Usual Suspects: Honda Accord Hybrid vs Hyundai Sonata Hybrid vs Toyota Camry Hybrid. Review & Race

Okay, check this out. We've got three popular sedans. I know you guys love these three. We've got first the Honda Accord hybrid and then we've got the Hyundai Sonata also hybrid and of course the new generation Toyota Camry which is also hybrid. Today we're going to compare these three from cargo space to comfort, fuel efficiency, drag race and we're introducing a new test since the snow is gone. Let's roll! Okay, let's talk about how these three look on the outside. We've got first the Accord. Very plain. Honda played it safely. They didn't go too wild. In fact, it looks more like a sportback than a sedan but it does the job. And then we have the Camry over here which is suffering a bit from an identity crisis. Doesn't know whether it's a Prius or a Camry. The front end looks always angry at you. I don't know why. Just the design overall. And then we've got the Sonata which the three of us agree this is the better looking out of the three sedans. Hyundai really designed this thing to look premium and luxurious. It looks a bit like an electric shaver but it's because of the headlights at the front, the daylight running light, the massive bar that goes all the way across. But it really stands out between the three sedans in my opinion. This is the better looking car. The Honda may be boring on the outside but this bad boy offers the most cargo space out of the three. The way this thing is designed, the back side and also the battery position and because it is front wheel drive, it gives you quite a lot of trunk space. In fact, I can probably, let's see, here we go. I can fit it in perfectly. Maybe one more person. Look at that. I'm kind of claustrophobic so I'm gonna try and come out. Man, that's a giant trunk there. That's huge. It also offers the most space on the inside especially to the second row compared to the other two. The Honda Sonata is slightly better in the front but in the second row I think the Honda on paper as well gives you the most space. This thing is so comfortable. Another thing I appreciate about the second row is that it actually feels like you're sitting at home on your couch. That's how the rear seats are designed. They stretch all the way which I kind of appreciate that like the side over here. There's a lot of leg room in here, even headroom. I'm 6'3". In terms of tech features, we've got heated seats in the back, two USB-C ports. You get the same thing in the other vehicles, nothing premium. This one has an actual sunroof but I believe the Sonata is the one that gives you a panoramic roof compared to the other two. Overall, the most comfortable space is in here, in the Accord. Okay, jumping into the front, let's talk about what these three offer and which one has the best interior. In terms of premium luxury feel, you get into the Hyundai and you realize that this thing looks better than the other two. Having said that, I do like the new design of the Camry and I think the Hyundai Accords does need an update. It's been a while and it feels slightly outdated in my opinion. Although, it does offer a massive screen compared to the Civic, for example. It's got built-in Google Maps, it's got cameras on the outside which are very helpful but when you jump into the Hyundai Sonata, you realize the interior just feels slightly better. We've got a massive curb display behind the steering wheel, it's got the pedal shifters because it's the only one that's got a real transmission, if you want to call it that way. It's got a nice leather interior, also a massive panoramic roof which is very handy and this is not even the fully loaded which gives you even more options. So when it comes to tech, on the inside, the Hyundai is the best out of the three. In fact, you can also get, in fact, you can get a park-in and park-out option on your key fob in the Sonata which is something that none of the other two offer. And this one, it's got premium audio system. Now, one thing I appreciate about the Hyundai Accord is the fact that it has a proper shift knob which I'm personally a big fan. Same thing with the Camry. In the Hyundai, you get this thing on the steering column which some people may not like but I've gotten used to it because the rest of the vehicles in the Hyundai lineup offer essentially the same design. But my take is that overall tech features design, Hyundai number one, we've got the Camry in number two and of course the Accords in number three which I do believe it's time to get a new facelift on that car. Let's talk about the engine specs. We'll start first with the Camry. Now, the good news, it's all-wheel drive. The bad news is that it weighs a lot more than the other guys but this 2.5 liter new generation hybrid from Toyota makes 232 brake horsepower which compensates for the fact that it's heavier than the other sedans and he uses a CVT. Now, we did do our usual test for fuel efficiency. To drive to here, it's about 120 kilometers from Toronto and this thing achieved about 7.1 liters per 100 kilometers. Just normal driving, one person inside the car. In fact, we're all close to each other and only one individual driving the car. Next, it's the Sonata. The Sonata uses a 2 liter 4-cylinder engine. It's got one electric motor. It makes about 192 brake horsepower and it is front-wheel drive but this one is the lightest out of the three and it uses a six-speed automatic transmission like the other two which use CVT. This thing achieved 5.3 liters per 100 kilometers on the way here. Pretty fuel efficient and very light. Next is the Accord. The Accord Touring Hybrid uses a 2 liter 4-cylinder engine. This one makes about 204 brake horsepower and is heavier than the Sonata but lighter than the Camry and it uses two electric motors so you get instant torque but the drivetrain, the transmission, it's an e-CVT which means it's slightly better than the standard CVT because it's two electric motors. In fact, the engine in this case only works as a generator. Most of the power is coming through the hybrid system. Now, what's the purpose of doing this? Well, this is the only way for a journalist or YouTuber to explain to you which one drives faster. That simple. We're not trying to compete for times here. It's just like you want to know on a highway which car can actually overtake. Simply put, I know some people say this is crazy. There's no need for drag race. This is the only way for me to show you when I talk about speed. What does that actually mean? Well, this is the only way and then of course we're going to do our second test. We're going to do slalom