2021 Honda Accord Reviews, Pricing & Specs

It’s a classic battle: Toyota Camry versus Honda Accord. These days, the landscape is much more varied with the Mazda6, Subaru Legacy, Kia K5, and Hyundai Sonata all shaping up to be formidable rivals for customer cash. To keep pace, Honda has given the 2021 Accord a mid-generation refresh.

For the 2021 model year, Honda sells the Accord in six trim levels: the Canada-exclusive SE trim, Sport, EX-L, Touring, Sport 2.0, and Touring 2.0. Our test vehicle was a 2021 Honda Accord Sport 2.0. The Honda Accord Hybrid has a different powertrain and other unique features. We cover that in a different review.

For 2021, Honda has given its Accord models fresh styling in the shape of a wider, restyled grille. The result is a flatter but more sculpted face that doesn’t have the waterfall effect of the previous model year. The Honda Sensing safety system’s radar unit is better disguised with the revision and doesn’t detract as much from the appearance of the vehicle as it once did.

All Accords come with LED headlights and lowlights that flank the grille. Their point of illumination is longer and wider than the previous model year’s allowed, resulting in good visibility at night. The car’s fog light openings have also gotten smaller for 2021 giving the car a more sophisticated and cohesive appearance.

The Accord SE, Sport, EX-L, and Touring get a new alloy wheel designs for 2021, and all but EX-L come with 19-inch wheels as standard. All wheels come from the factory wrapped in all-season rubber.

Honda has made a new Sonic Gray Pearl paint job available for all Sport and Touring models. The colour, which has a touch of a blue hue in the sunlight, is attractive and unique in the segment.

Accord SE and Sport have cloth seats while the EX-L trim and up come with leather-trimmed seats. Even in lower trim levels, the interior of the Accord looks more sophisticated than the Camry’s. The cloth appears to be high-quality and doesn’t immediately appear to be a budgetary compromise.

A power moonroof is include from the Sport trim. Opting for the moonroof cuts headroom down by 5 centimetres for front-seat occupants, something that is standard for the industry.

The interior of the Accord is at least as nice as what’s in the new K5, though its Touring grade doesn’t quite reach the premium level heights that the top-tier Mazda6 Signature model does. (Note, however, that the Mazda6 is being discontinued later this year in Canada and the United States.) Then again, if you want a more high-end Accord with more power and the latest and greatest tech, you’ll want to cross-shop Honda’s premium brand, Acura. To their credit, Honda has made a distinction between the two with materials choices and design, and that won’t leave you wondering if it’s just better to get a high-grade Honda over a mid-grade Acura.

The Accord SE is a new Canada-exclusive addition to the lineup for 2021. Priced at $34,701 Canadian including fees, its packaging includes heated front seats, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, folding door mirrors, and more – in other words, everything offered on the Sport trim ($36,001 with fees) with the exception of the wireless phone charger, moonroof, 10-speaker premium audio system, heated steering wheel, and sport mode with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. The EX-L trim ($37,601) builds on Sport with leather upholstery, heated outboard rear seats, and second-row ventilation, among other features, but the wheels on this trim are downgraded to 17-inch alloys. The Touring trim ($40,901) brings the wheels back up to 19-inch alloys and tops the line-up with ventilated front seats and various tech features.

Honda gives buyers the choice of two engines in the Accord and makes them available depending on trim level. A 192-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine is standard on the Accord SE, Sport, EX-L, and Touring trim levels. It delivers 192 pound-feet of torque and is paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). For 2021, Honda has improved the Idle Stop performance of the engine to make it start up faster when the driver releases the brake.

A more powerful 2.0-litre turbo-four is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and produces 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. It’s available in Accord Sport 2.0 and Touring 2.0 grades, each of which adds approximately $3,000 over the equivalent grades with the smaller engine. Both engines run on regular unleaded fuel.

Honda does not make the Accord available with all-wheel drive (AWD). Front-wheel drive (FWD) is standard.

Besides the power, the biggest differentiator between the two engines is their fuel economy. The 2021 Honda Accord powered by the 1.5-litre four-pot is rated by Natural Resources Canada for 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres combined (7.8 city, 6.5 highway) in the SE and EX-L grades and 7.5 L/100 km combined (8.1 city, 6.8 hwy) in the Sport and Touring grades. With the bigger engine, the car is rated to consume 9.1 L/100 km combined (10.4 city, 7.4 hwy).

