Never let it be said that Honda is a company that sticks to the predictable. Nobody saw their NSX supercar coming, we didn't expect the S2000 to feature a normally-aspirated 240bhp engine and the faces on rival executives were an absolute picture when the wraps came off the latest Civic. It's tough to know where to go in the Honda range for something of the conventional. The FR-V features two rows of three seats abreast and the CR-V 4x4 started life rather dull but gets funkier with every passing year. Surely the sensible Accord is the last bastion of buttoned-down conformism? Not any more.

It looks much as we've grown to expect. Prices start at £17,177 and there's a choice of 2.0 and 2.4-litre petrol engines and a superb 2.2-litre CTDi diesel priced from £18,600. The current car goes in for a few styling tweaks, the most obvious of which is the wide chromed bar running across the front grille where before there was none. The front and rear bumpers have also been subtly resculpted and the sides of the car look a little swoopier, thanks in no small part to the fitment of side skirts. The Tourer estate model gets a little more chrome around the rear end to give a more upmarket look and there are some revised alloy wheel designs along with an expanded palette of colours to choose from. Hardly major reasons to beat a path to your Honda dealer.

It's what's happened under the surface that's a whole lot more interesting and represents the reason why Honda have really differentiated this Accord. Basically they've thrown a whole bunch of technology at it, allowing customers access to some seriously advanced features, the like of which were the stuff of show cars only a few years ago. Some other inclusions we're getting used to on plenty of other cars but are welcome additions. The Vehicle Stability Assist (VAS) and Drive-By-Wire (DBW) throttle system are just a couple of acronyms to get you started. There's also the option of VASN. Any guesses on that one? Voice Activated Satellite Navigation is your answer there although how it will cope with the profanities I end up directing at most sat nav systems is still open to conjecture. Next up is HFT. That's a Hands Free Telephone kit. The really interesting stuff comes with Honda's ADAS system.

"The Accord looks straight-laced but beneath the sober suit is a veritable riot of technology"

It's vaguely unsettling at first. Relax your hands on the wheel of Honda's ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) equipped Accord at motorway speeds and you'll feel the car taking over. The steering nudges the car into the centre of its lane all by itself while the accelerator modulates itself, keeping a respectable distance between you and the car in font. It may not drive itself, but it's enormously impressive.

It's at its best when combined with the Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS). Citroën have developed a system that alerts the driver when he or she drifts over the white lines on a major road, but Honda have gone a stage further and brought a system to market that makes it very difficult to do so in the first instance. LKAS uses a digital camera mounted at the top of the windscreen to study the road ahead. It then calculates the optimum steering torque - combination of human and assisted inputs - required to keep the vehicle in the centre of the lane. Take your hands off the wheel and you can see it doing its magic, but within ten seconds, the car detects the driver has stopped making any inputs and stops the electrical steering assistance.

Many Accord customers will continue to opt for the Tourer version, offered at a £1,000 premium over the saloons. The wheelbase of the Tourer has been increased by only 50mm over that of its saloon stablemate and the increase in overall body length is only an extra 85mm. No use expecting a van-like loading bay then. Still, a load volume of 576 litres with all the seats in place is no mean achievement for this class of car. The total volume of 921 litres with the rear seats folded is rather less impressive, but compensation does come in the form of a clever 'One Motion' system for easy access of what space there is.

Positioned on top of the 60:40-split rear seat backs are the operating catches, one either side of the car. To fold either seat section, you simply pull the lever forward which simultaneously releases the seat back lock and automatically flips the headrest forward via an interlocking cable. You then continue to pull the seatback forward and, since this is interconnected with the seat base via a sliding linkage, the effect of this action is to flip the seat base up automatically into a vertical position behind the front seat. Since the headrest is flipped forward, it comfortably clears the seat base. There's no messing about with seatbelts and anchor points either, since everything is integrally designed into the seat mechanism. Easy.

There are a few other changes to the Accord range worth investigating. The dashboard has been tidied up and the steering wheel and gear lever improved. Better quality trim finishes and a smart drive computer are also offered while the 2.4 petrol and 2.2 diesel models get a six-speed gearbox. It remains a cut above the medium range norm in terms of style and a yawning chasm away in terms of technology. Honda wouldn't have it any other way.