It may be late to the diesel party, but Honda has come up with a beauty in its first diesel engine produced entirely by the company.

It had to be really good, because the reputation of Honda is rooted in its engines, and any oil-burner development would have to be up to a very high standard or it risked dragging everything down.

In other words, it had to protect the company's heritage, in recent decades epitomised by the variable valve timing technology that made a path which had to be followed by others.

It was essential that Honda go down the diesel route, because across Europe today about half of all cars sold are diesel-powered, both for fuel economy reasons and those associated with CO2 emissions taxes. In some individual markets, such as France and Italy, diesel power has penetrated to as high a 80 per cent of the market.

The oil-burner trend is most evident in the D/E segment in which the current Accord is positioned. Therefore, the car was at a disadvantage in the European marketplace without such an engine.

Now here's a miracle. Well, it would be in the case of any other carmaker, perhaps. But it only took Honda two and a half years to develop their diesel programme.

The result is a very refined motor indeed. It is 2.2 litres in capacity, is faster that the 2-litre petrol engine to the 100 km/h mark, pulls a highly creditable 340 Nm of torque and returns 52.3mpg. It also meets the Euro 4 emissions standard which doesn't actually come into effect until next year. The CO2 rating is 143 gms/km, less than a petrol powered Civic.

The engine is all aluminium and uses four valves per cylinder technology.

For the moment, diesel Accords are going to be a bit limited in supply, because of manufacturing capacity in Japan. Honda are looking at a possible manufacture of the engine in Swindon in England, which would place it more favourably both in capacity and cost in a country in its most important marketplace.

For Ireland in this year, just 130 diesel Accords will be sold, out of a total of 730 copies of the nameplate. It is aimed directly at the BMW 320D and the Audi A4 1.9-litre TDi.

The current Accord is a big car, a good-looking car, and a very comfortable and stylish car inside. It has, for instance, one of the best instrument and dashboard layouts currently out there. It is very well specified, and the move upmarket with its launch this time last year is well reflected in its specification.

The diesel car retains all these good points, and adds the advantages of diesel as mentioned above. If there's a downside, it is the higher tax band in which the 2.2-litre size lives. But at this level of cost anyway, it probably doesn't matter much to the buyer.

This week there was only a chance for a short appraisal, but at first blush the engine certainly seems to live up to its maker's description as the 'whispering diesel'. It IS very quiet, with only a very faint hint of a clatter if the accelerator is floored a little too low down the rev range.

Externally the car is distinguished only by the diesel badge on the back, and for the real cognoscenti, a larger air intake under the front bumper to accommodate the needs of the turbo intercooler.

Price, which includes leather seats and trim and full climate control, is €39,835.