We compare the Honda Accord 1.5T Touring and the Toyota Camry XSE

The Honda Accord 1.5T Touring and the Toyota Camry XSE.

It was always a given that the Honda Accord appeals equally to engaged drivers and to those who simply want a dependable, user-friendly transportation appliance. The Toyota Camry, on the other hand, always prioritized the appliance side at the expense of driver appeal. Then came their 2018 redesigns and the decades-old plotline underwent a total rewrite. The Accord is better than ever … but overnight, the Camry acquired honest-to-goodness driver appeal, too. Enough to challenge the Accord? Did the Camry lose any left-brain virtue in the process? To find out, we drove the highest-trim base-engined versions of each contestant.

2018 Honda Accord 1.5T Touring

• Price: $35,790 (base); $35,790 (as tested)
• Engine: 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder
• Transmission/drive: CVT/front-wheel
• Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 8.2 city/ 6.8 highway
• Alternatives: Buick Regal, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Mazda6, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy, Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Passat

Looks
Like Toyota, Honda penned a fastback shape, but its softer contours and extended side glass (daylight opening, in car-designer-speak) lend it a long-and-sleek look. The Touring trim includes even-wider 19-inch rims than the Camry’s, plus LED front fog lights, but no skirts and spoilers.

Some may find the Accord’s driving position a little low.

Interior
The Accord’s 2018 do-over scooped even more space out of an already roomy car – enough to reclassify it from mid-size to large based on interior volumes. The Camry pips it for rear headroom, but the Accord has more shoulder room, and especially leg room, out back. Some may find the driving position a little low and the dashboard design is unadventurous, but the ergonomics – gauges, switchgear and free-standing touch screen – are almost impeccable. Front storage space is better than in Camry, too.

There’s more leg room in the Accord’s 2018 do-over.

Performance
Last year’s base 2.4-litre “four” is displaced by a turbocharged 1.5 that generates 192 horsepower and the same number of “torques,” the latter spread generously across a broad rev range. Matched to an equally new-age continuously variable transmission, the little engine delivers steady, linear acceleration en route to 97 km/h in 7.3 seconds (according to Car and Driver).

Most of the time the transmission avoids that tedious CVT “slipping clutch” feel; on full-bore acceleration, it mimics the stepped shifts of a conventional. Manual transmission is available on several trims but not on the Touring. What the Touring may lack in overt powertrain driver appeal, it makes up with the brilliant handling: quick steering, decisive turn-in, taut body control, and stubborn resistance to understeer no matter how hard you lean on it. For those who have a different concept of “handling,” the Accord’s steering is a tad heavier than the Camry’s, but it needs less twirling in tight manoeuvres.

Technology
In the connectivity/infotainment ledger, the Touring trim has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Siri and Navi, SiriusXM, HD Radio and WiFi hotspot. On the driver-assist side, the Honda Sensing package includes adaptive cruise with stop and go, forward-collision warning and mitigation, multiangle backup camera, parking sensors front and rear, road departure mitigation and active lane-keeping assist.

The Honda Sensing package offers a multiangle backup camera.

Cargo
The Accord trunk’s 16.7-cubic-foot volume is best-in-class, although the cavity is a bit irregular in shape; the floor is narrower between the wheel housings than the Camry’s, but there’s more floor space in Accord aft of said housings.

The cavity is a bit irregular in shape.

The verdict
8.9

If cars this good can’t entice buyers out of crossovers and back into mid-size sedans, nothing will. Hats off to Honda, too, for continuing to offer a manual gearbox.

2018 Toyota Camry XSE

• Price: $35,090 (base); $35,630 (as tested)
• Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
• Transmission/drive: Eight-speed automatic/front-wheel
• Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 8.5 city/6.1 highway
• Alternatives: Buick Regal, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Mazda6, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy, Volkswagen Passat

Looks
This is a Camry? The new shape bulges with muscular assertiveness, amplified on the XSE by a black mesh grille, “go faster” body kit and brawny 19-inch wheels. Not to mention the black roof, which is a $540 option with some colours.

