SPEAKER 1: Mid-size family sedans
have been losing ground to small SUVs.
So what better time for two of the most significant sedans
to go through major redesigns.
Here we have the recently overhauled Toyota Camry.
SPEAKER 2: And behind me is the 2018 Honda
Accord, now in its 10th generation
and it's all new from the ground up.
I'm really curious to see how it stacks up to the new Camry.
This is a CVT.
With a 1.5 you get a CVT only.
There's an optional six speed manual gearbox.
But when it comes to the automatic, it's just a CVT.
SPEAKER 1: Nobody's going to be buying this in a manual,
except for maybe the automotive journalists pretty much.
SPEAKER 2: But I'm glad that they offer a manual gear box.
SPEAKER 1: OK.
Well, the CVT tends to suck some of the life out
of some engines.
But just leaving that stop back there
I didn't get a lot of delay.
I felt a good response.
SPEAKER 2: I think the CVT's have come a long way.
And particularly, this CVT that Honda offers in the Accord
and in the Civic is a really good example
of how to do it right.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
And visibility's actually really good.
This A pillar is probably one of the thinner ones
I've seen in a while.
I like the shape of the seats.
I'm getting a little bit of intrusion in my shoulder
blades.
But, you know, it's barely even worth mentioning.
SPEAKER 2: And the seats are pretty plush too.
I feel like they have a good amount of give.
SPEAKER 1: I do have the ventilated seats
on their maximum right now.
Kind of doing the job that I think other cars do on medium.
SPEAKER 2: It's a little feeble then?
SPEAKER 1: It's a little weak.
This feels buttoned down.
And even on some of the rougher stuff that we're
on on the other boulevard, it was smoothing it over to a,
I think, a more than acceptable degree.
SPEAKER 2: I agree.
I think this is a good example of Honda the way
the Hondas used to be, where they
had a lightness to them but they also would pick up their feet
and feel supple, but still had a connection to the driver.
It still feels like it's responsive,
not in an overtly sporty way, but just
in a way that tells you that the car is with you without ever
beating you up about it.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
The pedal's a little soft but appropriate
for this kind of car.
I would personally prefer just a little more effort
in the pedal.
But nit-picks, when I'm nit picking a car
it means I actually like it.
SPEAKER 2: Feels a little bit firmer on the ride
but it's not an objectionable ride by any means.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
It's compliant enough.
But it still feels like it could be buttoned down a little more
compared to the Accord.
SPEAKER 2: I mean, the routine driving of this car it's nice.
I mean, just pick which one you prefer between the Accord
and this Camry SE there's nothing
at all wrong with the way this goes down the road.
The steering is pretty responsive.
It's all just different flavors of preference I think.
SPEAKER 1: I also think they're so close in many ways
that the way they drive might not even be
a factor for a lot of people.
SPEAKER 2: Definitely not.
Yeah.
Dipping into the gas right there it feels like--
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
I felt a little bit of a hesitation.
SPEAKER 2: But it did downshift.
I'll give it that.
It did kick down pretty responsibly.
Visibility is pretty good.
It looks like they've done a good job of keeping
the belt-line here low, so the window edge on the bottom kind
of dips down.
If you were to look at the current in profile
you'd see this sort of scalloped bottom edge
of the greenhouse, which helps you see out
over the side of the car.
The [INAUDIBLE] I think is probably a little bit higher.
This top of the dashboard maybe it's
a touch higher than the Accord.
But it's certainly not so high that it's
going to cause people any sort of consternation.
SPEAKER 1: Right.
SPEAKER 2: This also has a hard key based periphery
to its touchscreen.
These are better labeled, I think, than in the Accord.
SPEAKER 1: One thing though, the screen is a few inches lower
than the Accord's.
Because they have the vents up top.
Even though initially when they started
putting those tablet looking screens on the top of the dash,
aesthetically I wasn't all that happy with it.
But very quickly I realized that visually and having it
in your sight-lines is worth that
kind of aesthetic sacrifice.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah.
They look tacked on.
But I think functionally they work better than one
that's lower and more buried into the dash.
Another thing that I think the Accord has going for it
is that the Toyota you can't get Apple Car Play or Android Auto
compatibility.
SPEAKER 1: I know.
SPEAKER 2: I mean, that's sort of an across the board
Toyota thing.
SPEAKER 1: And I'm at the point now where
I'm reliant on Apple Car Play.
And if a car doesn't have it now I'm
almost getting to that deal breaker
territory, where if it doesn't have it I don't want it.
SPEAKER 2: It pulls hard above 5,000.
But below that it's not quite as urgent.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
You have to wait for it to boil.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah.
But once it gets up there it moves out nicely.
But I think the low end torque of the turbo engine
in the Accord delivers a little bit more of that initial thrust
better than this car does.
The previous Camry felt a little bit more plasticy than this.
They certainly paid more attention
to materials in this new Camry compared to the old.
But the Accord's in another class above.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
There's something about the Camry that I do like.
There's a certain honesty about it.
It feels good.
It meets expectations, certainly.
The Accord, I think, exceeds expectations.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah.
Functionally, there's nothing wrong with the Camry's cabin.
I mean, it's-- everything is placed where you want it.
There's a big volume knob that's on the correct side
of the screen for the driver.
The buttons are well labeled.
There's big fonts everywhere.
Everything falls to hand the way you expect.
But that sense of occasion that the Accord has just
puts it over the top for me.
Infotainment-wise it's a no brainer.
And the Accord has it all over this one.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 2: And this is a comfortable cabin too.
The seats are comfortable.
The touch points are soft.
The leather feels good, whether it's on the shift selector
or on the steering wheel.
There's nothing wrong at all with this cabin.
Here we are in the back seat of the Camry.
SPEAKER 1: And, you know, it's got enough space for me.
