2019 Toyota Camry vs. 2019 Honda Accord

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Camry have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Accord doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The Camry has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats (WIL), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WIL system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Accord doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Camry has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Accord doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Camry XLE/XSE has a standard Rear Cross Traffic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Accord doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Camry XLE/XSE offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Accord only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Camry and the Accord have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Camry is safer than the Honda Accord:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Camry is safer than the Honda Accord:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Camry its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 44 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Accord is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2019.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Camry for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Honda doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Accord.

There are over 18 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Honda dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Camry’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Camry’s reliability 15 points higher than the Accord.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2018 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota 17th in initial quality. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 23rd.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2019 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota second in reliability, above the industry average. With 38 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 16th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ December 2018 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in reliability. Honda is ranked 15th.

The Camry has more powerful engines than the Accord:

As tested in Motor Trend the Camry V6 is faster than the Honda Accord 1.5 turbo 4 cyl. (automatics tested):

On the EPA test cycle the Camry gets better fuel mileage than the Accord:

The Camry LE/SE/XLE/XSE’s standard fuel tank has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Accord (16 vs. 14.8 gallons).

For better stopping power the Camry’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Accord:

The Camry stops much shorter than the Accord:

The Camry SE handles at .88 G’s, while the Accord Sport pulls only .87 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Camry XSE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Accord EX (26.7 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Camry L/LE’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Accord’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.1 feet). The Camry SE/XLE/XSE’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Accord Sport Manual/2.0T’s (38 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Camry SE is quieter than the Accord Sport:

The Camry has .1 inches more front hip room and .7 inches more rear headroom than the Accord.

The front step up height for the Camry is 1.5 inches lower than the Accord (15” vs. 16.5”). The Camry’s rear step up height is .5 inches lower than the Accord’s (14.5” vs. 15”).

The Camry LE/SE/XLE/XSE’s standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The Accord LX’s standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can’t share the rear seat.

The Camry uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Accord uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The power windows standard on both the Camry and the Accord have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Camry is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Accord prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Camry’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Accord’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Camry’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Accord’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

Insurance will cost less for the Camry owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Camry with a number “5” insurance rate while the Accord is rated higher at a number “8” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Camry is less expensive to operate than the Accord because typical repairs cost less on the Camry than the Accord, including $63 less for a muffler, $21 less for fuel injection and $93 less for a fuel pump.

The Toyota Camry has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

The Toyota Camry outsold the Honda Accord by 18% during 2018.