style today but in dry weather sort of to see which one handles better and cornering and talk about the differences. So, I am ready. We've got sport mode, sport plot, sport mode for everyone, traction off completely, into drive. I'm good to go. Let me talk to my boys. You guys ready into drive? Yeah, ready to go. Oh, instant torque Honda. Okay. Yeah, the Camry but I'm catching you. I'm catching you, Camry. Come on. Yeah, all-wheel drive. The Honda is all the way to the back. Yeah, the Camry. Whoa, that Camry just gone. All-wheel drive. All-wheel drive. Makes some sense. Okay, so Camry first, Accord second and Sonata third. That was interesting. That all-wheel drive in the Camry does help. Are you trying to do donuts with that thing? No, I was just turning around. It looked like you're trying to do donuts or something. I don't know. I guess the all-wheel drive on the Camry helps. Chard, that Sonata felt slow, eh? Well, the entire time. Well, I think that was a pretty good start for the three of us. We don't have to redo it but thank you guys. Let's move those cones in the middle so we can do the next test. Okay, so we're doing the slalom style but this time we do it in dry, not snow and the idea behind this is to figure out which vehicle handles better and how much faster can it do. So essentially, we're going through those cones then we have to do a quick turnaround, see which one has the better steering as well and which one gets here faster. What's the point of this? Figure out how these cars handle. How do they compare? This for me is the best way to kind of explain how they drive and we're going to start first with the Accord. Kind of like my favorite a little bit out of the three but we'll get to that in a minute. First up, got into drive. We're going to keep the traction on and sport mode and I'm going to have Chard count and do the timing. Chard, I'm good to go. Okay, instant torque. Let's go. E-CVT, come on Accord. So the Accord is supposed to be the better handling car and it's known by most drivers and then we do a u-turn. Come on, really good turning radius. Foot down. Oh, this car, it doesn't even feel like a front-wheel drive. The Accord Touring is a completely different animal in the slalom. Even though it's front-wheel drive, the steering rack is the sharpest in the class. It uses a dual motor setup that dumps 247 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels instantly so it pulls out of the corners hard. The secret weapon here is Honda's Agile Handling Assist. It lightly breaks the inside wheel when you turn, physically tucking the nose into the cone. The chassis stays composed, the steering is very responsive and it generally shrinks around you. And I'm good to go, buddy. Barely moved. Come on. Okay, here we go. This thing just bounces. Come on, let's do a quick... Come on Hyundai, come on Hyundai. Two months, kitty. There we go, come on. No, I don't think so. Taking the Sonata Hybrid through the cones, the first thing you notice is the drivetrain. It's running a traditional six-speed automatic which feels great off the line because you get actual gear shifts instead of a CVT drone. But when you're doing rapid transitions in the slalom, the front-wheel drive setup shows its softer side. The suspension is tuned heavily for comfort so you're going to get the most body roll here. The steering is predictable but the nose feels a bit heavier and it tends to push and understeer if you enter cone too hot. It's a smooth cruiser but it definitely asks you to slow down in corners. Char, I'm good to go, buddy. Barely moved there. Come on, all-wheel drive Camry. We can do it. Oh, this thing feels so much heavier. It is so noticeably heavier and you go around these corners. Come on, there we go. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Turning radius not so good. Heavy steering. Sport suspension tuned. Of course, you notice that less body roll but it feels very heavy. The Camry, this one with all-wheel drive system is where the mechanical grip takes over. It's running the sport-tuned suspension with stiffer springs and sway bars so it is incredibly flat through the transitions. But the real game-changer in here is the drivetrain. It has a third electric motor on the rear axle giving electronic on-demand all-wheel drive. But having said that, the vehicle feels quite heavy compared to the other two and you notice that right at the start. While the front tires on the Accord and Sonata are fighting to steer and pull at the same time, the Camry's rear motor actually pushes you out of the apex. The steering is a bit heavier but the all-wheel drive system absolutely neutralizes the understeer. It just hooks up and corners flat. Okay, bring it to me, buddy. Number, okay, let's start with third place. The Camry? Okay, 28 seconds, so 2805. This is third place. Okay, second place. Okay, 2690 and then 2657. First place Accords, second place Sonata, third place Camry. This thing, when you jump inside, you feel how much heavier it is. Yeah, like you notice that when you go, like you can go, you guys can go and take that one by one if you want to go and do a spin like that. But this feels so much heavier. So, which one would you buy? Well, let's talk about the money. This is the cheapest. If you want a hybrid, this one is the cheapest and simply put because Hyundai has narrowed it down to one trim for the hybrid. But if you want to get the N-line, for example, which is the highest trim, then you're getting closer to these guys. But you don't get a hybrid with the top trim. These two offer hybrids with the top trim. The Accord is slightly the more expensive out of the three with that touring package. This one is in second place and this one over here is the least expensive. In fact, it's about $10,000 less than the other two. But then, if you go to the highest trim, they're very close. That is, of course, depending on what you're adding in terms of the packages. But in terms of driving space, here's what you need to know. If you want comfort space, planted vehicle, you can enjoy on the highway and you don't mind the interior, go with the Accords. Fuel efficiency was really good. If you need all-wheel drive, you must have all-wheel drive system, you go for the Camry. In this SE package, you get tuned suspension system, more sporty drive, plus hybrids and all-wheel drive. Something to keep in mind. But if you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can go with the Sonata, which also happens to look the best out of the three in my opinion. You won't go wrong with either or. My preference for myself, I would take the Accords over the other two any day.