Accord is a midsize car, going up against the likes of the Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Avenger, Ford Fusion and Mitsubishi Galant. It is first cousin to the Acura TL and sold in Japan as the Honda Inspire.

The Accord offers three engines. Two are 2.4 liter I4s, each mated with either a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission. The smaller engine has 177 horsepower, while the larger boasts 190 horsepower. Fuel efficiency is virtually the same, with twenty-two miles per gallon in the city and thirty-one miles per gallon on the highway.

The remaining engine is a 271 horsepower 3.5 liter V6, which can have either a five-speed or a six-speed automatic transmission. With the five-speed transmission the V6 offers fuel economy equal to the smaller engines. With the 2008 redesign, Honda dropped the hybrid engine in the Accord, deciding it worked better on smaller cars.

As you would expect from Honda, safety is a primary consideration. The Accord Coupe gets an NHTSA safety rating of five-stars everywhere except driver’s side impact, which gets a four. Safety features include antilock brakes, traction control, antiskid system, front side airbags and curtain airbags. About the only knocks are that rear side airbags are not available and the warranty is only average.

The Accord Coupe comes in three trim levels: LX-S, EX and EX-L. LX-S comes with the 190 horsepower engine, six-disc in dash CD/MP3 player, theft deterrent system, telescopic steering wheel, power mirrors, windows and doors and automatic off headlights.

EX adds several standard or available goodies including eight-way power driver’s seat, heated mirrors, power sunroof and the V6 engine. EX-L gets even better with dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery, leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, universal garage door opener, automatic headlights, navigation system and a wireless cell phone link. The dashboard on the Accord features large, easily read dials and gauges.

The biggest knocks on the Accord are its merge speed with the smaller engine and road noise/vibration issues. Also, the coupe suffers slightly from a less than optimum size trunk.

On the other hand, the 2009 Honda Accord Coupe is a solid, safe car built with the family in mind and, at $21,255 base price, is affordable even for new families. For anyone with no more than basic room requirements, needing a safe, economical car, the Accord Coupe deserves a good look.

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