Honda Accord 2.0 vs Toyota Camry 2.0

Facelift after facelift, the car has received much kudos from automotive critics and consumers alike. Their repeated record sales figures stand testament to their success.

Honda on the other hand, have found themselves struggling over time to keep up with the momentum the Camry has built in this highly competitive market. The 7th Generation, US Accord garnered bad reception, most resorted to parallel imported, JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) solutions. Has Honda lost its plot? Well, it did, but not anymore.

Exterior

The Accord has always been a great family car with respect to its mechanisms, fixtures and fittings, but the same couldn't be said of its style. With this one, Honda's design team courageously stepped forward with a bold, flowing form that is more of a visual feast compared to the visual catastrophe of the previous model.

Chrome-bordered grills lead to bulging, characteristic headlamps. As you trail to the sides, a deep pronounced belt line carves its way from the top of the front wheel arch, to the beginning of the strong tail lamps. The oversized door handles work together with the rest of the car to project a luxurious, expensive continental feel. Say what you will about its originality, but it works.

The familiar Camry on the other hand, has a safe handsome façade which goes down inoffensively. Plonked next to the Accord however, and it starts to look like an ordinary watermelon next to an intricately carved, pattern-rich fruit, for lack of a better example. Being smaller of the two, the Camry looks misleadingly bigger, owing to an elevated boot lid and pronounced C-pillar.

Interior

When you're appointing a fairly large luxury sedan targeted at the professional, business-class crowd, understanding your market is key.

The new Accord starts at the doors, where they close with a satisfying, weighted thud of a German car. Then, you instantly notice Honda's effort in organising the chaos of buttons within the centre console. As intimidating as it looks, operation is fairly easy with buttons labelled clearly and within reach of the driver. The wood-like veneer compliments high quality black plastics that adorn the dashboard. Together with the silver lining and knobs, they work well and look very professional.

With the Accord's wheelbase now at 2,800mm and its length, width and height increasing to 4,945mm, 1,845mm and 1,475mm respectively, the leg room for all occupants have increased noticeably.

Both cars have rear central vents for rear passengers, Dual Climate Control and Cruise Control as standard.
The Camry sits on a 2,775mm wheelbase and has a length of 4,825mm, width of 1,820mm and height of 1,470mm. When seated in the driver's seat, you immediately notice how restricted your left leg is with a smaller amount of space. This is due to the larger centre console. It's that cream-coloured console that totally feels out of place in the car. The terrible choice of colours appointed and shapes of the buttons seem to retard the image of the Toyota as a professional mode of transport.

Although both cars offer 8 modes of movement plus lumbar support for their driver, the Camry is the only one that provides 4-way electronic controls for the front passenger. They have even installed electronic controls at the right shoulder-side of the front passenger seat. So now rear passengers sitting directly behind the front passenger seat can enjoy limousine levels of leg room whenever the chance arises.

Compared to its rival, the seats in the Toyota are more supportive through handling extremes. It also offers Bluetooth connectivity for mobile phones. A "Plasmacluster," that discharges negative and positive ions through the driver's side vents, serves to reduce the existence of airborne mould and bacteria. Thing is, they also warn that static electricity might be discharged due to high operational voltage. Sounds great, but I think we can all survive without sterile air and intermittent zaps.

The Accord keeps itself relevant in today's technological era with a USB jack under the centre compartment for your iPod, or other USB-music device. Both have almost the same amount of boot space, but the Accord has it with folding rear seats that go to 75 degrees. You could definitely squeeze in that fancy IKEA 40 x 202 shelf like I did. The only gripe we had was their non split-able nature, but we reckon that shouldn't have much bearing on your purchasing decisions.

Engine, driving & safety

The 2008 Honda Accord utilises the familiar 2.0-litre power plant used in the CRV. The Single Over Head Cam (SOHC), i-VTEC unit manages to squeeze out 154bhp at 6300RPM, and torque figures stands at 189NM at 4300RPM. The Camry comparably has a 2.0-Litre, Double Over Head Cam (DOHC) unit that utilizes VVTi technology to put 147bhp on tap and with 190NM of torque kicking in earlier at 4000RPM.


With the engine idling, the Camry is the quieter of the two. So quiet in fact that we mistook the engine for being off a couple of times when it wasn't. When the throttle was punched, the weight of both cars are felt as their engines scream a throaty note to pull the 1,530kg Camry and 1,505kg Accord off the line.

The Accord's 5-speed Automatic Gearbox yields just over 2,200rpm at 100km/h in fifth, and seamlessly goes through the gears with no shift jerks. The Camry, with its 4-speed Automatic Gearbox is equally velvety, but it slightly lower geared, with approximately 2400rpm in fourth at 100km/h. Both these cars do provide similar fuel economy figures even though the Accord has the extra gear to distribute its power through. The differences though, come to light in full-out, straight line acceleration tests and on uneven roads.
The Accord's independent, double-wishbones up front and the independent, multi-linked rear strikes a good balance between firmness and comfort, while the front MacPherson and independent dual-link rear struts on the Camry make for a softer, sloshier ride. Predictably, the Accord holds its ground much better than the Camry, which bounces around and understeers by quite a margin. The trade-off though, is that the Toyota handles humps and imperfections better.

The Camry's steering is heavier, it isn't as direct compared to that of the Accord's, which also had better feel. Which one is better would depend on the individual's preference. We loved the Accord's handling, but we also figured people who were looking to buy either of these two entry-level cars were not looking for lots of road feel, but rather, an effortless drive.

Safety features are similar, with both cars employing Vehicle Stability systems, Braking Assist (BA), Emergency Locking Retractor seatbelts (ELR), Dual SRS, Side Airbags and Whiplash protection systems as standard.

So which one's right for you?

Since the 70's, the humble Accord has tried to keep abreast in the market that Toyota has dominated for some time. Gone are the days where both cars were predominantly associated with uncles. Their customer base is getting younger and by that, they have to adapt to the increasingly changing needs and wants of this major part of the market.

Although the Camry is still a good car, the Accord just seems to be in a different league than the Camry. Foldable rear-seats, tastefully appointed plastics in the car, USB connection; the Accord gives you the best of technology, luxury and sportiness in the segment with their entry level 2.0-litre model. But we're comparing a brand new Accord to the 2006 Camry, so we didn't expect anything less.

So if your in the market looking for a mature, credible and fairly eye-catching large luxury sedan that your golfing kakis won't tease you in and your business associates will be impressed with, the 2008 Honda Accord's your car at $99,800. It's over $8,000 more than the Camry($90,988), but the cost is certainly justified.