SPEAKER 2: I'm in the same boat.
I can fit my toes underneath the front seat.
And I've got a few inches to the seat back in front of me.
And what I should point out also is the driver's seat
is all the way down.
It's as low as it can go and there's still
room to put your toes underneath.
Some cars when the seat goes all the way down all the toe-room
in the backseat goes away.
But that's not the case in the Camry.
So that's a good detail.
They didn't miss that.
SPEAKER 1: All right.
Well, it's well-padded.
I mean, that's really cushiony.
That's nice.
SPEAKER 2: There's no storage on the back of the console.
We do have vents back here, which is nice.
We can't really control them other
than they're on they're off.
SPEAKER 1: Right.
SPEAKER 2: But that's not that unusual.
SPEAKER 1: Map pockets behind the front seats.
But yeah the lack of a USB port or even a 12 volt plug
is, I think, maybe a misstep.
Especially since if this is a family sedan and all the kids
have their faces plastered into a screen nowadays--
well actually maybe it's not a bad thing
if they don't have power.
And they run out on a road trip.
Maybe you actually have to talk to them.
SPEAKER 2: Imagine that.
I don't feel cramped back here.
But if this was a light interior I
think it would feel that much breezier.
So that's just one thing to keep in mind, I think,
as we're comparing these two cars.
SPEAKER 1: Totally agree.
Let's just start in the middle here.
The infotainment screen placed high up
on the dash on this little tablet looking thing,
these knobs like you pointed out before, they're really, really
nice.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah.
It shows an attention to detail that
goes beyond just the basics of what you'd
expect in a midsize sedan.
SPEAKER 1: We made a lot of noise
about the lack of a volume knob and that ridiculous volume
control on the steering wheel.
SPEAKER 2: I mean, I know I did.
SPEAKER 1: They have actual volume buttons here now
and the scrolling wheel for the multifunction display.
It's all falling to hand really nicely.
SPEAKER 2: And the screen flow too, both on the center screen
and in the instrument cluster, it's really intuitive.
And it happens quickly.
It responds very quickly.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
SPEAKER 2: I think it's a really nice execution
of that sort of thing.
SPEAKER 1: They made the improvements.
They got rid of the things we hated.
And they kept the things we liked.
SPEAKER 2: It feels good in here.
I like how they've echoed the design theme here.
If you look at the front of the car
and the back of the car and then this dashboard,
you'll notice that there is this emphasis of width.
And by that I mean, look at how these vents on the side
are protruding into the doors.
The headlights do the same sort of thing.
SPEAKER 1: They wrap around.
SPEAKER 2: The headlights protrude and wrap around
into the fenders.
And the tail lights are doing a similar sort of thing.
So again, they're kind of going beyond just the basics of what
you can expect in a mid-sized sedan.
And adding a bit more attention to detail and style.
SPEAKER 1: So under here we have a wireless charging pad.
The Camry also has that.
A USB port there.
Another one under here I believe.
SPEAKER 2: Yes.
There's a PowerPoint and a USB.
SPEAKER 1: Nice sliding tray here
that I believe is also-- and rubberized
so phone won't slide around.
I've got some good bins here.
Actually, the pockets in the doors I think
are better in here than in the Camry.
The Camry you can get one water bottle in
and it has to be at this angle to put it in.
This you have a pocket and a water bottle holder so.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah.
Seems to be a little bit more small item storage here
in the Accord than the Camry.
SPEAKER 1: But I just feel like I have more space in here.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah.
And this dash is a lot slimmer.
If you look at the height of this dash
compared to that of the Camry, which is much more monolithic.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
And it kind of tapers down nicely as well.
But the materials they're using this--
I don't even care if it's real wood.
It looks great.
SPEAKER 2: And this brushed aluminum again,
it just has this class.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
It's premium without the price.
And all these buttons on the steering
wheel they're easy to use.
You know, there's no stretch or anything.
You don't even have to look down on it.
But yeah, they really did a great job with this.
I feel like I can see better out the front.
I mean, I'm getting such an expansive view of the dash
as well, that I wasn't getting in the Camry.
Now these obviously aren't deal breakers one way or the other.
But what might be is the amount of room I have back here.
SPEAKER 2: It's big back here.
Between the Camry and the Accord headroom-wise yeah,
they're comparable.
My head's brushing the headliner in this one as well.
But I think leg and knee room it's all Accord.
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
And like the Camry, we have harder plastics back here.
SPEAKER 2: Different surfaces front and rear.
SPEAKER 1: Now, like the Camry this doesn't just kind of stop
or have a detent or something.
It just kind of flops onto the seat.
And it's a little bit of an angle.
It's not a big deal to me.
SPEAKER 2: It's comfortable I think.
It's the right height.
SPEAKER 1: We're missing something.
SPEAKER 2: We're missing the USB ports and PowerPoints, just
like in the Camry.
So there's no advantage to smartphone
charging or anything in the Accord compared to the Camry.
This also, same deal, it has vents
that you can control on off but that's it.
Storage-wise a similar situation.
You've got this cup holder.
You've got the door pocket.
That's kind of it.
Although, you do have the map pocket in the back of the door.
So in terms of rear seat storage I think it's a wash.
SPEAKER 1: Absolutely.
I thought it was going to be a closer fight.
But the Accord is the clear winner in my book.
SPEAKER 2: I agree.
The Accord is the clear winner.
And for me it comes down to primarily the cabin,
the design, the sense of space in there.
It's just a nicer place to be inside the cabin.
SPEAKER 1: I agree as well.
I give a clear--
a definite advantage to the infotainment system
in the Honda.
SPEAKER 2: There's a winner here.
And we're in agreement that it's the Accord.
But what do you think?
SPEAKER 1: Let us know in the comments below.
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