Clash Of The Titans: Honda Accord Hybrid Vs Toyota Camry Hybrid

This year, Honda Cars India has been really active in the Indian auto industry. The Japanese car firm gave us the compact-SUV BR-V and a facelift for both the Amaze and the Brio. The newly launched Accord Hybrid is the fourth new face that the carmaker has added to its portfolio in India and it is specifically designed to take on its Japanese rival, the Toyota Camry Hybrid. As a recipe, both cars in contention seem quite similar, but things aren’t that simple on paper. Here’s how they stack up against each other.

Dimensions:

Even though the new Accord has shrunk in dimensions (length and width) as compared to its predecessor, it still manages to outshine the Camry. However, Honda did increase the height of the new Accord but it still isn’t as tall as its Japanese counterpart. Honda hasn’t shared figures for the ground clearance and the boot capacity but we expect them to be close to the ones on the Camry. The tyres on the new Accord are fatter by 20mm but have a lower side-wall with 10mm lesser room to play with. This equation points to a stiffer but a more planted ride on the move.

Engine And Transmission:

Accord’s 2.0-litre petrol engine isn’t as powerful as the 2.5-litre petrol mill that powers the Camry. However, once coupled with electric power that is available from the electric motor, the Camry is left behind in terms of maximum power. Honda’s Lithium-ion setup manages to produce more torque and more power than the Nickel-metal Hydride tech powering the Toyota. Even on the fuel economy front, the Honda comes on top with approximately 4kmpl better ARAI certified fuel economy. Power is transmitted to the front wheels through an Electronically-Controlled Continuously Variable Transmission in both the sedans.

Features And Comfort:

Both the Camry and the Accord are flagship sedans for Toyota and Honda respectively, in India. So you’d expect both the Japanese manufacturers to stuff their offerings with ‘witchcraft’ tech all over the place. While the word ‘witchcraft’ might be a bit too far fetched for these cars, they both manage to offer gadgets which can be found only in cars with premium badges such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

While both the cars in contention stack basic features such as ABS, more than half-a-dozen airbags, electrically adjustable ORVMs and parking senors, they both are stacked with a lot more creature-comfort features to make life easy, both inside and outside the cabin. 

Let’s look at the new-comer first. The new-gen Accord comes with features such as front electric seats, a 7.7-inch intelligent multi-function display, a 7-inch infotainment display with capacitive touch-screen, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, voice recognition, Bluetooth Audio streaming and telephony, rear AC vents, LED daytime running lights, rain-sensing wipers, automatic LED headlights, one touch sunroof with tilt feature, taillights with integrated LED light bars, dual-zone climate control and three different drive modes - ECON, Sport and EV.

The Toyota Camry is equally rich in features and the list includes front electric seats, rear seats with power recliner, a 4.2-inch multi-information display, a two-din touch-screen DVD display, Bluetooth telephony with audio streaming compatibility, three-zone climate control, rear AC vents with temperature control, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers and rear armrest with controls for audio, rear recline, rear sun-shade, AC controls, cup holders and storage. The feature list continues on the outside with automatic LED headlamps with auto leveling and rear taillights with LED brake lights.

It is impossible to choose between the two cars based only on the feature list. It completely boils down to a personal choice, where one needs to evaluate what he/she can do with without.

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Price And Warranty:

This is where news for the new-comer becomes slightly worrisome. It is priced Rs 6.1 lakh more than its counterpart from Toyota. We know that Hybrid tech is expensive to build and it does add to the cost of the car but the real reason why the Accord is so expensive is that it is brought into India as a completely built unit (CBU) or, in other words, via direct import. This route, although easy for the manufacturer, attracts heavy import duties which add up to the car’s final price tag.

One might argue that the warranty period is slightly more relaxed for the Accord and that it looks better proportioned as compared to the Camry. But none of these facts are strong enough to fill the Rs 6.1 lakh gap between the two cars, especially in a country like India which is slowly learning the importance of ‘green’ tech.