Competitors can breathe easy. No need to worry that the 2008 Honda Accord might suck the breath out of the midsize sedan market; the eight-generation Accord is now a full-size car. Instead, the Accord puts the hurt on a whole new range of larger vehicles, especially with its technology offerings and dazzling cockpit design. And it's all $31,000—tops .

The Accord is now 32 years old; it's still front-wheel-drive and still appealing. The first-generation Accord rode on a wheelbase shorter than the current Honda Fit subcompact. Generation 8 is 194 inches long, which puts it closer to a Chrysler 300 than a Toyota Camry, and the same size as its older cousin, the luxury Acura RL. The Accord uses the same multi-way control knob mounted in the middle of the center stack as the RL's. With the inside fit and finish of the leather-equipped Accords, you'd be hard-pressed to tell an Accord from an RL, were it not for the stylized H-for-Honda on the steering wheel.

When shopping for a Honda or an Acura, all the stuff you want is in one options offering, called either the Technology Package or Satellite Linked Navigation: It comprises superb Alpine-based navigation with voice input plus Bluetooth on sedans, and navigation, Bluetooth, rear-seat DVD, and backup camera on SUVs. Satellite-linked is a misnomer; you're connected one way only, from the satellite down to you, but not back up to the satellite for e-mail or emergency assist.

All Accords play MP3 and WMA CDs. A line-in connector is standard. All but the entry LX have a six-disc CD changer. The EX-L models, the ones with leather seating, include a 270-watt premium audio system, a heated steering wheel, XM Satellite Radio (not including the subscription fee). Oddly, a HomeLink garage door opener is on V6 EX-L models only.

You can go to the dealer for an iPod adapter that runs around $250. A USB jack that would connect any other music player is not available, and in this regard, Honda is a step behind the industry leaders—particularly Ford with its Sync option.

Leather seating isn't an option; rather, it's a model variant. To get the good technology stuff, you must get a leather-equipped model, which raises the price; but frankly, the cloth-upholstery Accords were a notch down in desirability. Fabric Camrys feel the same way.

The new Accord looks a lot like the Acura RL, because the same cockpit controller (like BMW's iDrive, only different) has been mounted in the same place, about halfway up the center stack that separates the left and right sides of the dashboard. The tilt, twist, and press controller takes some getting used to. And the location offers no dedicated wrist rest, as you'll find in Audi, BMW, and Mercedes cars, so you'll have to use the gearshift lever as a makeshift wrist rest.

With the advent of the control knob, Honda's 8-inch LCD is no longer a touchscreen, so it's mounted at the very top of the center stack for better visibility. It's deeply hooded and is just about the best display of any car, except for the BMW 3 Series convertible's; it uses a transflective display that gets brighter in sunlight instead of dimmer.

The Acura RL super-sedan and MDX SUV center stacks are the poster children of button complexity, with 50-plus buttons. And you thought controllers reduced the button count! The Accord makes amends with fewer and bigger buttons. They're big and comfortable on the navigation-equipped Accords; on non-navigation models, Honda designers supersized the buttons a second time. And Honda did the dashboard right. If you read reviews elsewhere about the buttons overwhelming the Accord dash, think about what works better in real life, on a bumpy road, when you're wearing gloves.

While Honda talks about a core buyer group of young, upscale couples, I bet the focus groups were heavily represented by current owners from the boomer generation (empty-nest boomers are a second audience) who griped about too-small controls on microwaves, iPods, remotes, and dashboard, and Honda listened.

Unable to make much headway against Toyota with a mild hybrid Accord in which the gasoline engine and electric motor worked together (and no motor-only startup), Honda ditched the hybrid for 2008. Instead, it offers three levels of gasoline engine: a 177-hp inline four-cylinder engine in the entry LX, which is up 11 hp from 2007 but still feels challenged; a 190-hp four in the Accord EX and EX-L; and a 268-hp, 3.5-liter V6 in the EX-L V6 that is way up from 2007's 3.0-liter, 244-hp engine. With such powerful engines on front-drive cars, stepping hard on the throttle may cause torque steer, where the car wants to steer itself off at an angle; Honda's electronics do a good job of moderating that effect.

