Next time you're out and about, have a look at how many estates you see on the road.

I guarantee you'll be surprised, especially if like me you thought they were dead and buried a few years ago when the people-carrier seemed destined to sweep all before it.

Now, everyone from Audi to Volvo are busy turning out estates - or Tourers, Avants or Sports Wagon, as many manufacturers prefer to call them. Estates, it seems, isn't a sexy word.

Honda are among the champions of the estate. They prefer to call their estates Tourers and the Accord Estate (sorry, Tourer!) is among the leading load-carriers on the market. It fits the gap between the run-of-the-mill estates from Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen and the executive expresses from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Accord Tourer is an imposing model with great poise and sweet, wonderful engines. It has a huge boot, great versatility in that the seats fold down easily and it rides and handles superbly. Certainly, miles better than any people-carrier.

It isn't perfect. It is a little expensive, considering how good Ford Mondeo estate and Mazda6 estate are, but it's certainly a very acceptable alternative to the big German brands.

It has one or two surprise and delight features. The powered tailgate is impressive (just hit a switch and it opens) and the cabin quality is excellent. Is it up to German quality? Well, it's pretty close.

You will note the distinctive new nose and rear bumpers which give the car a distinctive look.

Some of the most important changes are the ones you can't see, though. The throttle is a clever electronic drive-by-wire one that helps smooth out inputs, while the Honda's acclaimed 2.2-litre diesel engine finally gets a six-speed manual gearbox which further improves the car's high-speed cruising ability.

Always keen to push the new technology boat out, Honda has gone one further than the competition (again) and fitted a clever lane-keeping assist function that's bundled with adaptive cruise control on the flagship 2.4 petrol-powered Accord. Factor in the car's radar cruise control, and you can let it maintain a safe distance to the traffic in front of you. It'll apply the brakes if car in front gets too close but, again, will prompt you to take action if really heavy braking is required.

This feature aside, the Accord as a complete package remains one of the best around.

BMW might hog the limelight with its cars specifically focused towards keen drivers, but the Accord delivers a good balance of refinement, supple ride and driver enjoyment.

The front-wheel driver Accord is no match for its seriously sporty European rivals. However, it comes mighty close in many areas and trumps a few when outright speed is no longer a priority. If you're willing to sacrifice the fancy lane keeping assistant, the diesel variant is a good all-rounder.

Quiet - for a diesel - and responsive at all speeds, the 2.2 i-CDTi unit feels and drives more like a petrol car. Only after a cold start can you immediately tell what fuel is powering the car. After a few miles the engine's hum becomes more distant, and with no turbo lag to speak of, power delivery is almost instant.

Take it as read the Accord shines on everything from pot-marked back roads to wide, sweeping A-roads.

With the driving experience backed up by supportive front seats plus a multi-adjustable driving position, the package is a complete one. The result is a car that's satisfying to drive and own day in, day out. And it doesn't get much better than that.

Honda Accord Tourer 2.2 I-CDTi sports manual

PRICE: £20,917

ENGINE: 2,204cc diesel engine putting out 140PS via a six-speed gearbox

PERFORMANCE: Top speed 122mph, 0-60mph in 9.3 seconds

COSTS: urban 36.7mpg; extra-urban 57.6mpg; combined 47.9mpg

INSURANCE: Group 12

EMISSIONS: 155g/km

WARRANTY: Three years, 90,000 miles