Honda Accord Sport Hybrid v Toyota Camry Hybrid 2015 Comparison

In March 2001 Honda’s Insight coupe became the first petrol-electric production vehicle to land Australia. But it was a short-lived; an almost totally irrelevant exercise that gave way three years later to the company’s first practical hybrid – a reworked version of the conventional Civic sedan. And although Honda may claim to be a hybrid pioneer, the original Insight beat rival manufacturer Toyota to the hybrid market by only a slim margin.

Toyota’s purpose-built advanced-technology Prius followed seven months after the awkward Insight coupe, setting the stage for a long line of Toyota/Lexus hybrids that continue to use the same principles today.

Honda in the meantime has had an on-again, off-again affair with hybrids, including four that have now disappeared from the product range entirely. These include the next-generation Insight, Civic and Jazz hybrids, and the sexy-looking but ultimately disappointing CR-Z.

Today, the only petrol-electric Honda on offer is the new Accord Sport Hybrid – which is something altogether different to what’s been offered in the past.

Hybrid hype
Turning a fresh technological page on Honda’s petrol-electric endeavors – that were fundamentally simple arrangements using what was called Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), adding electrical energy to the mix in an almost turbo-boost style – the new Accord is a full-on hybrid, replete with complex technology that enables energy to be directed via multiple paths to maximise performance and efficiency.

The new system, described by Honda as intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD), is able to operate in pure-electric (EV), hybrid, or direct petrol-engine drive modes and uses a 1.3kWh lithium-ion battery stored behind the back seat.

Two electric motors are arranged in a way that emulates a continuously variable transmission (it’s dubbed electric Continuously Variable Transmission, or e-CVT), while also acting to channel petrol or electric power in the appropriate directions.

A new 105kW/165Nm 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder petrol engine described by Honda as "one of the world’s most thermally efficient powerplants" is part of the hybrid system too.

Its obvious competitor is Toyota’s Australian-built Camry hybrid – ostensibly lower in the pecking order to the premium-nudging Honda, but actually almost a duplicate in terms of size, general packaging and overall refinement.

In fact the Camry, which uses the same, well-proven hybrid system perfected over the years across the Toyota/Lexus range, looks the more technologically refined of the two.

The system is remarkably clever, creating a CVT transmission out of a planetary gear set, then using that to interconnect the petrol engine with two electric motors – a motor/generator that smoothly fires up the (also Atkinson cycle) 118kW/213Nm 2.5-litre petrol engine and a larger electric drive motor. Between them, the three power sources charge the battery and apportion drive via either electricity or petrol power, or a mixture both, to provide a seamless, smooth hybrid function. Total power output is quoted at 151kW, or 5kW more than the Honda.

A significant difference between the systems is that where the Honda uses a lithium-ion battery pack, the Camry employs the older nickel metal hydride system.

(Price) tag team
Another difference is the price tags. Where the Honda is a one-grade-only proposition – the $58,990 Accord Sport Hybrid – the petrol-electric Camry offers three spec levels. Even in its most expensive form the Atara SL (from $40,440) is still cheaper than the similarly-specified Honda, while the base model on test is a whopping $28,550 at $30,490 (plus on-road costs).

This raises a number of questions, including whether or not the Honda is intrinsically a better car, or whether its standard gear makes up at least some of the pricing deficit.

The latter is a question easily answered by a bit of number crunching: The former is what we intend looking at here; although it is hard to avoid a quick look at the relative levels of passenger cosseting involved.

Inner sanctums
The Honda is clearly the more luxurious car on test and that wouldn’t change significantly even if compared with the top-level Camry. This applies not just to the amount of equipment crammed into the specs, but also the Accord’s overall ambience. From its 18-inch alloy wheels to its pleasingly ergonomic and high-tech interior, the Honda feels a generation newer than even this most recent iteration of the Camry.

It’s almost as if the Honda is a premium sedan that also happens to be a hybrid.

