2021 Honda Accord vs. 2021 Toyota Camry

In the hotly contested midsize family sedan arena, the award-winning Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry continue to duke it out for supremacy. Let’s put these two popular four-doors to the test and see which one comes out on top. Below, we’ll be looking at the comparably equipped 2021 Accord LX and 2021 Camry LE models.

Style

Flash vs Fashionable

In an attempt to shed its vanilla styling of past years, the new Camry aims to grab your attention with its massive black grille and arrow-shaped front end. The Camry’s straightforward silhouette takes on a more conservative approach with its flat, featureless appearance. As Martin Padgett, Editorial Director of thecarconnection.com, points out, the Camry is, “...trying hard to be cool.”

On the other hand, the 2021 Accord oozes class and sophistication from every angle. The 2021 Accord gets a mild styling refresh, with available new colors, standard LED headlights, and a variety of new wheel choices to spiff up your ride. The Accord artfully marries sporty athleticism with understated elegance for a look that’s as endearing as it is timeless.

Price

Accord Gives You More for Less

With a starting Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) starting at $24,770*, the well-equipped 2021 Accord LX gives you more of what you want in a mid-sized sedan compared to the pricier 2021 Camry LE.

Interior

Accord Wins the Inner Space Race

Both the Accord and Camry are known for their quality interiors. But in this category, the Accord wins the inner space war by offering more interior passenger volume overall. This translates to more front headroom, more legroom, more shoulder room, and more hiproom than the Camry.

You’ll also find the Accord’s trunk is larger than the Camry’s, which comes in handy for hauling groceries, golfing, weekend jaunts, or cross-country adventures.

In fact, thecarconnection.com’s Martin Padgett finds the Camry’s rear seats to be difficult to sashay onto due to the low roofline.

Performance & Fuel Economy

Torquey Accord “Out Zips” the Camry

The 2021 Honda Accord LX gets its motivation from a peppy and fuel-efficient 1.5 liter, 16-valve, turbocharged VTEC four-cylinder powerplant with Eco-Assist™, mated to a CVT, that generates 192 hp at 5500 rpm*. While the Camry’s larger 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine does offer more horsepower, the Accord still comes out on top in the all-important torque department.

Torque is the key metric that determines how much power is delivered to the wheels where it counts. In this case, the Accord delivers 192 lb.-ft. of torque* at a lower 5500 rpm compared to the Camry’s more anemic 184 lb.-ft. of torque at a higher 6600 rpm. In other words, the Accord puts more “zip” to the pavement than the Camry.

Accord Takes the Fuel Economy Prize

The thrifty Accord LX delivers better fuel efficiency than the Camry LE by achieving an EPA-estimated 30 mpg city/38 mpg highway for a combined 33 mpg overall*. This compares favorably to the Camry, which scores an EPA-estimated 28 mpg city/39 mpg highway for an overall rating of 32 mpg. We’re also proud to say that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently named Honda as “the most fuel-efficient automaker in America.”

Safety

Honda has always put a premium on safety, giving you the peace of mind that comes with Honda quality and engineering innovation.

That’s why you’ll find Honda’s advanced Honda Sensing® suite of advanced safety features as standard equipment on every Honda automobile. These include Collision Mitigation Braking, Road Departure Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Lane-Keeping Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Traffic Sign Recognition.

In addition, every Honda Accord comes with Honda’s exclusive ACE™ Body Structure is specifically designed to help absorb the impact of a frontal collision.

By comparison, Toyota offers its own suite of safety features on the 2021 Camry LE model that include pre-collision assist, lane departure alert, lane tracing assist, road sign assist, and dynamic radar cruise control.

The value-priced, stylish, fuel-efficient, and well-equipped 2021 Honda Accord LX shows once again why it comes out on top as the preferred choice of savvy car buyers looking for a four-door family sedan that checks all the boxes. While the Camry is a worthy contender, it still can’t quite measure up to the award-winning Accord.