Dec 21, 2004 03:39 PM
16070 Views
(Updated Dec 28, 2004 11:11 AM)
You can't write on Camry without writing Accord in it & vice versa. Both the cars have been Arch-rivals from 2 decades in the largest automobile market i.e. North America. With sales exceeding 400,000 every year, these two just dominate the midsize segment. Recently Nissan Altima/Maxima pair & VW Passat have tried to make inroads with some success. But overall there is hardly any competition to these two.
From years many families have bought these cars repeatedly & wouldn't even test drive other vehicles. They just trade-in whenever new generation/redesign of these cars appear. There is not much cross-shopping Accord/Camry as one would like to imagine. Maybe except the first time buyers/new buyers in the midsize segment
[PART 1] COMPARISON
What is the Formula
The formula for both the cars is simple: Offer decent interior room for 4 & their stuff, Good quality Materials throughout the interiors, offer a 4 Cyl engines with 'enough' power, offer a V6 engine for the people who need more power, offer plethora of options & trims that would satisfy different buyers needs & of course budgets. Assure the best build quality possible for the price, insure long term reliability, plan the product in such a way that they loose minimum value over the 3-5 years providing buyers excellent resale values. Offer all around good visibility, decent heating/cooling systems & Offer best in class fuel economy & clean engine for environmentalists!
So one might ask: Whats the difference between these two cars if they are so similar? Well here is some food for thought:
Toyota Approach
These cars differ in the 'execution' & 'the way' they achieve above mentioned qualities. Camry takes a straightforward approach with a simplistic hardware in the suspension & chassis that is very softly sprung, offers a smooooth ride which people (sometimes wrongly) associate with a Luxury brand. Reduce all sorts of noises at the source (engine, tires, wind noise) & also put in extra-ordinary sound insulation to quell the noise still making to the cabin. The engines are tuned to produce most of the power in the lower rpms for better drivability. As you can see, performance & handling takes the back seat in this approach Toyota takes. Comfort & Simplicity is foremost. The steering also displays the same softness (numbness) that requires minimal effort but doesn't provide any feedback of what car is doing where the rubber meets the road.
Honda Approach
Now with Accord things become more complex & more technologically driven. Accord takes a little bit more sporty approach that provides more precision in the departments of Speed sensitive Power Steering (with good bit of Feedback), Handling, better sense of high speed stability. The suspension calibration is a balance between the sporty & comfortable ride. It settles faster once gone over a bump (unlike Camry which settles after 2/3 oscillations due to softer settings). The steering feels a little harder than Camry due to this tuning & also ride seems a little less smoother compared to Camry of course. In short, Honda goes a little ahead & takes more pain to give you a precision machine. This approach is harder than Toyota's & does offer a more keen buyer a few things they can brag about.
A Little more Perspective
Note that these are subtle differences, Camry is not as soft as big SUVs or Accord is not a sporty as say BMW 3-Series. You can't compare apple to oranges! The driving preferences also reflect in the average age for these cars, Camry with 50+ & Accord with mid 40s. Increasing age of Toyota buyers has made them spawn a new division (Scion) target: Young Buyers.
Rental Sales--Resale Factor
Camry is sold around 8-10% to rental companies (Hertz, Avis etc) at Corporate level with discounts. Honda never makes deals at corporate level & allows local dealers to deal with the local branches of the rental companies. Dealers then control the pricing & might/might not sell to them. Resulting in around 2% sell to rental companies. Accord has outsold Camry most of the last 10-15 years when it comes to direct consumer/private sells. Camry outscored Accord in several years if you count the rental sales. The flip side to rental sales is reduced resale value of Camry compared to Accord. The positive of rental sales is it is also an advertisement of the product & consumers can have longer test rides. (I have rented Camry at least 20 times during my stay in USA. Nice ride on long drives!)
[PART 2]: CAMRY INFORMATION
Now lets get back to Camry so as to what it offers:
Body-Styles 4 door Sedan & 2 Door Coupe; Sedan looks BIG, Mainstream-Conservative styling; Coupe looks more attractive but again looks BIG!
Interior Number of Cup-holders, straightforward dash design with easy to read/operate HVAC & Audio System Controls. Everything well laid out & with in easy reach of both driver & front passenger. A little bland presentation though. The seat fabric excellent, seat could be more comfortable with a little more lower back support; otherwise excellent for long rides. Rear Room: HUGE, 2 inches more than the prev generation. Overall 9 out of 10.
Engine: Ultra-smooth 2.4 Liter I-4 with 157 HP & 3.0 Liter Engine with 192 Hp. Very smooth & Punchy powertrains. Noise levels ultra-low (Lexus-quiet). SE Trim in Coupe gets 3.0 liter with 220? Hp. Toyota also offers 5 years 60K miles on Engine/Transmission along with 3 year 36K comprehensive. Overall 8.5 out of 10.
Transmissions
5 Speed Manual in 4 Cyl; 4 Speed Automatic in 4 Cyl & V6. Again, Ultra-Smooth seamless shifts; perfectly matched to the power curve of the engine. Provide class-leading fuel efficiency. When you press the accelerator against the floor at high speeds you can see transmission down-shifting to 3rd/2nd as needed quickly. But when you hurry the car from standstill the smoother x'mission hisitates a bit. Overall 9.5 out of 10.
Suspension--Ride-Handling As described above tuned for SOFT ride. Handling is secure & predictable at the limit as it should be for a family car. Suspension: simplistic all-independent McPherson struts. Overall 7.5 out of 10.
OPTIONS List
Apart from usual suspects like Power Everything, Cruise Control, ABS options include, Sun/Moon roof, Allow Wheels, Traction Control on V6?, Stability Control on upper V6 trims, Leather Upholstery, Fuex-Wood Trim, High Output 8 Speaker Audio System, 6 Disc in Dash CD Changer etc
CONCLUSION -- The INDIA Angle
If you are in a market for a midsize car & you do not check out both Accord & Camry then you are making yourself a tremendous dis-service! :)
India: Camry was recently launched with Automatic X'mission & updated styling (clear lence front/rear lights, front fascia upgrade). Costs 2.5 lac more than 4 Cyl Accord. 6 Cyl not available as it is in Accord. Resale not as good as Accord (in India). Demand is not that great too due to price & also better perception about Honda as a older (in India) brand. Looks HUGE on Indian roads. Accord does better job (to a limit) of hiding its size in India than Camry. From any angle Camry looks like --> Adnan Sami! :) In India: Go for Accord at least for now.
