Midsize match-up: Camry versus Accord
Edmunds
The Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have long been household names, but these stalwarts are shaking things up for 2018. With fierce competition from rival sedans and the growing popularity of crossovers, the Accord and Camry have both been completely redesigned from the ground up to keep them competitive. Sure, differences in styling are readily apparent, but what’s under their skin also separates these roomy, front-wheeldrive sedans. Let’s take a closer look.
Driving
The new Camry is bolder-looking and sharper-driving than ever. It now tackles corners with confidence and has responsive steering and easy-to-use brakes. The Honda Accord has always been a confident, capable handler that’s more nimble than its size suggests, and the new one is no exception. Its mature, sophisticated style imbues it with a markedly premium vibe inside and out.
What’s available under their hoods reveals a distinct difference in philosophy between the two. The Camry’s 203horsepower four-cylinder and optional 301-horsepower V6 engines make do without the help of turbochargers. In contrast, the Accord comes with a choice of two turbocharged four-cylinder engines with 192 and 252 horsepower, respectively.
The Camry’s V6 is noticeably more urgent (and better-sounding, frankly) than the Accord’s top engine, while the Honda’s base engine and transmission are more refined than the Camry’s four-cylinder, which can gets loud when accelerating hard. The four-cylinder engines on both cars deliver solid thrust when called upon.
Fuel economy
EPA-rated fuel economy for Accords with the base engine and the continuously variable automatic transmission ranges between 31 and 33 mpg combined, depending on trim level. The Camry, which has been in dealerships since this summer, ekes out a slim fuel economy edge with a range between 32 and 34 mpg combined with the base engine. The Camry’s V6 is rated at 26 mpg combined, while the Accord’s optional engine has not been rated yet.
Buyers looking to maximize fuel economy will want to check out the hybrid variants of each car. While the Camry Hybrid delivers an astounding 52 mpg combined, the final numbers on the Accord Hybrid won’t be released until closer to its launch in early 2018. It’s a safe bet that Honda is aiming to at least match the Toyota’s impressive number.
Safety and technology
All but the bottom trim level of the Accord offer an 8-inch touchscreen user interface standard. The Camry’s touchscreen measures 7 or 8 inches, depending on the trim level or options. The touchscreens in both cars are fast-acting and have intuitive screen flow, with the edge going to the Accord for its sharper display.
There is one big difference between the two worth noting. The Accord offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone
integration; the Camry does not. Instead the Camry uses Toyota’s Entune app, which is far less intuitive.
Both the Camry and Accord offer a suite of driver assistance features as standard equipment. These include forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning and intervention, adaptive cruise control and automatic high