2008 Honda Accord EX-L

Ever since it made its debut over 30 years ago, the Honda Accord has arguably been the best vehicle in its class, providing a roomy, well-appointed interior; sporty yet smooth driving characteristics; and a price tag and fuel economy that were easy on the wallet. Now in its eighth generation, the Accord is longer, wider, taller, more powerful, and more fuel-efficient than its predecessor-traits that every buyer of a midsize family sedan can appreciate, certainly if the family is growing as quickly as gas prices are rising. With that in mind, we added to our long-term fleet a topline 2008 EX-L V-6 sedan, replete with Honda's fuel-saving Variable Cylinder Management system, to determine if the Accord's step up in size and technology will keep it at the top of its class after 12 months of rigorous duty.

Our fully loaded EX-L V-6 came with one option, satellite-linked navigation, which raised the sticker price to just under $31,000. As many in the car world know, Honda doesn't offer options as much as it does trim levels-for the Accord, that translates to LX, LX Premium, EX, EX-L, EX V-6, and EX-L V-6. With our premium trim came premium equipment, including a leather-trimmed interior, leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, four-way power passenger seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, 270-watt premium stereo with six-CD changer, XM Satellite Radio, and HomeLink remote system.

Once we broke in the Accord's 3.5-liter V-6, we subjected it to our standard battery of instrumented testing. At the dragstrip, the Honda sprinted from 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds and clipped the quarter mile in 15.0 at 94.1 mph. Further, our EX-L V-6 proved it could turn as well as it could sprint: Through the figure-eight handling exercise, it recorded a time of 27.4 at 0.64 g, boasting sustained lateral acceleration of 0.81 g.

With just over 6000 miles on the odometer, the Accord is quickly racking up comments in the logbook. Most postings praise the larger, more comfortable interior, while others lament the dash's busy and confusing center stack, whose sea of gray buttons is proving frustrating to our editors.

That said, we look forward to the Accord's extended stay with us, a year-long affair that will allow us to appreciate all a family sedan can offer.

Will familiarity breed contempt or contentment? Stay tuned for updates.