cam 16-valve four-cylinder engine that is about as good as they come.

The 130 horsepower won't take your breathe away. When you step on the

gas it will say "Sure, OK," not "Yeah! Let's go!" Honda's

philosophy has always been to provide enough to just get the job done.

The result is polite power.

It's, smooth, though, and amazingly quiet, producing little vibration

from idle to freeway speeds. It's economical too, getting nearly 30 miles

per gallon in our road test over city streets and freeways.

The upscale EX comes with a standard 145-horsepower four-cylinder engine.

A 170-horsepower 2.7-liter V6 is available as a $2660 option on both LX

and EX models, and it will provide a quicker getaway from stoplights and

fast pickup as you come out of a sharp turn. For most Accord buyers, though,

these things aren't high priorities.

The 1997 model air conditioning system has been improved for faster

cooling. More insulation has been added to successfully reduce engine and

road noise, and the redesigned automatic transmission is supposed to shift

more smoothly.

A five-speed manual transmission is standard on all sedans with four-cylinder

engines. A four-speed automatic is an $800 option or standard if you take

the optional V6 engine. Although the redesigned automatic is supposed to

shift more smoothly, we didn't notice much difference. It seemed to force

the 2.2-liter engine in our test car to rev higher before upshifting, creating

a little extra noise in the process.

Aside from that very small complaint, we found the Accord effortless

to drive and superbly comfortable. The Accord's double wishbone suspension

is as sophisticated as any of its competitors. As a result, the Accord

is quick and responsive to the wheel. It feels downright nimble as you

maneuver into a tight parking space and you feel only a modest amount of

body roll on corners.

Compared with a car like the Ford Contour, the Accord's suspension gives

a somewhat softer ride, though you can still feel all the bigger potholes.

The tradeoff is that it won't consume a winding mountain road quite as

quickly.