Camry vs Accord

Camry's and Accords don't really compete against each other they are different cars, people who like Camry's should look at Sonata's, LaCrosses's, Aura's, etc (quiet, roomy, soft, highway driver type vechiles) people who like Accord type cars look at Mazda's,Altima's. Passats,( noisier, harsh riding, more sporty looking/driving cars)

Camry and Accord compete against each other in build, fit, and longevity reputation.

My Mom has an '86 Camry, I had an '88 Accord.

Either one is a good choice.

Accord is scheduled for major redesign. If you go for a 2007, make sure its a bargain price.

I don't see why you'd buy either instead of a Prius. At highway speed the Prius is just as quiet inside as either, and quieter at low speed. It gets better gas mileage in most conditions, costs about the same, and has lower maintenance costs.

Prius is SLOW, SMALL, and UNSAFE.

I actually considered the Prius, but, decided against it because it is a smaller and I think it has a lot of newer (hybrid) technology that can be expensive to fix if it ever breaks. Correct me if I am wrong.

-Joe.

Never driven one, huh?

Slow? Initial torque come from the electric motor, that produces most of it's torque from 0 RPM. If your statement is made from watching Prius drivers, bear in mind they bought the car to squeeze fuel economy out of a gallon of gas, and are probably driving accordingly. A Prius will smoke a lot of cars with larger engines.

Small? Never been inside one, eh? The are cavernous inside. My Mom has severe arthritis and has trouble getting in and out of a lot of cars, but loved it when I brought a Prius home for a week. And I'm a big guy and had no troulbe getting comfortable in it.

I also used it to carry my bass amp a couple times, 2x15" cabinet. It fit with no trouble and had room for the PA and the guitar player's amp and gear, too.

Unsafe? One of the better IIHS organization's ratings for a compact car. Rated 4th overall.

Say, you talk out the top of you hat, don't you?

Toyota & Lexus prices are very low in Southern California. Many people from Northern California go down there to buy Toyotas and Lexuses. In fact some dealers will even pick you up at the airport.

Personally I like the Camry better, though the 2008 Accord looks good.

There is _one_ reason to buy a hybrid at this time. It's to be able to use the carpool lanes with single occupancy. The Prius is much more expensive than the Camry LE and CE (which are heavily discounted off MSRP), as well as being smaller, and less safe. The actual MPG difference is small. The biggest issue with the hybrids is the battery life. The manufacturers say the batteries are good for ten years, but they don't specify at what remaining charge capacity they consider the battery pack to be defective. In ten years, the battery will probably still function, but probably at less than 50% of original capacity.

I'd wait for the plug-in hybrid, which Toyota has promised. Unless you need to use the carpool lanes solo.

If your looking at the 4 door, I'd go with the Camry. If your the 2 door kind of guy, the Accord.

Not in my state

I parked next to a brand new hybrid Accord. The blue paint and styling caused me to walk around it a few times. As far as looks, I liked it a lot.

mark_

Right, sorry about that. In California, this foolishness has occurred. Actually, it is a good thing, as the more vehicles in the carpool lane, the fewer vehicles in the other lanes. It makes some people mad to see a hybrid, which gets worse freeway MPG than many non-hybrids, to be in the carpool lane. I think that they should have based the privilege on actual highway MPG.

In the past I have seriously considered both the Corolla and the Civic when car buying. IMO they were equal contenders, both in reliability & pretty close in price, too. In the end it simply came down to personal preference, re: styling. I would guess that the same would hold true for the Camry & the Accord. And if no real preference, then which dealership gives you the better price.

Cathy

It's my understanding the highway motorists in California are quite backed up and move slowly.

And you think this because...

Have you evere been in a Prius, or driven one? For starters, it is much bigger inside than one would assume; lots of space.

Cathy

Thanks to all that replied. It has been very educational. After reading your replies, I find myself leaning towards getting the Camry. Got more thinking to do...

Thanks.

-Joe.

I chose a Corolla over a Prius in '04 because it was $5K more expensive (over the course of a 5 - 6 year ownership) than a fully loaded Corolla, & because of the timing logistics - I had promised to sell my car to a buyer by "x" date, but there was a months-long backlog on Prius orders at that point in time.

However, if I'd been considering a Camry (instead of a Corolla), then I would've plumped for the Prius, since the prices would've been closer. (The dealership had agreed to rent me a Camry for $100/month until the Prius came in, if I went that route.)

I loved the Prius! Plenty if space - incl. the hatch space, nice sleek interior - with a lot of storage room in the dash & console, super-quiet when only the electric motor's running, & just *fun*. Nevermind the gas mileage & super-low emissions part of the deal.

I don't think the hybrid technology part would be a problem, re: maintenance cost. Warranty, Toyotas are very reliable, this technology's been around for a while now, etc.

Cathy