Comparison Test: 2015 Honda Accord V6 vs. Hyundai Sonata
Story by John LeBlanc
With the democratization of automotive luxury, new car buyers don’t have to pay luxury prices to get a similar driving experience. Case in point is this pair of topline, mainstream sedans that think they wear luxury badges.
While both the 2015 Honda Accord V6 and 2015 Hyundai Sonata Ultimate 2.0T cost thousands more than their respective base models, these fully optioned models represent the zenith in their respective lineups.
The question we asked was: which one of these front-wheel-drive, five-passenger, mid-size sedans delivers the best luxury sedan experience for mainstream money?
SECOND PLACE: 2015 Honda Accord Sedan Touring V6
Firmly embedded as a middle-class status symbol for decades, it’s hard to think of the Honda Accord Sedan as a luxury sedan. But with its topline Touring V6 model, Honda is trying to entice buyers who want the luxury but not the luxury price tag.
Redesigned back in 2013, the current-generation Accord has been lauded for its tighter dimensions and more driving fun. For 2015, you can get a four-cylinder gas-engine $25,819 (all prices include freight and pre-delivery inspection fees) Accord LX and a more miserly $31,759 gas-electric Accord Hybrid. But for buyers looking for the most powerful and luxurious Honda sedan, there’s the $37,499 Accord Touring V6. And while the Accord’s conservative styling may not catch your eye as much as the more premium (almost Genesis-like) Hyundai, the Honda sedan is much more fun to drive.
Did you notice the V6 in the Accord’s title? That’s Honda’s ubiquitous 3.5-litre unit, found in most of the Japanese automaker’s large Honda and Acura vehicles. In the Accord, it makes 278 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque.
Now, the Honda V6’s ratings don’t look overwhelming against the Hyundai’s 245-hp/260 lb.-ft. numbers. However, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission (that includes a sport mode that holds gears longer and delivers responsive downshifts), the Accord can scoot from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in just 5.8 seconds. Not only is that almost 2.5 seconds quicker than the Sonata, but also the Accord is half-a-second faster than a comparably equipped $50,000-plus BMW 328i Sedan.
Aided by Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management (it shuts down three cylinders when appropriate), the faster Honda’s fuel economy estimates are similar to the slower Hyundai. In the city, the Accord is rated at 11 litres per 100 km; on the highway, 6.8 (the Sonata’s numbers are 10.4 and 7.4, respectively).
As well, the Accord Touring V6’s steering and suspension make a great team. The Honda sedan is more agile and crisper in turns, without being too soft. A driving position that seems to have been designed towards great outward visibility helps, too.
If sheer fun behind the wheel is your priority, get the 2015 Honda Accord Touring V6. Its performance and dynamic driving demeanour make it a quasi-sports sedan. But if you want to be pampered, we feel there’s another faux luxury sedan you should buy.
FIRST PLACE: 2015 Hyundai Sonata Ultimate 2.0T
Unlike Honda, which already has its upscale Acura luxury brand, Hyundai was not afraid to make its mainstream Sonata as luxurious as possible. Because when we look at what a typical luxury sedan buyer wants — room, comfort, features and ease-of-use — the 2015 Sonata Ultimate 2.0T is the better pick.
Mimicking the Accord’s three-engine lineup, you can get a 2015 Sonata with a four-cylinder gas-engine ($25,694) as well as a gas-electric hybrid powertrain ($30,194). But eschewing the more traditional six-cylinder upgrade, the $36,494 Sonata Ultimate’s premium engine is a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder gas-engine, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
Seemingly, the new-this-year, second-generation Sonata’s styling has been penned with the luxury sedan buyer in mind. Looking more like the larger and rear- or all-wheel-drive Hyundai Genesis four-door, the first-gen Sonata’s “coupe-like” silhouette has been kept along with a distinctive chrome strip that connects the headlights all the way through the beltline.
Beyond flashy styling, luxury sedan buyers want to be coddled. And the top rung Sonata excels as your servant.
For starters, the Sonata Ultimate 2.0T gets a single eight-inch touchscreen, with high-resolution graphics and an intuitive hierarchy system that is much easier to fiddle with than the Accord’s twin-display design. And while both the Honda and Hyundai sedans have luxury and safety features like adaptive cruise control with forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems, the Sonata Ultimate 2.0T one-ups the Accord Touring V6 by adding such niceties as front cooled seats, rear heated seats and a rear sunshade.
Wider and longer with a slight stretch in its wheelbase, the new Sonata is also slightly bigger than the 2014 version. The overall gains in interior volume bump the Hyundai sedan from “mid-sized” to “large” car status, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And when compared to the Accord, the Sonata offers more front hip and legroom, and more trunk space.
Although keen drivers will prefer the Honda’s s quicker acceleration, firmer chassis and livelier steering, those who like to be cosseted will prefer the comfier Hyundai.
Hyundai has gone out of its way to reduce overall noise, vibration, and harshness. And if not as quiet as a Lexus ES, the Sonata Ultimate 2.0T is right up there with the European-designed Ford Fusion in regards to offering a quiet cabin and driving refinement.
Quieter, roomier and with more luxury car features than the Honda, the 2015 Hyundai Sonata Ultimate 2.0T delivers the better luxury sedan experience for mainstream money.