The boldly styled dashboard may scare Camry traditionalists.

Interior
Last, year the Accord and Camry were equally roomy mid-sizers. But while the 2018 Accord has upsized inside, the Camry has lost a couple of cubic feet. The back seats are still plenty roomy for adults, but not as expansively so as the Accord’s. Up front, the Camry’s driver’s seat is a little more accommodating if you want or need to sit high. The boldly styled dashboard may scare Camry traditionalists, but the mix of conventional and touch controls on the asymmetric, shiny black centre stack functions well (although Toyota seems to assign “Home” and “Menu” the opposite meanings to every other auto maker).

The Camry’s back seats aren’t as roomy as the Accord’s.

Performance
The Camry’s old-school naturally aspirated 2.5-litre “four” normally makes 203 horsepower and 184 lb-ft, bumped up to 206 and 186 respectively on the XSE. With 203 hp, Car and Driver measured 0-97 km/h in 7.9 seconds while our own impromptu drag race had the 206-hp Camry virtually neck and neck with Accord.

Generally, we prefer naturally aspirated engines and (in the absence of an available manual box) conventional automatics and the Camry certainly feels hot to trot. But it’s also a little rough around the edges: noisier than you’d expect even driving gently, while the transmission occasionally shunts its shifts and lingers too long in the lower gears. But the handling is a revelation. Response, grip, steering feel – Toyota finally “gets it.” And all without compromising ride quality.

Technology
The Camry XSE lacks the industry-standard smartphone integration ( CarPlay etc.); instead, you get much the same result by signing up for Toyota’s proprietary Entune App Suite Connect and subscription-based GPS Scout (only the range-topping XLE V6 has embedded Navi). For Luddites, Toyota still includes a CD player. On the driving co-pilot side, Toyota Safety Sense package is similar to the Accord’s Honda Sensing but adds pedestrian detection.

Toyota still includes a CD player.

Cargo
The Camry’s 15.1-cubic-foot trunk is a tad below class average and notably smaller than Accord’s. Its flat floor is wider than Accord’s at their narrowest points, but the seats-folded pass-through is shallow.

The Camry’s trunk is notably smaller than the Accord’s.

The verdict
8.7

It used to be that you could have fun driving an Accord and none in a Camry. Now, you can have fun in a Camry, too – yet still without sacrificing any left-brain attributes. For hard-core gearheads, the Accord may still have a slight edge, but for most of the market the difference is no longer enough to matter.

History has its fair share of epic rivalries. Coke vs. Pepsi, Tupac vs. Biggie, Batman vs. Superman. In the automotive sphere, Honda Accord vs. Toyota Camry is one of the most hotly contested rivalries there is.

Both cars have been wrestling for family-sedan supremacy for decades and have come fully overhauled for the 2018 model year, so of course it was time to bring them both together to see which one is the better car. Style On the design front, Toyota has been going on a rampage recently after getting a mandate from its CEO to stop making boring cars. Some might not like the Camry’s new look (its designers had the audacity to call it sexy), but it definitely can’t be classified as boring anymore. While some people find its design overwrought with too many fake vents, a massive in-your-face grille and a mishmash of seemingly random angles, others find it aggressive and attractive. Its new available quad tailpipes, rear diffuser and contrast black roof might be a bit overkill on a family sedan.

The Accord takes a more understated approach. With a new sportback design, the Accord has an easyto-digest and less polarizing cohesive design that helps it look more expensive than it actually is. The design of the Honda isn’t perfect — the grille dominated by a chrome unibrow and a lot of black plastic doesn’t quite sit right — but its cleaner lines, swoopy curves and tidy proportions could appeal to more people simply because it might age better than the Camry. While some people accuse the Honda of looking boring, others prefer its simple sophistication. Same story inside The Camry’s risktaking with design is also obvious inside. With an eyecatching asymmetrical dashboard layout and the availability of bright red leather seats, it certainly stands out from the crowd in a good way. Except for a few cheap-feeling plastics, the materials used inside are also high quality and everything seems screwed together tightly.

