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Photos: 2008 Honda Accord EX-L

The restyled 2008 Honda Accord EX-L looks good and offers a very comfortable drive. It works well as a commuter and family car, and its low emissions make it an environmentally conscious choice, but don't expect the most cutting edge cabin tech.

CNET Reviews staff
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Honda restyled the Accord for 2008. The new sedan is bigger, with rounded off body edges, updating the exterior look.
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The headlights look a bit bug-eyed on the new Accord, but they bookend a nice, curving band into the grille.
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The V-6 engine in the Accord is a remarkable piece of engineering. Not only does it produce 268 horsepower, it gets the best emissions rating, PZEV, we've even seen on a 3.5-liter engine. It produces decent mileage, too, getting an EPA rated 19mpg city and 29mpg highway.
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The Accord is a modest-looking car, but this 2008 version has plenty of room in the cabin. Rear seat passengers get all the leg-room they need.
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With its dual tail pipes, you would think this car has some performance credibility, but its handling and transmission keep it from being a thrill ride.
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Accords have always been tastefully outfitted, and the 2008 model is no exception.
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Honda made big changes in the interface for the 2008 Accord's cabin gadgets. The stack is now loaded with buttons and the LCD, no longer a touch-screen, gets set deep into the dash to prevent glare.
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We were amused by the quick start guide in the Honda's glove box, which covered the navigation system, voice command, the stereo, and Bluetooth hands-free cell phone integration.
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The steering wheel was also restyled, but with all this car's understeer, you will still have to crank it very far around to make a turn.
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Honda didn't update the car's software, so the maps have the same poor resolution as when Honda first started offering navigation systems.
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There are some small updates to the navigation, however, such as offering more route options to a destination.
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We've always found it easy to enter destinations with Honda's navigation system. But this system won't compute routes to multiple destinations.
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The embedded Zagat survey is a nice feature, letting you know something about the restaurants listed in its database.
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XM satellite radio is included with the navigation-equipped Honda Accord EX-L.
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The stereo system lets you list the folders on an MP3 CD, and access tracks by clicking the folder.
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There is an auxiliary input mounted in the console, right next to a power point.
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The premium stereo in the Accord EX-L is barely above average. It uses two tweeters, four mids, and a subwoofer, a fairly typical configuration for today's cars.
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The on-screen trip computer gives you detailed information about fuel economy.

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