Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Car and Driver "Masters of the Middle" comparo sizes up Passat, Fusion, Altima and Accord

Last year, the Volkswagen Passat 2.5 SE won a Car and Driver comparison test of mid-size sedans, beating the Honda Accord V6 and Hyundai Sonata 2.0T. A couple of months later, the same Passat model won a mid-size comparo from Motor Trend against the Hyundai Sonata GLS and Toyota Camry LE. Earlier this year, the VW won an even larger C/D comparison test, beating the Chevrolet Malibu Eco, Accord EX-L, Sonata SE, Kia Optima EX and Camry SE.

That's a convincing string of victories, but they're all against the old hotness. So C/D put the Passat 2.5 SE against the freshest mid-sized competitors, the all-new-for-2013 versions of the Ford Fusion SE EcoBoost, Honda Accord EX and Nissan Altima 2.5 SV, and, well, you'll have to see if the German's enormous back seat and good chassis were enough to keep it on top.


http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/12/c...ro-sizes-up-p/

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

new honda accord is the best thing to come out of honda for a loooong time.

spwolf

Ford cant catch a break... so far they didnt win any comparo with Fusion.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Doesn't matter much to me. I'd still take the Fusion. Just did C&D's Editor for a day in SF and drove all these cars

LexFather

Altima for me....

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

Congrats to Honda on the win - I did not expect any different since this is C&D.

A personal thought on Honda: We are seeing the company try to turn themselves around and the RDX and Accord seem like their two best products so far. The RLX is better looking than I thought it would be, but the notes from that focus group in the RLX thread are concerning. The "new" Civic is uninspiring to me.

We have seen Ford, Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia turn up the heat on branding, styling and design with many of their new vehicles being bolder and more unmistakable than before. On the contrary, Honda is looking very, very bland to me. The Accord is following all of the same traditional Japanese shapes that have been used for 15+ years.

Will we ever see Honda develop some type of unique design language, or will their identity be the relative lack thereof?

LexFather

I never had an issue with the last Accord outside of styling. In my review I think I still called it best in class and its easy to understand why it does so well. I inspected the new one at SEMA and while the styling is a bland/derivative it is an obvious evolution for its intended market. The interior and features are well done and you sit in an Accord and I still can't figure out what Acura is for. People have to tune out the fanbois and people that jump on a bandwagon to beat things up or praise things. The Accord never was a car that deserved some of the beating up it got. The Civic, yes, the Accord no.

Honda never really misstepped with the Accord to me. The thing is the competition has caught up and offers viable alternatives where in the past it was Accord/Camry way above any other choices.

I agree with styling. The Optima, Fusion, Altima, Sonata offer some damn nifty styling for its price and they come across as more expensive than they are. In comparison the Malibu, Accord, Camry are going for the traditional buyer which means a total snoozefest and safe. Its clear buyers prioritize differently. Ironically Honda has shown they can do it as I find the past generation Accord Coupe a very handsome looking vehicle, the new one is messier to me.

For 20-25 grand new, one has never had it better.

mmarshall

I haven't driven all of these cars, so I can't comment on them in detail. But from my other recent experiences, I'm still not convinced, even with efficiency gains, that dumping the V6s and substituting N/A and turbo fours was the way to go. In general, thay can't equal a six's refinement, though the new Accord's four (per the comparo) seems pretty smooth and well-done.

Of course, the real problem behind the engine-switches is the latest Federal mileage-dictates for American-market cars (which, IMO, should not have been done)...but that, of course, is an argument for another forum, not here.

adamls2

Wow, it's amazing to see how far along this segment has come....I feel old, hahaha! All are really great cars for sure!!