Toyota Camry vs. Honda Accord vs. Hyundai Sonata: Midsize Hybrid Sedans Comparison Test

The Toyota Camry. Easy to find, but difficult to remember. Or at least, it used to be. And that's because the Camry is all new, and it is way better than it was before. And that means that our list of favorite hybrid sedans is completely shaken up. The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid used to be our favorite, but no longer the case. And this battle between Honda Accord and Toyota Camry has never been closer. But the Camry is the new king, and you are going to want to know why. Look at this giant piece of glass. Maybe it's not glass, but regardless, every Sonata now gets this beautiful-looking side-by-side display. And that's just one of the many reasons why we loved this car so much. The technology, the value. You feel like you were getting a lot for the money. And that helped put the Sonata over its competitors. But the problem is, those competitors have now caught up and left the Sonata behind. This Sonata is borderline unpleasant to take around a turn. This thing rolls harder than a teenager at Coachella. Now, I know you're not looking for a sports car. This is a hybrid sedan. But the Sonata drives so much worse than the other two, it's almost shocking. It's slow and kind of clumsy to respond when you want it to. And even though it has really squishy, almost floaty suspension, and don't forget these 17-inch wheels with all that sidewall on the tire, it's not any more comfortable. Do you hear that? It's noisy in here. There's noise from the engine, from the road. We actually had to turn down the microphone just so you didn't go deaf watching this. But still, the Sonata retains a lot of what we liked about it last year, and it made some really notable improvements. The new double-screen layout is fantastic. It's really easy to work with, and it's quick. And above all else, they finally gave it wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Yay, Hyundai! Welcome to the 2020s. It's so nice to have you. The Sonata is also the most efficient car here. It did over 51 mpg combined in our ratings loop. That's super impressive. And here's just a personal thing. I like the way it looks a lot better now. It doesn't look like a fish anymore. It's not that the Sonata got any worse. It's actually that the Camry and the Accord got better. Much, much better. Think of the Sonata as one of those brand new construction apartment buildings that you see on every other street corner. The walls are so thin that you can hear your neighbor's really cringy pillow talk. The appliances, the amenities, they're nice, if not the most functional. And the Sonata even has that typical millennial gray flooring all over the dash. This is still a fine car that has a lot going for it. But if you hold up a magnifying glass and start looking at all the details, it's lagging. Does your Camry look like this? We can help you find one that looks more like this if you head over to Edmunds.com. Hey Google, find me the closest Taco Bell. All right, there's a Taco Bell 0. Very important feature. Not the tacos, the voice assistant. And it's not just that. It's the Bose audio system, Google Maps. All of that is only available on the Touring trim, the most expensive one in the Accord. That's where we start to get into trouble. That said, the Accord is really nice in here. The controls are dead easy to figure out. You get a real knob for the air conditioning. You get a real knob for the volume. Anybody can do this stuff. And I like the little details they have as well. Look, these make a clicking noise when you move them back and forth. That's a nice touch. And the Accord is comfortable. Big, big time comfy in here. Backseat is super nice too. It's the only car here that gives you heated seats in the rear. You also get air conditioning vents and two USB-C ports. So the Accord is the quickest car here. It did 0 to 60 in 7 seconds during our testing, despite being down about 30 horsepower to the Camry. And I gotta say, from the driver's seat, it feels the quickest too. Also, it sounds the best. It doesn't sound great, but it sounds the best. This one is also my personal favorite when it comes to handling. It's just so neutral and controlled. You could actually carry some legit speed in the corners if you want to. It makes me miss the last generation Accord when they put that turbocharged engine in there and actually cared about performance. Truthfully, this is the closest second-place finish I've ever had in a video. And the Accord is so well-rounded and likable. But Honda did make a mistake. They put all of the cool stuff exclusively in the most expensive model. And that means you're losing out on some value. No, no, no. No, don't show them the good part first. Show them the part that I hate first. Get over here. Look at this. Two exhaust ports, but only one of them is functional. This one right here works. This one over here, completely fake. They went through the trouble of welding this on only for it not to be functional. Who the hell thought that was a good idea? And it's kind of a bummer, because the rest of the Camry's new design is actually really cool. And now we can talk about the good stuff. This is the new Camry. It's now hybrid only. I mean, every single new Camry, you can only get it in a hybrid, which I think is a smart idea. And it really captures where we are in the car world right now. People want hybrids. Toyota, out of any company, is going to give you the hybrids. That also means this car is very efficient. In our test loop, it did over 45 miles to the gallon. That makes it a little bit better than the Accord, but a little bit worse than the Sonata. But here's the thing that caught me off guard. It actually looks kind of cool. I don't feel like I just took an Ambien when I'm looking at a Camry. That's something I never thought I would say. There are angles here that are actually really nice. It doesn't look as good as the new Prius, but I'll take it. Some hooligan decided to put blue seats in a blue Camry. It's actually kind of fun. I like that. I mean, don't worry. You don't have to get the avatar seats if you don't want them, but at least they give you some fun choices. The rest of what I'm looking at here is a big step up in quality. You get a big old 12.3-inch touchscreen, comes with wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, and right below it is a row of real buttons to toggle the air conditioning controls, all of that stuff. I have the biggest iPhone that you can buy, and it fits in the wireless charging pad with a case. And get this, it actually charges my phone. It doesn't just cook it. There's also this really nice space here to throw your keys and all of your other belongings. Everything is just exactly where you want it to be. The biggest compliment I can pay this car is that this is the closest that a Camry's interior has ever been to a Lexus. Except for that dash right there. I think it looks like a beard trimmer. Back seat is pretty decent too. I like that the sunroof goes all the way back, so even they get a nice look at the sky up there. No heated seats, but you do get a USB-A and a USB-C port for some of you dinosaurs who have iPhones that are five years old. I think the car just called me a short king. Aside from that passive-aggressive little warning, which happens every single time you block the sensor right here, the new Camry safety technology is phenomenal. It's one of the biggest reasons why this car is winning this test today. The latest updates to the system actually show you when a car is pulling in and out of the lane in front of you, and the car can slow down and speed up appropriately without throwing you through a window. It's just smooth and easy to figure out. Toyota has not always done this stuff well, but man, have they come a long way. The Camry is also the only car here that has optional all-wheel drive, so all my friends watching this in cold weather climates, take note. This one here is the front-wheel drive XSE model, and it makes the most power of the three. Hey, watch this. There's actually enough power now that you can beat the car next to you. Most of the time. But the real magic here is in the handoff between electric to gas mode. It is smooth as silk. Most of the time, you don't even know what's happening. I've driven this a couple hundred miles this week. It's not the world's most dynamic car, but I was very surprised with how well it does in the canyons. There's a ton of front axle grip, and I gotta say, they dialed in the steering feel perfectly. Now, most people's Camry experience will be sitting right back there in an Uber on the way to the airport, but know that if you're an enthusiast and you want to have a little bit of fun behind the wheel, the Camry has you covered. Let's talk trunks. The Accord is the biggest one here of the three, but these are all absolutely huge. Big suitcases, Costco runs, no problems here. But Sonata is the only one that can do this. So the new version of a car you've driven past a million times just won this comparison test. What a world. Now, obviously, the Accord and the Sonata, they have their strong suits, no doubt. But as we went through our rigorous, detail-oriented evaluation process, the Camry didn't get third place in any category. And that's why it won today. Now, tell me what you think. Would you buy a Camry now that it's hybrid only? Let us know in the comments. And as always, thanks for watching.