Honda definitely didn’t take as many risks with its more traditional layout and design, but the materials used are all close to meeting luxury car standards and the build quality is obvious. The interior as a whole is more thought out and exhibits a higher attention to detail than the Camry. With the Accord, it’s the little details that make its interior smarter than the Camry — stuff such as buttons that are more clearly labelled and intuitively placed or a wireless charging pad that can be hidden away just make it more user-friendly. All the tech you could want Camrys come standard with Toyota Safety Sense P, which includes important safety features such as collision mitigation with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control that works in stop-and-go traffic, lane departure alert with steering assist and automatic high beams. Camry does. In terms of safety, the two cars are pretty equally matched. The Accord’s adaptive cruise control, however, is smoother to use and feels more natural. The Camry’s system leaves too much space between you and the car in front, even on its least sensitive setting. Cars just end up cutting in and then it slams on the brakes, making the whole thing a bit jerky.

Both cars are also available with features such as wireless charging, mobile hot spot capability, and a head-up display, although the Honda has a few things the Camry doesn’t, like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a capless fuel filler, ventilated seats, and NFC communication.

I also prefer Honda’s new infotainment system over the Camry. The graphics are cleaner and more modern, the menus are easier to navigate, and the intuitive setup makes it easy to master. The Camry’s system is just a bit more confusing and seems a generation behind Honda’s, but it’s still a big improvement from before.

With 437 litres, the Accord has a bigger trunk than the Camry, which has 428 litres. The back seats in both sedans are also very generous with their passenger space, although the Accord’s sportback design seems to allow for a bit more headroom. The drive It’s easy to be impressed by how the Camry drives now because it feels completely different than it used to. Toyota actually made me drive the new Camry on a race track, which it wouldn’t have done unless it was trying to prove a point.

The point is that the Camry isn’t a spongy mess to drive anymore.

No, it wasn’t fun to drive on a track, but the improvements to its driving dynamics became immediately obvious.

The steering has a heavy weight to it and exhibits a new-found responsiveness, and the suspension is even a lot stiffer than it used to be, which means the sedan feels more confident and less sloppy in a corner than it used to. The four-cylinder model is punchy enough, although Toyota is bucking the trend by continuing to offer a V6 option. The optional 3.5litre V6 makes 301 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque and it’s hooked up to a smooth eight-speed transmission. The base engine is a 2.5-litre four-cylinder model — interesting because it’s not turbocharged yet still feels pretty alive with 203 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. With both engines, passing someone or getting up to highway speeds is no issue at all, and the V6 offers some much-appreciated urgency.

The Honda also gets two engine options, although unlike the Camry, it is no longer available with a V6. The base 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which gets a CVT or a six-speed manual, outputs 192 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque, which is more than the previous model. The upgraded 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine outputs 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque.

Historically, the Accord has always been the better driver of the pair, but with this new generation of models, the differences are less stark.

The way the Accord drives isn’t too different from the way the Camry drives. I have no real complaints about driving dynamics for either. They’re both smooth, predictable, easy and very good at doing what they’re supposed to be doing, which is operating in the background without any drama. Like the Camry, the Accord has a heavier steering setup and a more rigid chassis, so it too feels better in a corner. Driven back to back, the Accord’s steering, handling, and body control seem sharper than the Camry, but it’s not a huge difference. The Sport mode in the Accord also makes more of a difference, making the car a bit sharper in all regards. The Camry’s sport mode doesn’t seem to do that much.

The four-cylinder Camry LE has a fuel economy rating of 8.1 L/100 km city, 5.7 highway, and 6.9 combined, which is not too far off from the 1.5L and CVT-equipped Honda Accord’s 7.9/6.3/7.2 L/100 km.