Between the two engines, the 2.0-litre is far more fun to drive, but the smaller one is more than capable of getting the job done as a daily driver. Again here, Honda has done a good job differentiating the Accord from the Acura lineup, making its drive dynamics not nearly as athletic but still engaging, while allowing for pointed steering and easy maneuverability. Acceleration won't knock anyone's socks off, but that's not a reason to ignore the Accord.

The Accord Sport and Touring have paddle shifters, which work better for mountain driving situations than they do for deriving true sport functionality, as you would get with a manual transmission.

Honda has also upgraded the braking system for 2021, designing it to engage more smoothly, especially at low speeds. The result is measured performance that is neither grabby nor soft.

The Honda Accord was designed for daily drivability—and it shows. It is equal parts stylish and practical, with seating for five, with adults able to comfortably sit in the rear seats. Head-, hip-, and legroom is good in the front row, even for larger occupants, in both the front and back seats.

There’s a fair amount of convenience features that come standard on the Accord—dual-zone automatic climate control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, auto up/down power windows, push-button start, and front and rear 12-volt power outlets. This leaves the biggest difference between the trim levels to interior appointments, in-cabin technology, and the engine.

Rear seats feature a 60/40 split and centre armrest. They fold down to allow pass-through from the sizeable trunk. The Accord’s 473 litres of cargo space in the trunk alone is better than what most midsize sedans offer.

The cabin of the Accord is well-designed so that all the essential knobs, buttons, wands, and levers are all within easy reach of the driver with the infotainment system easily accessible by both the driver and front-seat passenger.

Small-item storage isn’t great in the Accord, but it’s better than what you’ll find in some sedans. At the front of the centre console is a small cubby that serves as a gathering spot for various bits and bobs, or in higher Accord grades, it’s where the wireless phone charger sits.

Buying a Honda Accord does not mean that you have to compromise on technology. An 8-inch infotainment touchscreen rests on the dashboard of each Accord with physical volume and tuning knobs on either side. The screen is properly responsive to touch commands and its operating system looks attractive.

Other standard features in the Accord include Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, hands-free text messaging, and two USB ports. Moving up in grades adds features like satellite radio, HD radio, a wireless phone charger, a 10-speaker premium audio system, an additional USB port, and a Wi-Fi hot spot when HondaLink subscription services are activated.

The Accord Touring and Touring 2.0 are the only models that comes with an on-board navigation system, rain-sensing wipers, and a head-up display. The display shows cruise control, compass, gear position, tachometer, lane keep assist system, traffic sign recognition, and turn-by-turn directions data.

Honda takes safety very seriously. The company has a long track record of equipping vehicles with physically and technologically advanced structures and equipment that work in tandem to keep families safe. The Accord is no exception.

Every Accord comes standard with a long list of safety features that includes vehicle stability assist with traction control, brake assists, a rearview camera, LED daytime running lights, traffic sign recognition, and automatic high beams. There’s also a standard Honda Sensing suite of driver-assist and safety technology that includes lane-keeping assist and lane departure warning, road departure mitigation, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning and collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given the Accord its highest rating—Top Safety Pick+. The car’s standard front crash prevention system, which includes automatic emergency braking and forward-collision warning, earned the organization’s top Superior rating for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian crash avoidance.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has given the Accord a five-star overall safety rating. It received the highest ratings – five out of five stars – in all crash testing scenarios.

There are two complete sets of LATCH connectors for child safety seats in the rear of the Accord, one on each outboard seat.

The Honda Accord SE starts at $34,701 Canadian including fees and goes up a few thousand dollars per trim level as you make your way up through the grades, settling in at $40,901 for the fully equipped Touring trim. Adding the 2.0-litre engine to either the Sport or Touring trims adds approximately $3,000 to the cost of the car.

Honda’s MSRP structure seems fair. Pricing for the Toyota Camry starts lower in Canada but is significantly less well-equipped at that price. The more powerful Kia K5 GT is lower-priced but doesn’t have all the tech features the Accord does.

The Mazda6, which has that premium interior follows the same pricing structure as the Camry, Accord, and Kia, tops out slightly lower than the Accord. However, Mazda’s infotainment system leaves a lot to be desired.

If you're shopping for an AWD sedan, you'll want to cross-shop the Nissan Altima, which was redesigned a few years ago and offers impressive fuel efficiency, a well-appointed interior, and standard all-wheel drive in Canada. The Subaru Legacy also comes with a standard AWD drivetrain and has a larger infotainment touchscreen than the Honda. It also has Subaru's EyeSight suite of driver-assist and safety features as standard equipment.

What it comes down to for the Accord buyer is where their priorities are. Is it with pricing or power? Not getting the larger engine will save some dough.

Note: Images show a US model.