From the standard touchscreen sat-nav, adaptive LED headlights, sunroof and a list of safety tech that runs to adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitor, auto high-beam control, multi-angle reversing camera and seven airbags, the Accord Sport Hybrid isn’t short of equipment.

The Camry Altise Hybrid isn’t so well favoured. It feels a little Spartan in contrast, but does come with climate-control, keyless entry and ignition, a reversing camera, seven airbags, auto headlights, cruise control and 16-inch alloy wheels. But you'll have to adjust to manually-adjustable cloth upholstery and remember that sat-nav is optional.

Basic presentation also favours the Honda. Everything from the instrument display to the functionality of the controls is less fussy, more clearly presented, more contemporary. An rotary-style button in the centre console activates various functions linked to the lower-level LCD screen on the dash proper, directly beneath the main display, contributing to an altogether cleaner, more ergonomic presentation than the fussier Toyota.

Space travel
In terms of stretching room provided for passengers, there’s really nothing in it – which is no surprise given the almost-identical overall dimensions. The wheelbases are exactly the same, there is only 20mm difference – favouring the Accord – in overall length and the Camry is narrower a by mere 15mm.

Both are big and roomy, and both have reasonable boots (the Honda has 421 litres against the Toyota’s 415 litres). Although it's also worth noting that the hybrid models' battery packs mean there is no true fold-flat rear seats.

The Camry gets a full-size spare wheel, where the Accord makes do with a repair kit.

Banking on volts
Despite the fundamental differences in drivetrains, and the way they achieve CVT status, both cars function in a similar manner from the driver’s perspective.

We found, when monitoring the driveline paths via the instrument panel graphics driving in city traffic, that both would switch between electric and petrol power at virtually identical times.

We made heavy use of the enhanced battery charge function, but found both battery packs were quickly depleted in start-stop traffic.

And the Accord, despite its more refined engine, was invariably more audible than the bigger and lazier Camry. That said both drivelines were generally quiet.

One of the almost disturbingly similar aspects was the unobtrusive hybrid operation. Apart from using the battery-boost function in traffic we generally drove both cars in standard mode, happy to allow the intelligence of the two systems sort things out efficiently.

Typically of a petrol-electric combination, both hybrids offered a smooth, battery-enhanced power surge on acceleration and, as a result, generally avoided the hysterical fuss of some CVT transmissions.

Acceleration times were virtually lineball, with the lighter and slightly more powerful Camry (1570kg v 1642kg) demonstrating a slight advantage. The 0-100km/h dash was leisurely in both cases (8.7sec for the Toyota v 9.0sec for the Honda), although the figures weren’t really indicative of how responsive both cars felt on the road…

We expected pretty economical operation in city/suburb running, and weren’t disappointed. The Camry’s average of 6.3L/100km was only slightly behind the Accord’s 6.1 over a full day’s testing.

On service
Both Camry and Accord hybrids come with a three-year/100,000km warranty as well as capped-price servicing. The Honda stipulates 12-month/10,000km service intervals against the Toyota’s nine-month/15,000km schedule, while offering five years or 100,000km of capped-price servicing against the Toyota’s four-year/75,000km deal.

Both models' battery packs feature an eight year warranty.

The verdict
In some ways we were surprised by how similar both vehicles felt – especially given the price difference.

Most drivers would fail to pick any real differences in drivetrain operation, and they certainly wouldn’t be likely to find anything measurable at the fuel pump – or against the stopwatch. They will, however, be certain to notice the Honda's tauter ride and significantly higher equipment levels.

But would they pay for the difference? Considering the top-shelf Camry comes close on kit, and is still cheaper than the Honda, we'd wager the answer is a big fat no.

If the cars were a lot closer on price, the slightly more refined Honda would probably get the nod. But as it stands we think anyone chasing a reasonably-priced family-size hybrid sedan has no choice but to buy the Toyota. After all, $28,550 buys a heck of a lot of petrol.

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