And what about pricing? It’s gone up a bit from last year, but Honda packs the new Accord with more standard features, which helps justify the increase. Pricing for the 2018 Honda Accord starts at $28,212 and tops out at $40,612, while the Camry starts at $28,105 and tops out at about $42,205. The Verdict: 2018 Honda Accord vs. 2018 Toyota Camry They’re both exceedingly good at what they do — they drive decently, come standard with a bunch of really useful safety features and technology, and both offer a higher-end experience than they used to. The Honda Accord, however, just seems to be smarter, sharper, more user-friendly, and as a whole, offers a more complete and cohesive package.

Add in the fact that the style will age more gracefully, and it’s easily the best car in this segment. The Camry is a really good car, but the Accord is just that much better.

What happens when the Accord and Camry get a little extra kick?

For more than three-quarters of family-sedan buyers, the base engine provides more than enough zip to get around town. Some like it hot, though, and for that remaining fraction, both Honda and Toyota offer powerful optional engines.

Comparing the mainstream powertrains for these two cars, we found the Accord to be the all-around superior vehicle. With the matters of rear-seat space, trunk capacity, number of USB ports, and smartphone integration already settled, we’ll focus singly on how well the versions with the big engines deliver on their sporting pretensions.

Honda replaced its 3.5-liter V-6 with a 2.0-liter turbo-four derived from the—wait for it—Civic Type R. Yes, Honda’s street-racing beast lent its engine to its sibling family sedan. At 252 hp, it’s down 26 hp on the old V-6, but the turbo breathes an extra 21 lb-ft of torque for a healthy 273, which comes on much lower in the rev range. You can have it with an all-new 10-speed automatic or a six-speed manual. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for them.

The challenger walks loudly and carries a big stick. Under the SE/XSE bodywork remains Toyota’s potent 3.5-liter V-6, all 301 hp and 267 lb-ft of it. It’s available exclusively with an all-new eight-speed automatic, and on paper it looks to have the Accord beat. Such a potential advantage is loudly telegraphed by all the racy bits added to the car, including quad exhaust tips, black wheels, fake vents, and a fish-pout fascia that’s arguably more handsome than the gigantic grille that looks like an air-condition vent on the base car. The Honda, though not pretty, either, eschews the boy-racer treatment and lets its 2.0T trunk badge do the talking.

Despite the power disadvantage, the automatic Accord is 0.1 second quicker to 60 mph than the Camry, and it posts an identical quarter-mile time.

Although rowing your own gears is indisputably more fun, the Honda stick shift’s throws and clutch pedal travel are both long—likely to ease the commute drudgery of a quick-shift box—and this adds a half-second penalty both to the 0–60 and quarter-mile times. One ridiculous point: You must engage the electronic parking brake before you can start the manual-transmission Accord. Patch that, pronto, Honda.

Behind the wheel, the manual-transmission Accord feels the most aggressive—there’s no waiting on the torque converter to lock up. The Camry, meanwhile, doesn’t feel as sharp off the line but comes alive at 4,000 rpm and pulls hard to redline. The automatic Accord, meanwhile, is the Q-ship of the crowd, with a long, smooth pull of power. Its 10-speed also performs better on the way back down through the gears, offering downshifts more readily and smoothly than the Camry’s.

It’s the same situation in the corners. The Accord, particularly the Touring model with its adaptive dampers, feels confident and planted. Even without the fancy dampers, high-zoot Accords have better tires than the base model, which helps highlight its excellent body control and surprisingly flat cornering. The seats on sporty Accords could use thicker side bolsters, but regardless, it’s a remarkably capable and fun family sedan on a back road.

The Camry, for all its bravura, is less capable when pressed. The steering is lighter but less fluid, with an aggressive ratio immediately off-center that makes the car feel darty and nervous. This and the high-end surge from the engine make it feel as though you’re going faster in the Camry when you’re actually not. It leans more in corners than the Accord, and body motions aren’t as well controlled, all of which is made worse by the flat seats that don’t even try to hold you in place.

