[snarky]

Another good review. HEY BS! The winner cost $9k more...

Midsize Madness 2015: Mazda6, Accord, Sonata, Camry, Legacy Comparison

 

[14v6]

Bottom line, the Accord has an aging interior, it's Imid is no good and the CVT or lack of an AT was enough to put it into second place.

 

[PeterLegend]

The interior especially the center console area looks dated.... oh well

 

[jrock645]

Bottom line, the Accord has an aging interior, it's Imid is no good and the CVT or lack of an AT was enough to put it into second place.

On what planet is an AT an upgrade over CVT? Seems like a dumb argument to me.

 

[Dilla]

I hate how they always compare the Sport or EX to the Grand Touring 6...

 

[jrock645]

I hate how they always compare the Sport or EX to the Grand Touring 6...

Yeah ghats really dumb too. Ex would be fine, but not sport. May as well be lx

 

[Markus]

And if Accord had won the comparison people on this very forum would be congratulating the reviewers on making the "correct" choice and patting themselves on the back for buying a car that won a comparison test.

 

[isaccth1]

Another bag of journalists all giddy about the Mazda 6's looks and driving dynamics.

Here's some dirt on the Mazda 6

* NO TILT adjustment available in driver's seat until you get up to Grand Touring trim which is over $30k (proof $24k Touring trim has only 6-way power seat (NO TILT))
Hey man, enjoy that no tilt driver's seat. F that.

* Once you get to $24k ish Touring trim, you are saddled with 19" WHEELS and 225/45 series tires. Yo, have fun paying for those.

They tell in article, the beltline is high, the outward view is not that great. It's like being in a cavern sitting in back seat.

Wanna talk about resale value on a Mazda 6?
Think you can limp your Mazda 6 to 200k miles without throwing major coin at it?
Wanna deal with the sort of scarce and small Mazda dealer networks?

Maybe I'll go test drive one for kicks to see if I go bananas like the journalists, but I doubt it. Sat in them and haven't been so impressed.

 

[jpad1208]

They're comparing the Accord Sport to the top trim Mazda. This whole article is a sham.

 

[isaccth1]

These guys seem to have a gripe about the Accord's iMID and how it's not 'minimalist' design like the Camry, Sonata, Legacy that combine their touch-control screen and info screen into one. OK.

But, how well do those Camry, Sonata MID screens work when the sun in blazing on them? They are not covered by the dash like Accord iMID screen is.

I don't have enough seat time in Accord to really case out audio/etc ... controls. I got the nav to work fine. Climate controls are fine.

I get put off by ergonomic 'faux pas'. i.e. Camry center armrest is awfully high up. I drive with elbows on armrest and holding wheel. High Camry armrest lands my right hand right on the 3 o'clock wide spoke which sucks to grip. That stuff is a DEAL BREAKER to me.

In comparison, Accord center armrest lower and sets my right hand at 4 o'clock right between spokes to grip the wheel, not a spoke. It's seems Honda thought about these things while others did not. Same is true in our 7th gen Accord.

 

[II Kings 9:20]

Another bag of journalists all giddy about the Mazda 6's looks and driving dynamics.

Here's some dirt on the Mazda 6

* NO TILT adjustment available in driver's seat until you get up to Grand Touring trim which is over $30k (proof $24k Touring trim has only 6-way power seat (NO TILT))
Hey man, enjoy that no tilt driver's seat. F that.

* Once you get to $24k ish Touring trim, you are saddled with 19" WHEELS and 225/45 series tires. Yo, have fun paying for those.

They tell in article, the beltline is high, the outward view is not that great. It's like being in a cavern sitting in back seat.

Wanna talk about resale value on a Mazda 6?
Think you can limp your Mazda 6 to 200k miles without throwing major coin at it?
Wanna deal with the sort of scarce and small Mazda dealer networks?

Maybe I'll go test drive one for kicks to see if I go bananas like the journalists, but I doubt it. Sat in them and haven't been so impressed.

I am with you on the tilt. So many people don't care or don't have a clue. I hate the lack of passenger tilt on my Ex-L and it's not available on any level Accord. Even the TLX doesn't get passenger tilt unless you get the V6. None of the competition has passenger tilt either. Stupid especially if you have a low seat desigh with the fixed angle that puts the seat in a poor position. Some fixed seats are way better than others. My Leaf passenger seat is fixed and is perfect.

