New interior styling freshens the cabin of the 2006 Honda Accord. A new instrument panel, a new steering-wheel, new fabrics for the seats, new satin chrome accents around the vents highlight the changes for 2006.

The seats are great, generously wide and tall in the sedan, with springs and urethane padding designed to reduce vibration. The driver's seat provides a one-with-the-car feel thanks to good side support. It features a manual height adjustment (power on premium models) that jacks up plenty high for even the shortest drivers, and yet drops low enough to provide good headroom for taller folks. Front legroom is generous. A tilt-and-telescope steering wheel is standard.

The seats in the coupe seem a bit different and feel even better than those in the sedan. You sit lower in the coupe. The side bolsters are more aggressive, providing a more secure fit at the torso. The leather is nicer than the cloth.

The sedan's rear bench seat is roomy and comfortable, especially for two people with the center armrest flipped out. It offers decent support, though it's fairly flat. Rear-seat legroom is slightly better than in the , but the provides an inch more.

The Accord's trunk is smaller than that of other mid-size sedans, but the flat trunk floor makes loading easy. The Accord's trunk measures 14 cubic feet (11.2 for the Hybrid version, because of its extra computer and battery pack), compared with the 's nearly 17 cubic feet and the 's 15.6. The Accord coupe's trunk is slightly smaller than the sedan's, holding less than 13 cubic feet.

The instrumentation is excellent, comprising large, clear analog faces with LED illumination, the latter a feature associated with higher-priced luxury cars. A big speedometer in the center dominates the instrument panel. The switchgear, primarily three big dials located in the center of the dash, is simple, if not particularly attractive. Automatic dual-zone climate control is available on EX models.

Interior space is used efficiently, with the audio, climate, and optional navigation system controls integrated into a single unit. This frees up space for exceptional cabin storage, including a good-sized glovebox, a big center console, a bin under the audio system that will hold 12 CDs, and door pockets deep and wide enough for a purse.

Honda's interior fit and finish is good. Attention to detail is seen everywhere: coinholders, cellphone cord hooks, grab handles over every door, console lights, power outlets, sunglasses holders, adjustable armrests, convenient and versatile access to the trunk from the rear seat. By holding down the Unlock or Lock buttons, all four windows on LX and EX models can be raised or lowered. Up to eight cupholders are provided; a couple of them are big enough to hold a liter-sized water bottle yet feature spring-loaded prongs that can grip a paper coffee cup. If you wanted to distill this attention to detail down to one example, it might be the solid and pleasurable sound of the turn-signal click.

Three sound systems are available for the Accord. LX V6 models and above come with a six-disc in-dash CD changer, a 180-watt amplifier, and four twin-neodymium speakers with polypropylene cone woofers and soft dome tweeters. But here's the real-world test: We took the Accord Coupe EX V6 six-speed on a flat-out blast through the Malibu hills, engine revving to redline, windows wide open, CD celebrating Bob Marley, and even with all that exterior noise, max volume on the sound system wasn't necessary for the full effect.

The available XM Satellite Radio is a great feature to have when traveling, because the stations don't change as you drive across the country. You still get ads, but fewer and less obnoxious ads than you would hear on FM. XM Satellite Radio is nice to have around town, also, for listening to the 24-hour news and sports broadcasts, or for staying tuned into your favorite types of music (classical, jazz, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s).

Honda and Acura's navigation systems are among the best. The system is programmed with 8 million destinations. The Accord's system offers a voice-activation feature. Say "Find nearest Japanese food" to the dashboard, and it will guide you there. If you know the phone number of a business establishment you're trying to reach, it will take you there. Of course, you can press the buttons and avoid one-way conversations with your car.

Honda's intelligent dual climate control, packaged with the navigation system, factors date, time, latitude, longitude, and vehicle direction into its calculations in an attempt to maintain the perfect temperature for driver and passengers."