2008 Honda Accord

This eighth-generation Accord four-door is big, just 2.5 inches shy of the lunker Chrysler 300’s length, almost five inches longer than a Camry. It’s wide, too, one more inch than the Camry, and the front buckets are spread 1.5 inches farther apart than in the previous Accord, so the ’08 feels wide as well. Officially, its 120 cubic feet of interior and cargo volume push it, barely, over the bar into the EPA Large Car class.

The Accord has been feeling a draft in the past few years, caught between the Camry’s blue-chip credibility and the Altima’s sporty swagger. While those two flourish, Accord sales have sagged. So, for this new model, Honda has been reaching to the top shelves of its Good Stuff locker. The Accord is the company’s rice bowl; if this new one draws tepid responses from middle-market America, there will be hunger pangs from Ohio (about 80 percent of Accords sold in the U.S. are built in Marysville) all the way to Honda’s Tokyo headquarters.

Imagine a new Accord that’s actually a half-inch longer than Acura’s big RL sedan, on an identical wheelbase, equal in beam, too. That’s how much car Honda has loaded into this gotta-win model, offered in four-door-sedan and two-door-coupe versions