although Honda did up the visual ante in the last makeover, putting a little more dash

into the design. The cosmetic restraint is largely due to the fact that Honda is onto

a winning formula as Accord buyers come back to buy again more frequently than buyers

of most other brands.

For 1996, that continues to be true. The most noticeable change in the front is a

chrome accent around the grille. The freshened rear styling features new lights and

chrome accents as well as wider parking lights for improved visibility and a larger

trunk opening.

The Accord is offered in a variety of trim levels and configurations.

The 4-cyl. sedans are available as a base DX, a mid-level LX and a top-of-the-line EX,

which offers a long list of standard equipment and few standalone options. The coupe

and station wagon are offered in base LX or loaded EX versions. For 1995, Honda

finally added a V6 engine option to the Accord lineup. The V6 models, available only

as sedans, are offered as an LX and EX.

The coupe and wagon were designed and engineered in the United States and are built

exclusively in Ohio. Most Accord sedans, likewise, are built in Ohio, though some are

imported from Japan.

We sampled a number of different models for our evaluation, but our primary focus was

on an LX automatic sedan.