Sure to be a fleet favourite the all-new Honda Accord Tourer has won the 51st international ‘red dot’ award for high design quality, beating over 3,000 proposals from 51 countries. The red dot design award is one of the world’s leading design competitions and annually selects products of outstanding design from 11 categories related to general product design.

Congratulating Honda, Prof. Dr Peter Zec, Initiator of the red dot design awards, said: “Faced with the greater number of high-quality products, our international jury of acknowledged experts this year found the task of selecting the winner to be particularly challenging. This distinction explicitly acknowledges your creativity and innovative drive, and pays tribute to the high quality standards of your product.”

The red dot design award is held annually by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany. This year’s award ceremony will take place on June 23 in Essen, Germany.

The new Accord the first family car in Honda’s line-up to get Honda’s second-generation diesel, the i-DTEC, which has 148bhp and 350Nm of torque.

Not only is this unit more powerful than the old i-CTDi, but it also uses a special particulate filter for much lower emissions. Other engine options include a 154bhp 2.0-litre petrol and a flagship 2.4-litre i-VTEC with 197bhp. A fleet favourite in the making – almost a certainty…For the latest fleet news click on www.fleetdirectory.co.uk

The saloon goes on sale in June while the Tourer will arrive in showrooms in September.
Simon McBride