Not sure what Honda is up to, but recently they seem to become very lazy updating their cars! They just announced a revised version of the Accord sedan and tourer to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, but just like the 2012 Acura TL, the 2012 Accord is not getting a real makeover, just a slight tweak.

And that’s the thing. If you are introducing a new version of a car make it look a tiny bit different than the old one. The small changes ot the exterior of the 2012 Accord include a cleaner, crisper appearance with the previously amber indicators now in a clear finish. On top grade cars the lights are now bi-xenon and feature Active Cornering Lights to improve night time visibility. The rear lights having a light red finish for the reversing light and indicators to match that of the fog light. There’s also a light chrome garnish above the rear licence plate on most models and a dark chrome finish on Type S grade cars.

It also gets a new front grille, cooling duct and fog light recesses, and three new colors, and that’s about it for the body!

Inside the cabin not all models, but a few of them get new seat materials and door linings, changing the ambience of the cabin. Type S models have exclusive half leather, seats in a dark grey finish and a black head lining to further distinguish the top grade. The metal-look finish interior trim that covers the hand brake, gear lever surround, steering wheel garnish, door inlays, with a red background and sweeps up across the centre of the dash is now in a darker hue, to complement the new interior fabrics.

The footwells of the majority of models are now illuminated blue if the headlights are on and red on Type S models. Honda has also improve the soundproofing by using higher density foam in the under bonnet and dashboard areas.

2012 Honda Accord’s engines are also refined to some extent, to to improve fuel economy and emissions. The 2.2 litre 150 PS i-DTEC diesel engine now offers 9 g/km drop in CO2 emissions for the sedan with the 6-speed manual transmission and an 11 g/km reduction for the automatic variant.

Other notable improvements of the new Accord is re-tuned chassis for European roads, the addition of Active Cornering Lights, and the High Beam Support system, which is fitted on vehicles with the bi-xenon headlights. This system is controlled by a CMOS camera fitted to the windscreen in the area of the driver rear view mirror.