 

[Aelayyat]

Not trying to start a which is better war or anything like that.

For what the accord is, it's not a bad car...but it ain't the best either. When you look at the features you are getting with the competition, you are paying more for the equivalent honda. I personally purchased a Honda for the mechanical reliability that they had for years.

Again, I ain't trying to cause anything like the dude who test drove the Audi a week ago & thought his i4 accord was faster & better. At the of the day it's a Honda

 

[DCGuy64]

I got to test drive the Mazda 6 last weekend for about 24 hours. I loved almost everything about the car, except the road noise on the highway was absolutely atrocious. It was like I was driving with the windows down. Major dealbreaker for me.

 

[jrock645]

Not trying to start a which is better war or anything like that.

For what the accord is, it's not a bad car...but it ain't the best either. When you look at the features you are getting with the competition, you are paying more for the equivalent honda. I personally purchased a Honda for the mechanical reliability that they had for years.

Again, I ain't trying to cause anything like the dude who test drove the Audi a week ago & thought his i4 accord was faster & better. At the of the day it's a Honda

The reliabilty is a big part of it. I laugh at people that buy the ford or whatever because they say its nicer. Tell me how much nicer it is in 5 years.

 

[molson.david]

On what planet is an AT an upgrade over CVT? Seems like a dumb argument to me.

Lack of AT and p.seat on LX was the major deal breaker for me.
There are plenty of ppl who are not exactly are car enthusiasts, but can't stand CVT's rubber bandish, whining and lifeless performance.

 

[Ice]

For the 34K that was the worth of the Camry XLE and Mazda6 GT, I could have gotten an Accord Touring with the buttery-smooth V6 that would put all the cars in this comparison to shame. It's not a comparison or competition when the competitors are in different tiers, both in cost and equipment. I have zero problem when the Accord "loses". Mazda6 is a great car. However, when the comparison is clearly biased like this, it pisses me off.

 

[Kamdog]

Bottom line, the Accord has an aging interior, it's Imid is no good and the CVT or lack of an AT was enough to put it into second place.

I agree. The Sport interior is not up to my EX-L interior, so, as a car, IMO, it comes in second to my EX-L.

My EX-L, no doubt, would come in second to an Accord Touring. Which would put the Sport even further back.

So, clearly, when comparing a Sport to a Touring, well, the Touring has a better interior.

 

[mdreibelbis]

Bottom line, the Accord has an aging interior, it's Imid is no good and the CVT or lack of an AT was enough to put it into second place.

Personally I'll take the clean and functional design of the Accord interior over any of the competition. The Mazda 6 is a close second though - they've done a nice job there IMO. I sat in one a few weeks back (the wife has a Mazda 3 that was in for an oil change) and I really liked the feel of it. It's a shame they can't improve on the NVH or that car would be an absolute killer!

 

[savagexx1]

I agree. The Sport interior is not up to my EX-L interior, so, as a car, IMO, it comes in second to my EX-L.

My EX-L, no doubt, would come in second to an Accord Touring. Which would put the Sport even further back.

So, clearly, when comparing a Sport to a Touring, well, the Touring has a better interior.

What's the big difference between the EX-L and sport interior besides the leather? I have heated leather in my Sport so if i looked in your vehicle what would be better about it? I'm seriously asking because I've never looked inside a 9th gen EX-L or Touring. I know about the extra goodies you guy's get but is there something visually different inside besides the leather between a Sport and EX-L?

 

[14v6]

My bottom line comment was a summary so everyone didn't have to read the whole article.

Just about every comparison test I read, the Mazda comes in first place. They sell about 60k of them per year and they sell 400k Accords per year. The Accord is a solid scorer in all of the comparison tests and once you factor in the dealer network and parts availabilty over the long term of ownership the Accord is a smart move. With all of the CVT talk, I have yet to hear of a pattern failure so it's fair to say that the CVT is mechanically sound. It's driving dynamics are take it or leave it for those who care. When a manufacturer builds 400k of a car, they have to hit the sweet spot and those on the fringes will have some level of dissatisfaction but Honda knows better than we do. Sales are down this year, so the planners at Honda have to figure out why and they probably have an answer and it will be in the MMR. They are not going to make the same mistake with the civic again.