USED Honda Accord Tourer (02 - 08)

It's a big, slab-sided load-swallower. Its party trick is to pop open and raise its hatch when you press the remote plipper - great when your arms are full of parcels. The load bay is huge, and the seats drop at the click of a catch to leave a flat floor.

The cabin is a generous size, too, and even low-end models have pretty much all the kit you'd want. The driver's seat is comfortable.

Thick screen pillars, however, limit the view out, and a similarly poor view to the rear makes easing back into a tight space awkward. Find a car with parking sensors fitted - you'll need them.

All engines are lively and it's sharp to drive, if not the best in class. Safety kit includes multiple airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control and even the option of auto-steer to keep you in lane.

However, it scored only four stars from Euro NCAP for protecting those inside - several rivals have a maximum five.

Honda makes cracking petrol engines but has only lately put much effort into its diesels. The one in the Accord is terrific, though. It's powerful, smooth and a miser with fuel, packing plenty of the low-rev power that makes it perfect for a load-hauler.

If petrol is your thing, then the smaller of what's available - the 2.0 - does a fine job. So good, in fact, that it's barely worth stepping up to the alternative 2.4.

Even the cheapest Tourer, the SE, has alloy wheels, climate control, a good stereo and full safety kit, so it is hardly worth straying beyond that, although the splashes of silver-finish trim that comes with the Sport do brighten up the cabin.

The top-trim Type-S and Executive models aren't worth the bother unless they're for sale cheaply.

A mild face-lift in 2006 improved the look of the dash a touch. For top value, buy from a car supermarket.

No big estate is going to be cheap to run, but the Accord will cane your finances harder than many.

Servicing is dearer than for a Mondeo or Vectra, while insurance ratings are a group or two higher. The Tourer spans groups 11-14.

Spares parts cost more than average, too, although Honda's excellent reputation for reliability promises that you'll seldom need to buy more than routine items such as tyres, brakes and exhausts.

The fuel economy looks good on paper, and the 2.0 should achieve up to 33mpg overall and 24mpg in town; the 2.4 records 29mpg and 21mpg, and the diesel 48mpg and 36mpg. However, plenty of owners complain theirs are far thirstier in real life.

If the financial picture looks bleak so far, take comfort in the Accord's depreciation figures, which show it losing value more slowly than the equivalent Ford or Vauxhall. The price you get come trade-in should, at least, return the smile to your face.

Honda beats the pack for reliability and has comfortably established a top-five placing in the What Car? Reliability Index. Customers have for years sung the make's praises in the JD Power satisfaction survey.

However, neglect oil-level checks at your peril. The diesel has a thirst for oil that'll run the engine dangerously low if you're too lazy to top it up.

Otherwise, owners report few problems, although several have had the remote tailgate release fail. The anti-lock brakes can also play up and a few cars have needed wheel bearings replaced before time.

Finally, Honda has issued a couple of recalls, to check that wiring in the boot is safe, and to ensure the rear seat belts work as they should. Check with a dealer that yours has had all the work done that it needs.