ArticleManagerSince the Honda Accord was listed in April, after the ups and downs of the first two months, it finally ushered in an outbreak last month, showing its own market performance, selling 14,443 units per month, an increase of 97.25% over the previous month, and achieving a reversal in sales over the old rival Toyota Camry (Camry was 14,035 units last month). So, who is the hottest two cars in the field of B-class cars, who is better in the current new product power, and who is more worth buying?
Appearance contrast
These two new cars have broken the previous tradition, lost the previous mature, bland and moderate labels, become young, sporty, radical, more adapted to the trend, closer to the younger consumer group. Take the most conspicuous appearance. The Camry comes in two versions, one standard and one sporty, but even the standard version is much sportier than any previous version. For most consumers, the sports version may be more popular. The honeycomb grille, the more visually striking double color scheme and the exaggerated two-out four-exhaust pipe are all more sporty and personalized. The rest of the aspects, such as body lines, front and rear headlight design, etc., are the same for the standard version and the sports version.
Although the Accord is not as outstanding as the Camry in terms of details, it is still very successful in creating an overall sense of sportiness. The neatly arranged LED matrix headlights will increase the sense of technology in the appearance a lot; The large body and chrome trim that extends from the bottom of the front wheel arches to the rear bumper make the rear more compact; Compared with previous generations of models, the flatter and wider body makes the Accord have a slight slight low-lying style. Although the addition of these designs does make the Accord look more like a “big civic”, I still remember that when the Civic was launched, many people expected the Accord to adopt the same design… But then again, the rear design of the Accord, especially the lamps, may be too advanced to accept.
Dynamic performance
In terms of the dynamic performance of driving, let’s talk about the Camry first. The performance of 2.5L self-priming plus 8AT will not be as smooth as imagined in terms of smoothness, and there are occasional setbacks when shifting gears at low speeds, but the overall performance is still excellent, and the shift speed and shift logic can be satisfactory, in line with the requirements of family scooters, and the sense of sport has also been created. The new 2.5-liter engine with a thermal efficiency of over 40% provides a maximum of 204 hp and 250 Nm of torque, helping the Camry accelerate 100 km/h in about 8.3 seconds.
In the establishment of the steering feel, compared with the previous loose and crumbling feeling, this generation of Camry has a lot of texture, heavier feeling, more precise steering, providing a higher level of texture experience, for the sportiness of “road” driving, Camry’s steering can be completely done.
Compared with the Camry 2.0L, 2.5L and hybrid power combination, the Accord is currently slightly monotonous, only providing a combination of 1.5T + CVT, divided into two power versions of high and low power (hybrid version is coming soon). Let’s say that the mainstream high-power 1.5T version on the market, its biggest disadvantage is still a certain turbo lag, in daily driving, especially on stop-and-go roads, there is a momentum that will be experienced from time to time. The driving pleasure that CVT has been criticized before has long been solved by simulated gear shifting, and on the new Accord, as long as it is not cut to L gear, it will be simulated to shift in other forward gears. In terms of comprehensive power performance, the overall smoothness and acceleration performance of the 1.5T Accord are not inferior to the Camry.
The steering feel Accord is not deliberately aggravated, compared to the Camry, but more natural, the speed gain of steering and the precision of steering, is still remarkable. Although the overall steering feeling is not as sporty as the Camry, it is better in comfort and ease.
Ride comfort
The comfort of these two cars has been quite good before, and this has been carried over to the new model, especially in terms of sound insulation, both cars have been improved, the only fly in the ointment is that compared to the isolation of wind noise and engine noise, tire noise and chassis sound insulation need to be strengthened.
In terms of seat comfort and space, the Accord, which dominates in terms of exterior model size, wins slightly. First of all, whether it is legroom or headroom in the rear, the Accord is slightly better than the Camry; Secondly, in terms of seat comfort, the Accord’s softer and larger seats provide better ride comfort, both in the front and rear.
Fortunately, the Camry won a round in the driving texture of the chassis. Although both cars do a good job in the toughness of the chassis, in some details, such as small vibrations, the Camry will filter more cleanly.
Interior design
I admit that the Camry’s interior design and workmanship are better, and the luxury and visual effects will be better. But in the practicality and sense of space to create, the Accord is more outstanding, if the Accord will use Honda’s button electronic gear shift mechanism, the sense of technology and luxury will be stronger, and the hybrid version should use it.
In terms of instrumentation, both cars use a combination of mechanical and liquid crystal, from the visual point of view, I like the Accord’s instrument more, but from the perspective of practicality and functionality, the Camry is more direct and easier to read. Camry’s LCD instrument cluster is between two mechanical gauges, while the Accord’s gauge is on the entire left side, covering the tachometer when changing to the driving content.
Summary:
Although Honda did not introduce a 2.0T engine and only gave a 1.5T option, which once attracted the dissatisfaction of most people, and even I think that one of the main reasons for the poor sales after the launch, the actual performance of 1.5T compared with the 2.5 self-priming or previous generation models in the same class, there is no disadvantage and even has certain advantages. On some tech configurations, the Accord, which is the same price as the Camry, will offer more configurations. Overall, if only from the point of view of product power, from the point of view of practicality, the Accord is worth buying. The Camry, on the other hand, will be better in the overall luxury texture (including chassis driving texture, design, and workmanship materials).