Hybrid Sedan Comparison Test: Camry Hybrid vs. Accord Hybrid vs. Fusion Hybrid vs. Jetta Hybrid

Edmunds.com

Hybrid Sedan Comparison Test: Camry Hybrid vs. Accord Hybrid vs. Fusion Hybrid vs. Jetta Hybrid

We compared the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid and Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid. Which gets the best fuel economy? We have the answer.

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nuieve

''The fact that the Fusion is by far the best-looking''

Excuse me... what??? Fact established by who? People who dine out at Mcdonalds, dress at Walmart and live in a doublewide?

Its by far the most hideous sedan to hit the roads since Toyota Echo.

sharpend

@nuieve
Troll much?

emajor

nuieve is entitled to his opinion, even though I don't get the white trash angle of it. The fusion has too high a beltline, leading to a slab-sided and overly tall look in lighter colors. I think it's styling is overrated, but I thought that about the Sonata too. Speaking of which, interesting that the H/K siblings weren't included. Previous reviews suggest they underperform relative to the Camry, so I suppose their ranking could be inferred. Kudos to Edmunds for a fine test, and to Ford and Honda for taking the lead in the field Toyota has dominated. Honda has been floundering around in the hybrid field with uncompetitive offerings for awhile, it looks like the Accord finally got the formula right.

gofortheneck

Of the four cars, the one that is most likely to look like crap in five years is the Ford. They don't age well.

_wraith_

Might be worth mentioning: the Camry and Jetta hybrids have a (compact) spare tire, while the Fusion and Accord hybrids only offer a repair kit.

While I understand that ditching the spare gives them more flexibility when balancing trunk vs. battery space, and maybe saves a little weight, personally I'd rather have the spare.

fordson1

So now it's OK to realize that a car that says it's going to get 47 mpg and gets "only" 44 mpg is still fabulous on gas? What a concept and how long it's taken for Edmunds to arrive at it.

lions208487

Of the sedans discussed, I would pick the Honda. During several tests at C/D and M/T, the Accord hybrid yielded the best track times, and appeared to be the most fun to drive out of the bunch. The Fusion looks great in dark colors and I think the interior is underrated. In addition, the H/K twins are not mentioned, probably because their hybrid power-trains are being updated, and their current offerings no where come close to EPA estimates in terms real world fuel economy.

socal_eric

Still trying to be different for the sake of being different and push "gallons per hundred miles"? Didn't your editors take note of the feedback in the other article on the topic and in other reviews when it has been brought up? Consumers who really care aren't stupid and can run the math both ways, and in America we're all used to miles per gallon. Take an amount of miles driven and divide by gallons used. Simple. I could understand if the site catered primarily to Canadians since they use the metric "L per 100 km" system for most trip computers but it doesn't make sense to push it here.

marcos9

No surprise - Ford has been doing great. Keep up the good work!

greyhairedpete

nuieve, since you feel so strongly that the Fusion is ugly, maybe you could let us know what you think is a good lucking sedan...

hybridbear

Excellent write-up. Really interesting the comments about comfort. As a Fusion Hybrid owner, I can attest to its comfort! Much better than the Camry Hybrid.

However, the Fusion Hybrid & Camry Hybrid also have two electric motors, like the Accord Hybrid. The Fusion Hybrid actually uses its gas engine much like the Accord does. The Camry Hybrid works the same as the Prius, just larger.

Debunker

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but don't you rate the Fusion hybrid a "B" and the Accord hybrid an "A". If I didn't misread something, aren't you contradicting yourself, especially since you say that the 2014 Fusion hybrid has hardly changed from 2013?

b25nut

I may be wrong, but I think Edmunds gave the FFH its "B" before testing one that had last summer's software update. This change made a 6 mpg difference in my Fusion.

cjasis

Good article and respect the viewpoint but I'd humbly submit that my voting would be Honda first and Ford second for a few, simple reasons.