In fact, this hotted-up Camry handles just like the four-cylinder Camry XLE, with just a bit more cornering speed, thanks to stickier tires. With the V-6 engine also available on XLE models, as far as we can tell the XSE is primarily a body kit and tires, not a true sport model—the lack of corner-entry downshifts are a disappointing omission. That said, we were able to hustle the Camry V-6 around a track faster than most people are going to do in the real world.

The skidpad tells the tale. The Camry XSE V-6 pulls only one-tenth of a g harder than the XLE four-cylinder and three-tenths of a g weaker than the Accord 2.0T Touring on average. The XSE V-6 uses its extra power to make up time on the figure eight, but the 2.0T Touring is right behind it pulling slightly higher average g.

It’s the same story in stopping. The Accord has a somewhat aggressive brake pedal with strong initial bite for a family sedan and little pedal travel needed to get the job done. Its significantly upgraded tires also help with stopping distances. The Camry, by contrast, has a long and soft brake pedal, which is partly responsible for extending its stop from 60 mph by 7 feet.

With the Camry XSE V-6 handling so much like the XLE four-cylinder, you might expect it to ride and drive the same, too, and you’d be right. The Camry rides somewhat firm for a family sedan, but the Accord 2.0T with fixed dampers rides about the same—but it does have better body control to eliminate the head toss of the Camry. Step up to the Touring’s adaptive dampers, and the Accord rides better, too. In tests zooming around a closed-course oval, the Accord felt more composed at 125 mph than the Camry did at 90.

Once again, it’s a clear win for the Accord. It’s quicker, handles better, and is more enjoyable to drive fast. It also rides better and costs less for more stuff, and you can even get it with a manual transmission. That’s two for two for Honda.

January 16, 2018 TORRANCE

• 3^rd straight year for Honda to win a North American “of the Year” award following Civic (2016) and Ridgeline (2017)
• 2018 Accord honored for bold “new from the ground up” approach to remaking America’s best-selling car over the past 41 years
• More than 11 million Accords made in America

TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 15, 2018 – The all-new 2018 Honda Accord, the 10th generation of America’s most popular car, has earned the prestigious 2018 North American Car of the Year award. Accord’s win marks the third consecutive year that a Honda model has received top honors from the North American jury of automotive journalists, with the Honda Civic and Honda Ridgeline winning the car and truck awards in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

“Honda took a clean-sheet approach to reinventing America’s most popular car, and we couldn’t be prouder to receive this honor for Accord as the North American Car of the Year,” said Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of the Automobile Division and general manager of Honda Sales, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “We’re especially proud for the production associates in Ohio where Accord has been built to the highest quality standards for over 35 years.*1”

The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards honor excellence in innovation, design, safety features, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value. Initiated in 1994, they are judged by 60 professional automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who work for independent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and industry websites.

Completely redesigned from the ground-up, the all-new Accord features a lighter and more rigid body structure, an advanced new chassis design wrapped in a more sophisticated, sleek and athletic design with top class interior space and comfort. The drivetrain options include two all-new, high-torque VTEC® Turbo engines, the world’s first 10-speed automatic transmission for a front-drive car and a new generation of Honda’s two-motor hybrid technology. The Accord also includes a host of new safety, driver-assistive and connected-car technologies.

About the Honda Accord
Over 10 generations and 41 years, American car buyers have made Accord the best-selling car in America, purchasing more than 13 million Accords. Accord was the first model from a Japanese automaker to be made in America, beginning in November 1982 in Marysville, Ohio, with cumulative U.S. production of Accord exceeding 11 million vehicles over more than 35 years. Accord also is an unprecedented 32-time recipient of Car and Driver magazine’s coveted 10Best award.

About Honda
Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through over 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic, Accord and Clarity series passenger cars, along with the HR-V, CR-V and Pilot sport/utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan.

Honda has been producing automobiles in America for 36 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2017, more than 93% of all Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.