Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Found Car and Driver comparison test over at Blue Oval News, read forums and follow link to review

Now there were a number of surprises for me in this article. But the Honda Accord coming out on top wasn't one of them. It seems from this article that the "Benchmark" Accord and Camry can now be called the "Bookend" cars. While the Accord came in on top, the Camry came out on bottom of the 4 car comparision. The 4 cars in contention are the #1 Honda Accord, #2 Ford Fusion, #3 Hyundai Sonata and the #4 Toyota Camry.

That the Fusion could upset the Camry and take the 2nd place in this comparo speaks volumes about the work Ford put into this model. Reviews keep coming and without exception they've been good. One surprise was even though the Fusion came in 2nd place, C&D mentioned wide body gaps and exterior panels fit. They praised performance, econoomy, ergonomics and value. The interior was even given some measure of praise. Another major upset was the Hyundai's 3rd place finish. The company that everyone laughed at has come out ahead of Toyota here. Despite complaints about the interior the Sonata was praised for power, handling and value. This one bears watching, and Ford should reevaluate the situation with air bags, traction control and ABS being additional cost options, in light of their standard availability on the Sonata.
The current Camry was the whipping boy in the comparo, even though it was a close call, it did get passed by two upstarts. The recurring theme when you read about new Toyotas, the Camry especially is their lack of "emotion." Toyotas do little to inspire, but the Camry is the biggest seller, so "emotion" may not be enough.

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