The much anticipated new Honda Accord has finally come to India. Honda Cars India has brought back the Accord sedan in the Indian car market, but this time around the luxury sedan has arrived in its hybrid avatar. The Japanese Accord Hybrid sedan in goes straight up against the other Japanese hybrid sedan, the Toyota Camry Hybrid in the same class, while there’s also the Toyota Prius as its market rival. The Toyota Camry Hybrid has been the ruler of its own segment in India, and Honda Cars India is definitely eyeing the Camry Hybrid’s top spot with its just launched new Accord Hybrid, and a tough competition is definitely in process. Both we have driven this too. Both these cars are luxurious and high quality sedans with nature friendly conventional hybrid systems.
Here, we put the newly launched Honda Accord Hybrid against the segment leader Toyota Camry Hybrid to compare their powertrains and features side by side in order to find out which one is actually the worthier hybrid sedan.
Take a look at the new Honda Accord Hybrid Vs Toyota Camry Hybrid:
Powertrain
To begin with, let’s consider the under the hood specs. The Toyota Camry Hybrid which is a fully locally assembled model gets powered by a highly refined and efficient 2.5 liter 4-cylinder petrol mill that gets equipped with an electric motor. While the petrol engine has the capability to churn out a max power of 158 bhp along with 213 Nm of top torque, the electric motor can deliver 140 bhp of power and 270 Nm of torque. So, the combined power figure of the executive sedan’s hybrid powertrain stands at an impressive 202 bhp. The hybrid car is equipped with Toyota’s sophisticated electronically controlled CVT gearbox to smoothly perform the transmission duties that best suitable for a hybrid model.
On the other hand, the new Honda Accord Hybrid gets packed with a 2.0 liter, 4-cylinder petrol motor that is also paired to an efficient electric motor backed by a 1.3Kwh Lithium-ion battery. This petrol mill on its own offers a max power of 145 bhp along with 175 Nm of peak torque, while the electric motor offers a peak power of 184 bhp along with a top torque of 315 Nm. Thus, the hybrid system combined power output stands at 215 bhp. This means the Accord hybrid offers 13 bhp more power than the Camry hybrid. The Accord hybrid also gets equipped with a CVT unit. The Accord Hybrid also offers a combined or independent use of its petrol engine and electric motor to run the car.
The Accord Hybrid and the Camry Hybrid both offer driving modes to choose from along with great fuel efficiency for a luxury sedan. The Camry Hybrid offers two different driving mode options namely – EV and Eco. The EV driving mode comes into action during heavy traffic situations, when a speed level of above 40 kmph is not possible. In the Eco mode, the electric motor works in combination with the petrol mill to offer a smooth driving experience along with good fuel efficiency. The Toyota Camry Hybrid comes with an ARAI certified fuel efficiency of 19.6 km per liter, which is really great for a full sized premium sedan.
On the other hand, the Honda Accord Hybrid offers a choice of three driving modes, namely – EV mode, Eco mode and Sport mode. The EV mode is the full electric mode, where the car runs entirely on the electric motor. However, by utilizing the full potential of the electric motor, you can have a range of just 2 km after which the petrol mill will start working automatically. The Eco is the actual hybrid mode, where the petrol engine works in conjunction with the electric motor to offer balanced performance and fuel economy. However, if you need more power and speed, then you’ll need to switch to the Sport drive mode, which runs solely on the petrol mill and drives and performs like a conventional petrol powered car. The Accord Hybrid is claimed to offer a better fuel economy and is said to deliver a max fuel efficiency of 23.1 km per liter.
Equipment & Features
Looks and features-wise, the Toyota Camry Hybrid is a styling hybrid sedan which looks exactly like its conventional fuel run sibling, but along with some individual features to mark it apart as a hybrid model. The Camry Hybrid flaunts a sleeker and stylish chrome garnished front radiator grill, slim and highly stylized LED headlamps along with LED DRLs. The front fascia of the sedan is also made to look more aggressive with its huge trapezoidal air dam which helps in faster cooling other than bold looks. The car is laden with a lot of chrome décor like up front, window sills, door handles, and at the rear. This additional dose of chrome garnish really adds to the premium looks of the Camry Hybrid and that’s exactly what the Indian car buyers love.
On the inside, the premium design and quality continues. The Camry Hybrid’s cabin gets endowed with a massive touchscreen display integrated infotainment system, 3-zone automatic Climate control system, separate temperature setting for the rear seat and much more premium features. The Camry is super loaded with safety equipments such as 7 Airbags, brake Assist, ABS with EBD, Hill Start Assist Control along with Slope Detection feature, Vehicle Stability Control along with Off Switch, Reverse Camera, Impact Sensing Fuel Cut-off, Clearance and Back Sonar, and many others.
The new Honda Accord Hybrid flaunts its premium class with a smooth and bold design. It gets LED headlamps, LED DRLs, highly stylish chrome front grille, sporty front bumper design, wide air dam and LED fog lamps.
The Accord Hybrid also boasts of great features including dual-zone automatic climate control, touchscreen infotainment system along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, power sunroof, automatic rain-sensing wipers, remote pre-cooling/heating function, remote start function, etc. Safety features on the Accord include airbags, ABS with EBD, lane watch assist, vehicle stability control, traction control and more.
