Thinking about buying a Honda Accord? Here are the other top choices to consider

The ever-shrinking field of midsize sedans offers a variety of personalities.

Feb 17, 2025 - 07:43

Thinking about buying a Honda Accord? Here are the other top choices to consider

The midsize sedan, once America’s car of choice, is coming closer to extinction every day. If you’re considering a 2025 Honda Accord, last redesigned for 2023, you’ll find fewer competitors than ever these days. In fact, of the 2025 Honda Accord’s seven challengers, two are being dropped in the U.S. market at the end of the model year.

This makes choosing the Honda Accord seem like a no-brainer. While the Honda Accord has remained our favorite due to its driver engagement and fun factor, there remains a variety of driving personalities among the Accord’s many competitors, some of which merit a test drive.

Toyota Camry

OK, let’s start with the big kahuna in the house: the Toyota Camry. It outsells the Accord by nearly two-to-one and remains America’s top-selling sedan.

Yet, it’s the Accord’s antithesis in temperament. It’s a willing, reliable automotive servant so reliable, you’ll be tempted to name it, “Jeeves.” Remarkably unremarkable in nearly every respect, a car without muss, fuss, bother, or any semblance of personality. For most buyers, that’s all that’s required, along with the requisite dose of safety, technology, comfort, and space. And, for the snow-phobic, the Camry offers all-wheel drive, while the Accord only comes with front-wheel drive.

The redesigned 2025 Camry is offered solely with a 2.5-liter inline-four hybrid driveline that produces 225 horsepower with front-wheel drive or 232 horsepower with all-wheel drive. Camry prices start at $29,495 with destination charges.

By contrast, the Accord starts at $29,390, but it’s powered by a 192-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that returns 32 mpg. While the Accord’s 205-horsepower hybrid variant returns 48 mpg, it costs at least $34,750 to get it and will still trail the Camry by 3 mpg. But the Accord proves more fun to drive, even though both models use CVT transmissions.

As for tech, the Camry gets a standard 8-inch infotainment screen, along with a 12.3-inch unit on upper trims. The Accord offers a 7-inch unit as standard and a 12.3-inch unit on posher models.

The Accord’s 17 cubic-foot trunk also outsizes the Camry’s 15 cubic-foot trunk.

Hyundai Sonata

Mixing cutting-edge style with traditional values, the Sonata provides a comfy ride wrapped in a modern design, with standard driver assistance safety systems and up-to-the-moment tech offered at a price that won’t drain you dry. Its long list of standard goodies will make you giddy, and it even offers more than one powertrain, like midsize sedans of yore.

Standard is a 191-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine or a turbocharged variant producing 290 horsepower in the high-performance N-Line trim, which is a rarity among mainstream midsize sedans. There's also a hybrid, rated at 192 horsepower. While it returns an impressive 47 mpg, its $32,150 starting price is undercut by the Camry. Front-wheel driver is standard while all-wheel drive is available with the 191-horsepower 2.5-liter engine.

Inside, it comes with two 12.3-inch screens, along with standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Its sizable 16 cubic-foot trunk is also competitive with the others in the segment.

Kia K5

Mechanically, the Kia K5 and Hyundai Sonata are twins, with the GT standing in for the Sonata’s N-Line. Knowing that, we understand if you choose the K5 over the Sonata for its design but it’s not as sporty to drive as its looks suggest. The Sonata’s more relaxed demeanor may give it the edge for some buyers, while others will go for the K5's hip postmodern vibe. Still, we would try both of these Korean entries before choosing one over the other.

Subaru Legacy

There’s a solid, upright sensibility to the Subaru Legacy that lends it a quiet strength. Perhaps it’s too quiet, as it’s being discontinued after 2025. The Legacy eschews the flashy styling gimmicks of the Outback, which lives on and is powered by the same powertrains.

If you don’t mind life in the slow lane, you won’t mind its 2.5-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine with 182 horsepower. For those who do mind, there’s a far more responsive 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four with 260 horsepower. Fuel economy is OK at 30 mpg with the 2.5-liter and 26 mpg with the 2.4-liter. Blame the standard all-wheel drive for these numbers.

Relaxed and rationally sized, the Legacy is comforting, not confrontational. So it’s hardly surprising that it has a comprehensive suite of driver assistance technology with an infotainment system comprised of two quaint 7-inch screens.

The Legacy is not flashy, but it's functional. And its $26,040 starting price is as unapologetically sensible as its design.

Nissan Altima

Nissan Altimas traditionally sell at bargain pricing. Yet to castigate it strictly as today’s flash sale item is to sell it short. With a price starting at $28,140, it nearly outsold the Malibu last year. Like the Malibu, the Altima is a true value story and is among the slower sedans here, thanks to its 188-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder, a rating that drops to 182 ponies if you opt for all-wheel drive.

So speed is not its thing, but its quick steering, solid braking, and fairly athletic dynamics make up for its lack of forward momentum.

Its capacious cabin features a standard 8-inch touchscreen or an optional 12.3-inch unit set in a cabin that’s nicely trimmed for the price. Its 15 cubic-foot trunk is among the smallest here, but it’s still large enough to be competitive.

Chevrolet Malibu

Now in its final year of production, the 2025 Chevrolet Malibu has been cost-accounted to death by GM’s notorious bean counters. Unlike some others here, there’s no hybrid powertrain, merely a 163-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and CVT transmission driving the front wheels. It proves to be somewhat underpowered but fairly responsive.

Its EPA fuel economy matches that of the Accord’s petrol models at 32 mpg, and its cabin feels expansive for the class. Its 16 cu. ft. trunk is nearly as big as the Accord’s,, and despite its 8-inch touchscreen, it boasts an adequately up-to-date tech package.

Sure, its design feels old, and the interior trim is merely serviceable. It just feels as if it’s been stripped of every scintilla of glamor. Need proof? Driver assistance features cost extra.

Still, with prices starting at $26,995 before discounts, it’s hard to argue with its value. That’s why it outsold every midsize sedan in 2024 except for the Camry and Accord. And yet, GM has no plans to replace or update it. How dumb is that?

Final thoughts

The 2025 Honda Accord and Toyota Camry remain the ones to beat in the midsize class, if only for different reasons. The Kia and Nissan come closer to the Honda in terms of handling, while the Hyundai’s personality is more in line with the Camry and Legacy. The Chevrolet is the cheapest but also the least accomplished, with little more than a low price to recommend what is otherwise an aged package.

We can't, in good faith, settle on recommending just one of these models. They all serve their purpose. If anything, this list should serve as an example that there are still good midsize sedan choices in a sea of SUVs that need steps to climb in.

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