Orlando Sentinel's view

The battle lines are drawn for the 1998 model year.

It’s going to be the Toyota Camry – America’s best-selling car for the 1997 model year – against the totally redesigned Honda Accord, which once held the title.

The Ford Taurus’ five-year run at the top is apparently over. It looks as if Ford has grown weary of bolstering sales of the Taurus with expensive cash-back incentives and low-cost leases, so the former champ will be content with a slot in the top five best-selling vehicles.

That leaves Toyota and Honda to slug it out.

Toyota has openly lusted for the sales crown and won’t give it up easily. Last year Toyota issued a tough challenge by bringing out the new Camry and pricing it less than the previous model.

Honda lowered the price of the V-6 Accord by $950 and held the line on the four-cylinder models. As with the Camry, the new Accord is bigger and better in every way than the car it replaces. Price cuts depend on the model. For instance, Honda has whacked more than $1,000 off the base price of the V-6 Accord. Well-equipped models, such as this week’s four-cylinder LX test car, sell for well under $20,000.

PERFORMANCE, HANDLING

Noise could be the determining factor in who wins the sales battle in the 1998 model year.

You can’t hear the engine or much of anything else in the Camry. But the 2.3-liter VTEC power plant in our Accord LX test car lets you know it is alive by emitting a muted purring as you accelerate. The gentle tones from the engine give the car a bit more character than the Camry. I prefer that to the Swiss-watch-like silence of the Toyota.

Honda engineers reworked the Accord’s four- and six-cylinder engines for 1998. VTEC – a Honda abbreviation for its electronic-valve timing system – is standard on all but the base model, the DX.

The 2.3-liter four-cylinder is rated at 135 horsepower in the DX and 150 horsepower in EX and LX models. The new 3.0-liter V-6 (borrowed fromHonda’s Acura division) yields200 horsepower. A five-speed manual transmission is standard on all four-cylinder models, while an improved four-speed automatic is optional on four-cylinder cars and standard on V-6-equipped Accords.

I found the 150-horsepower engine and five-speed manual transmission in our dark green test car to be an excellent drivetrain. Because mid-size cars with manual transmissions are sometimes balky to drive, they are not popular. But the Accord is amazingly easy to operate.

The clutch pedal takes little effort. The shifter fits comfortably in your hand and moves through the gears quickly, quietly and smoothly. The 150 ponies under the hood ensure that there is enough power to move the 3,000-pound car with verve. The engine never strains, even when you floor the accelerator when you are going a bit too slow for the gear that the car is in. Honda says the Accord will reach 60 mph in about 9 seconds, which is pleasing performance for a mid-size f amily sedan.

Over the years, Honda has earned a sterling reputation for innovative engineering. For instance, the company’s CVCC engine shocked Detroit in the ’70s by running so cleanly that it didn’t need a catalytic converter.

Honda engineers also rose to the challenge of ’90s environmental concerns with the new Accord.

Honda says the four-cylinder engine in the ’98 Accord is the first gasoline-powered vehicle to be certified by the EPA as a Low Emission Vehicle. The Accord EX with an automatic transmission has been certified by California authorities as an Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle, the first gasoline-powered car to win that status, according to the automaker.

Over the road, the Accord’s performance is much like that of previous models. It isn’t the fastest or the best-handling mid-size family sedan. It doesn’t have the best brakes or the snappiest steering system. But it excels in all these areas, and that makes the Accord a refined, smartly designed aut mobile.

Underneath, a new four-wheel independent suspension system is mounted on subframes, which are mounted to the car. The design nearly eliminates noise and harshness when you drive over bad roads. About all you’ll hear from outside is the sound of the tires on the road.

The new Accord has a fairly soft ride, but the car is not unwieldy or tiring to drive. It corners competently and remains stable and easy to control in emergency maneuvers.

The power-assisted front disc, rear drum brakes bite hard and stop the car quickly. The anti-lock system works quietly and smoothly; you don’t feel much pulsing at the pedal. The turning radius is36 feet, about average for a mid-size sedan.

FIT AND FINISH

I thought the interior of the previous Accord was painfully bland. The new one is not.

The new dash not only is attractively styled, but in typical Honda tradition, it’s extremely user-friendly.

I especially liked the controls for the air-conditioning system. With two large round knobs at either end and two rows of buttons in the middle, the layout of the air conditioner buttons mimic that of a radio. I was instantly familiar with the setup and found that I could make a change in temperature or fan speed without diverting my attention from the road for more than a second or two.

Three cleanly styled, circular instruments convey essential information to the driver. The speedometer is flanked by a tachometer on the right and fuel and temperature gauges on the left. The speedometer is much bigger than the other two gauges, but all three are easy to read and nice-looking.

Our test car came with attractive cloth upholstery and firm, comfortable seats.

Honda’s interior designers reworked the rear seating area and increased rear legroom by more than 3 1/2 inches. Shoulder- and headroom also have been increased. The new Accord still has a very cozy feel – not too big and not to small.

The rear seat foldsforward, but reaching the lock in the middle of the top part of the seat can be a bit of a stretch.

The wheelbase is slightly larger than last year, and the increase helped enlarge the trunk, which now can hold 14.1 cubic feet of cargo.

Visibility is excellent. The large front and rear windows give the car an airy, comfortable feel.

The LX model we tested was very well-equipped. Standard items included power windows, mirrors and door locks, cruise control, air conditioning and AM/FM cassette stereo. About the only thing you might want to add would be an automatic transmission, about $900.

One of the reasons I think the new Accord has more style than the old one has todo with the quality of the materials. The highly polished, crystal-clear plastic used on the headlights and taillights look as if they were designed for a luxury car. The upholstery, carpet and dash materials are first-rate. And the styling moves the Accord up in class. Now it doesn’t look like a bi g Civic. The newly designed front and rear give the car more stature.

The Accord gets only one demerit. The trunk – and to a lesser extent, the doors – sound a little tinny when you slam them.

In any case, the new Accord is back in fighting form. Honda has priced it to compete head-on with the Camry. It should be interesting watching Japan’s most successful automakers slug it out for the title.

Specifications:

1998 Honda Accord Base Price: $18,290. Safety: Dual air bags, anti-lock brakes. Price as tested: $18,615. EPA rating: 25 mpg city/31 mpg highway. Incentives: None.

Truett’s tip: The all-new Accord has more room and – finally – a little style. The car is enjoyable to drive and should give the Toyota Camry a hard run for the money.