Auto News 5

With only 955 miles on the odometer, our silver over black Accord test car still had that lovely sense of newness about it. That sense was deepened, for me, because I haven't been in an Accord for a couple of years. This year, the Accord certainly has been overshadowed by the Hyundai Sonata, but it was nice to get back into one and rediscover that it's still a very good car, although this particular iteration has been around for a while. The exterior styling has not been deemed a success -- I don't think even within Honda. There's an awkward formality to it; it doesn't quite hang together. It's not offensive, but it's not particularly fluid. The interior is a perfectly pleasant place, if a little somber; ours was all black with a little bit of silver-colored trim. However, the ergonomics are pretty much faultless. The center stack controls are very clear; our modestly priced example did not have a nav system, just a small display screen at the top of the center stack showing the clock and radio information. As far as I could tell, there was no display for climate control information, which is something you now get in a lot of cars in this class these days.

For a quarter of a century, the BMW M3 has been the archetypal transportation choice for the well-heeled German-car enthusiast looking for a sport coupe with four usable seats. Although the M3 has evolved greatly over time-growing in cylinder count from four to six to eight along the way-each M3 arguably represents the best sedan-based driver's car of its time.