Honda builds Japan's best engines and takes pains to mask buzziness and vibration. Except for the entry Accord LX, Honda applies active noise cancellation, which is played through the stereo speakers, to counteract engine and road noise. Critics scoff, but I find it works. To keep the V6 comparatively fuel-efficient (just 2 mph less than the fours), Honda applies what it calls variable cylinder management and shuts down two or three cylinders when they're not needed, which is most of the time.

Most Accords are driven through a five-speed automatic; the cars would benefit from a six-speed, and it probably would bump up mileage by 1 to 2 mpg. You can get a six-speed manual on four-cylinder models but not on the V6 sedan, as well as on all variants of the Accord coupe, with a dazzling shape that costs you a lot of back seat comfort and some trunk space. The coupe is one of those designs where if you took off the Honda badging, it would be perceived as a $50,000 car.

Honda says Accord hybrids aren't dead, only sleeping. The Civic hybrid soldiers on, and I suspect that within a year or so Honda will be back with a dual-mode hybrid Accord that can start up on battery power, as the successful Toyota Prius and Camry hybrids do now.

Run down a checklist of safety technologies, and the Accord has them: dual-stage front and side airbags, side air curtains, active (pop-up) front headrests, stability control, traction control, brake assist, tire-pressure monitoring, anti-lock brakes, and electronic brake force distribution. The list is lengthy, but it's what you'd expect in a contemporary car.

The Accord lacks a couple options offered mostly on $35,000-plus vehicles, though: xenon or steerable xenon headlights, active cruise control, and head-up displays. Blind-spot detection, which costs less than $500, would have been a good option.

The Accord rides comfortably on the highway, and backseat passengers will love the legroom. Up front, you're taken by the surroundings, at least when you're in the leather-trim Accords. The automatic-transmission 177-hp Accord with fabric upholstery was less of a treat for the senses; you could do worse having this as a fleet or rental car, but if it's to be your own car, you should try to scare up the extra $2,500 and leave the bargain basement.

Acceleration was fine with the 190-hp four, excellent with the automatic transmission V6, and approaching racecar levels in the Accord coupe with the six-speed manual. The Accord coupe is much like the BMW 650i, which costs three times as much: It's immensely practical for what is essentially an impractical design, meaning you can carry lots of luggage for a weekend getaway, and backseat passengers won't become claustrophobic.

Pardon me while I gush, but if you prefer a trace of sporty excitement in your family car, nothing comes close to the new Accord. The Nissan Altima and VW Jetta would be runners-up; the Toyota Camry, for its many strengths, isn't about handling. I don't see most American cars in the same mindset. The Lincoln MKZ, for instance, has a great cockpit, and Ford builds solid cars, but the MKZ is about boulevards, not twisty country roads. Aging baby boomers want more room for aching joints (the knees, not the ones from the Doobie Brothers concert), and young couples want something for when baby makes three. Thus, the Accord.

Were it my car, I'd go with the 190-hp four-cylinder EX-L with the automatic transmission, included leather trim, plus the navigation package and Bluetooth for $28,695. The 268-hp V6 is awesome but overkill for most driving; the 177-hp engine has to work to hard to haul around 3,300 pounds. I'd order the exterior in Polished Metal Metallic (others call it anthracite or deep-gray) or Nighthawk Black (black) because, frankly, the front end is a bit too busy in the lighter shades such as Alabaster or the oxymoronic Bold Beige. There is an eco-friendly-looking Mystic Green Metallic that almost makes you forget the Accord no longer has a hybrid edition. Have the dealer install an iPod adapter for about $250 and you're done. You'll live happily ever after.

Play Slide Show/All Shots (13)

$20,995.00 - $30,895.00

Honda raises the bar in the mid-to-full-size sedan category with superior technology and a lavish cockpit. Up front its a great knockoff of the $50,000 Acura RL, right down to the oddball center-stack location of the control knob.

EPA rating: 21/30 mpg city/highway (four-cylinder), 19/28 (six-cylinder)

Excellent navigation system, Bluetooth. Active noise cancellation. Big (no, huge) and legible dashboard buttons. Roomy cockpit.

No wrist support for control knob (can use the gearshift). Five-speed automatic transmission (not six-speed). Front-end styling won't appeal to all. No more hybrid Accord.