First, Ford's electronic interface is terrible, IMO. Your own experience with vehicles like the Focus ST prove this and this would irk me every single time I drove the car. Increased engine drone wouldn't piss me off anywhere near as much as system crashes and an inability to complete simple tasks like making bluetooth phone calls reliably.
And less important to me, but still worth mentioning... which car do you think will depreciate more? My guess is that in S. CA, the Ford will cost more to own primarily due to increased depreciation relative to the Honda.
I'm not Ford bashing... I think the Fusion is a really good car and Ford has come a long, long, long way. But the new Accord Hybrid is better and would earn my $ if I were in the market.

cbrandi_

Fusion is the best looking by far. In fact it's better looking than the BWM 3 or Audi 4, both vastly more expensive. The Fusion looks like it should cost more.

importfreak

First off I will say the Ford Fusion is not an attractive car. I do not think the styling is anything but flashy and leads to a dated look. Like the Sonata and Optima, the Fusion will not be able to hold its own on looks. The other three vehicles are classic in design and pretty timeless. Having driven all, but the Jetta Hybrid I will say the in my opinion that the Accord is by far the most un-hybrid like. The Fusion was fine, but the MyFord Touch is a disaster and I could not get used to it. The leather in the Ford is very thin and seems prone to aging. I do think that people looking for a Hybrid are not going to cross shop the Fusion with an Accord, Camry or Jetta. Fusion buyers like "Merican" products

gaken

I own the previous generation Fusion Hybrid (mine's a 2010 with just under 100,000 miles). Just letting everyone know that I am receiving this range of real world fuel economy. Averaging 40 mpg in winter, 48 mpg in summer, with several runs up to 53 mpg in summer. Rated for 41 city/39 highway.

I noticed fuel economy improved as more miles accumulated. With that said, I would be buying the new Fusion - if I had to buy any of these cars. Accord would be second choice.

drm14

I think this was a reasonable review. All the above choices seem fairly close and depends upon personal tastes. I have a 2013 Jetta Hybrid with about 6K miles on it. From my experience, mpgs has a lot to do with where the car is driven and driving style. For my commutes to work in town and secondary roads, I can easily get >50 mpg. In subfreezing temps with snow tires on, that falls to low 40s, generally. I have only had 1 long highway trip of 350 miles, with snow tires on and temps 25 deg F with 4 people and luggage in the car. That trip netted me 44 mpg each way, according to the computer and hand calculated. The batteries make packing the luggage for 4 a challenge, I admit. I don't drive with a heavy foot and I do try to maximize electric only driving. I don't drive below the speed limit, though. No matter the car, technique and weather conditions play a significant role and, clearly, results will vary. So far, my choice has worked out well for me. I do wish the Jetta did not have the cheap plastic interior on the doors. If the interior material were the same as my 2010 Jetta TDI, it would be outstanding.

drm14

Another useful bit of information is to look at what kind of mpgs real world drivers are getting. If you check Fuelly.com, you'll find that most people get well below EPA mpg estimates. There are some high outliers, but some of those people have made errors logging their mileage. Experience with hybrids in cold weather does demonstrate significant reduction in mpgs, but that happens with all cars, at least to some extent. It does show that results will vary quite a bit and driving technique plays a huge role.

deman19905

I wouldn't call the Fusion hideous. But it does have a cheap look to it. 5 years from now it will look hideous though.

agentorange

For me the Fusion and the Accord are non-starters as they have no spare. The Camry is clearly falling behind in this rapidly advancing market. That would leave me with the Jetta. I like the idea of the turbo motor as I travel at altitude quite often. This comment had me rolling my eyes : "...and a quick-shifting seven-speed automated manual transmission (though the latter does cause the car to annoyingly roll back on hills)." Errm, really? Is the next article "Motoring Journalism and the Lost Art of Driving"? The Jetta operates in a particular way, so do it right or take the bus.

wizard__

Sorry, I think the Fusion is the ugliest of these four vehicles.

gened1

I would have liked to see the 0-60 times posted for all the vehicles as times in the 9 second range tend to make entering highway and intersection crossing a harrowing experience. Reliability should also be included in this comparison. The Camry also has a B setting on the transmission to help regenerate electricity and this was not mentioned.

wizard__

Edmunds, the Camry was not the "original". The Accord Hybrid was. Remember the V6 Accord Hybrid!

9608

I agree with the comment that projected reliability needs to be included in the scoring. In that aspect, the Accord and Camry would most likely win hands down. VW and Ford just do not have a reputation or history for producing trouble free cars.