Second-hand sense: The Honda name has long been synonymous in this country with great motorbikes. Its cars have had a fairly low profile, perhaps because they are a deal more expensive than the cars they compete against.
With higher prices, however, we expect prestige and, in fairness, you do find that Honda cars command a certain loyalty and brand image of which other makers would be extremely jealous.
Honda fans are a pretty diehard breed. The Civic driver swears by his or her car with the enthusiasm of the bachelor farmer I once met had for his 3-gear motorbike - he carried his sheepdog in a supermarket basket on the back of his Honda 50 and his shopping in a side pannier.
The Honda line-up has expanded in recent years and the company is now attracting new fans for models such as its CRV - the five-door "soft roader" so beloved of affluent urban housewives these days.
The older Accord, which has just been re-launched in a wedgier and more modern guise, has its fans. It's not an instantly recognisable car because it's always been an expensive one. However, it's a car that I strongly fancy as a second-hand buy for a number of reasons.
It can be reasonably well equipped. It's a very acceptable driver's car with excellent ride qualities. It's comfortable. And, perhaps most importantly, Honda probably makes the best engines in the world - you'll travel a long way before you see one broken down on the road.
It's also worth noting that Honda is now the second biggest manufacturer in Japan - bigger than Nissan - and it makes more engines than any other company.
Whether you opt for the standard 1.8-litre, the 1.8 LS or the rarer 2-litre Vtec model, you should be getting a pretty good buy. They're not known for major faults but there have been problems with the ABS system on some models and repairs are expensive.
Euro NCAP, the EU group that carries out independent crash testing, gives the older Accord a rating of 81 per cent, which means a pretty impressive four out of five stars. All older Accords were also fitted with front and side airbags as standard.
Residual values tend to be relatively high, but because the Honda name is not as strong as that of Mercedes or BMW pretty good value is available. A year 2000 standard 1.8 with a reasonable 45,000 on the clock is available at one garage for €14,000, while a 2002 version with 17,000 on the clock has an asking price of 20,000. You could expect to knock at least 1,000 off those prices, depending on trade-in values.
Honda is priced up there with BMW and Mercedes and Audi but the name still doesn't have the cachet afforded to the big German manufacturers. In many respects, however, the Accord deserves more recognition - the new model should do much to lift its image. Apart from the fact that its handling is not quite up to BMW's standards, the Accord is a very agreeable alternative.