to between £6000 and £8000 and you'll find decent 2010/11 cars with an average mileage, while £8000 to £10,000 will net you a good 2013/14 car from an independent dealer.

The Accord Tourer isn't as efficient as the saloon model. The diesel models do an average of 47.9mpg or 47mpg, depending on their power rating, while the 2.0-litre petrol does around 38mpg and the 2.4-litre petrol about 32mpg.

When it comes to emissions, the lower-powered diesel emits 155g/km of CO2, while the higher powered version produces 157g/km. The petrols lag behind, producing between 173g/km and 215g/km of CO2.

Insurance-wise, the majority of models sit between insurance groups 22 and 27.

Servicing costs are generally slightly cheaper than those of rivals such as the Ford Mondeo and the Volkswagen Passat, and there are plenty of independent specialists who will look after your Accord Tourer as it grows old.

The majority of Accords are diesel-powered, mainly because they were bought as fleet and lease cars. The fabulously smooth and flexible 2.2 i-DTEC is the pick of the range, in either 148bhp or 177bhp variants.

The entry-level ES is well equipped but our choice would be to seek out an EX Nav-trimmed car, which gets leather upholstery, sat-nav and Bluetooth.

The Ford Mondeo Estate is both good to drive and extremely practical. The boot is huge, and interior space is plentiful. On top of that there's a wide range of engines, most of which are smooth and fairly refined, and it shouldn't cost you a bundle to run.

Like the Mondeo, the Volkswagen Passat Estate is good to drive and has an enormous boot, larger than the Accord's. With the Passat there's a large range of desirable and familiar engines, combining performance and efficiency, and a classy interior of exceptional quality.

Find a used Honda Accord Tourer in the What Car? Classifieds here

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