Refinement & sophistication in Accord? Nah, I go with the Nissan V6. Nissan V6 is much more refned than the Accord 4 bannger. You can get v6 in Nissan for the price of 4 cyl Accord. Accord is not that much better than Altima in terms of interior quality.

Don't flatter yourself, Accord is no where near Lexus for interior; not even TSX is very close to the detail, craftsmanship and material of Lexus. Research after research I have determined that w/o going to the extreme, only Audi has better interior quality than Lexus, even BMW or Mercedes are just on par if not inferior.

At the same time, I have to agree that honda 4 might be most reliable but by far it is not the most refined 4 cyl engine. The engine is noisy and powerband is rather weired. When the incapable engine is mated w/ one of the most harsh automatic transmission... There are hints of luxury in Accord, but there is nothing luxury about Accord. For the price, Accord is a very good car; however if you are willing to put down another 5K~7K, you will be surprised how much more material quality, creaftsmanship and refinement you can buy. Altima compares well with Accord, however Accord compares poorly w/ Lexus.

Also, have you guys considered the additional weight placed at the front of the car of the V6 makes Accord less fun to drive? In today's car market, there is no resale value for used cars anyway, I truly think it is foolish to place much weight on the resale value as a consideration factor.