M/T: Accord 1.5T vs Camry 2.5

[kevm14]

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/honda/ac ... 5B7751E770

This is boring but a very clear trend, a consistent trend, emerges early and sticks.

[kevm14]

Both the Accord and Camry lowered the seating position from their previous generations, which makes for a racier feel but might prove a chore for older drivers when getting out of the cars.

Driving dynamics typically are far down the priority list for family sedan drivers. But no one wants a boring car, either.

I wouldn't downplay dynamics. If someone wanted a high riding AWD thing, they can buy that. I assume they'd select a sedan because they want something that drives better....or is more conventional. Or is cheaper. So maybe I can't make a dynamics argument but I think some portion of sedan buyers are choosing them for that, over crossovers.

[kevm14]

Pulling out of the parking lot, the Camry’s throttle is more responsive—a short first gear lets you jump off the line. However, maintaining the same throttle position does not maintain the same rate of acceleration unless you have the gas pedal floored—the following gears aren’t as aggressive.

Bob will have something to add to this.

[kevm14]

In other news, they both run about 15.9 @ 90 which is pretty quick for a 4 cylinder midsize sedan. Depending on whether you look at the ET or MPH, it took a V6 to do that about 20 years ago.

Also of note, the Accord is substantially lighter! 3,177 lbs bs 3,492 lbs. The Camry is about what I expected. 3,1xx is incredible. Oh and I forgot the EPA estimates.

30/38/33 mpg for the Accord
28/39/32 mpg for the Camry

Those V6 sedans 20 years ago were pretty far from this. And my Roadmaster, while quicker and faster, has a highway rating that is 2-4 mpg off these cars' city ratings, and that's a number that is mostly unachievable in the real world. Probably not a fair comparison...

The better point would be that if you have an $1875 Roadmaster that averages 18 mpg, the Accord or Camry would save you about $920 a year in gas, assuming 32.5 mpg average for those cars, 12,000 miles per year and $2.50/gal for 87. Or about $77/mo extra in gas for the Roadmaster. Of course these comparisons get hard because you have to account for total miles driven. But the point I'd make is if you have that Roadmaster, and it runs fine, you would theoretically only save $77/mo by buying a brand new Accord or Camry. The payment would be quite a bit more than that.

[kevm14]

For completeness, the hybrid versions do this:
51/53/52 mpg for the Camry hybrid
49/47/48 mpg for the Accord hybrid

Camry is 8% better combined which isn't a show stopper for the Accord when you account for all factors. That's like the difference between 25 and 27 mpg.

[Bob]

In other news, they both run about 15.9 @ 90 which is pretty quick for a 4 cylinder midsize sedan. Depending on whether you look at the ET or MPH, it took a V6 to do that about 20 years ago.

Also of note, the Accord is substantially lighter! 3,177 lbs bs 3,492 lbs. The Camry is about what I expected. 3,1xx is incredible. Oh and I forgot the EPA estimates.

30/38/33 mpg for the Accord
28/39/32 mpg for the Camry

Those V6 sedans 20 years ago were pretty far from this. And my Roadmaster, while quicker and faster, has a highway rating that is 2-4 mpg off these cars' city ratings, and that's a number that is mostly unachievable in the real world. Probably not a fair comparison...

The better point would be that if you have an $1875 Roadmaster that averages 18 mpg, the Accord or Camry would save you about $920 a year in gas, assuming 32.5 mpg average for those cars, 12,000 miles per year and $2.50/gal for 87. Or about $77/mo extra in gas for the Roadmaster. Of course these comparisons get hard because you have to account for total miles driven. But the point I'd make is if you have that Roadmaster, and it runs fine, you would theoretically only save $77/mo by buying a brand new Accord or Camry. The payment would be quite a bit more than that.

Of course for the average person, the experience of driving a brand new Camry or Accord is going to be a lot more palatable than a 22 year old Roadmaster. Thankfully, you're not an average person and you can leverage your automotive knowhow to make older cars work.

[kevm14]

I think what I meant was, if you already owned that Roadmaster (which is worth less than $2k), you should just keep driving it. Not that you should buy a 96 Roadmaster instead of a 2018 Accord.

[kevm14]

Pulling out of the parking lot, the Camry’s throttle is more responsive—a short first gear lets you jump off the line. However, maintaining the same throttle position does not maintain the same rate of acceleration unless you have the gas pedal floored—the following gears aren’t as aggressive.

Bob will have something to add to this.

Also, this is how my Caprice drives. Kind of a throwback appeal that Toyota apparently was going for. Big displacement snap is satisfying but probably can't cover up for the car's numerous deficiencies.