Consumer Comparison Road Test: 2011 Honda Accord SE Vs. The 2011 Hyundai Sonata and 2011 Kia Optima

For the past decade or so automakers Honda and Toyota have pretty much owned the top of the family sedan sales charts with their hot selling Camry and Accord even as the Altima, Fusion, Malibu and Passat have all desperately tried to find some weakness to exploit for greater sales. The battle for third place and beyond has always been hotly contested but never as widely monitored as the ever ongoing Honda vs. Toyota battle. It's kind of like Chevy vs. Ford was in days gone-by or for those still living in the past.

Well, it appears that the first automakers that are actually finding and exploiting some leverage with some Honda and Toyota buyers are two names that would have been considered laughable just a little over a year ago. Never underestimate how far someone who is being underestimated will go to prove themselves and you need only look to South Korea's auto industry for proof.

Well, if you couldn't guess which vehicles are challenging Camry and Accord, it's the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and 2011 Kia Optima which were both treated to utterly revolutionary changes in quality, efficiency, style and most every measurable manner when they were recently restyled. While some heaped praise on the 2011 Sonata, however, I was never all that thrilled with its styling which to my eyes frighteningly resembles something that might crawl out of a swamp and try to eat you alive or is a dead ringer for the last generation Chevy Caprice sedan with extra spurious slashes in the sides of the bodywork. Maybe Hyundai did that as a back-up plan so they could sell Sonatas as cop cars?

2011 Hyundai Sonata Verdict

Yes, I think the 2011 Hyundai Sonata is monstrously ugly. But then ugly does trump soulless so I can see its appeal over the 2011 Toyota Camry. The other problem with the Sonata (but oddly not its sibling Kia Optima) is its frighteningly artificial steering feel and the lack of body control afforded by the squishy suspension. To be honest, I felt more in control of my parent's old 1984 Buick station wagon which was designed back when GM used anesthesiologists to engineer their steering racks.

This now brings us to the Sonata's mess of an interior whose optional leather trim is of such an off-putting and cheap quality that I wondered if Barbie knew Hyundai had ripped the seats out of her dream car. Leather, for some reason, in the Optima is of excellent quality but my test Sonata with 11,000 miles on the odometer had leather which was sagging and fraying in numerous places. It was also a very unfortunate shade of maroon which added to the feeling of being inside Barbie's hot pink dream car.

Essentially, the 2011 Honda Accord has nothing to worry about with the Sonata except its low sticker price and the fact that there are certain North American's with no aesthetic taste. If you are looking for a transportation appliance with a soft ride and lots of buttons go ahead and buy a Sonata but it will never stir your soul. In essence, the Camry is much like the Sonata in this respect albeit with a more sensible exterior treatment.

2011 Kia Optima Verdict

But if you drive the 2010 Kia Optima and then drive a 2011 Kia Optima you will become convinced that Kia has access to some form of advanced alien space/time continuum acceleration technology that took what was the ugliest and least family sedan on the market and turned it into what is unquestionably the sexiest new family car you can buy. It is also fuel efficient, affordable, drives much like a hunkered down Volvo with far better steering and handling than the Sonata and features an interior with Audi-like levels of quality. I don't care if Kia cribbed some notes from Audi's playbook because the whole thing works.

The 2011 Honda Accord SE Gives You Luxury and More Fun at a Value Price

Since Hyundai and Kia have mainly been aiming their wares at the lower priced end of the family car segment and just loaded them with more features, Honda saw a hole in the Accord line-up and launched the SE model which sits above the LX in the sedan pecking order. For just $23,730 you get standard leather seats, a leather wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, heated front seats, the usual air conditioning, power everything, power driver's seat, handsome 16-inch alloys, a 177-horsepower 2.4 liter VTEC motor, a 5-speed automatic and EPA fuel economy estimates of 23 city/34 highway.

Below the SE is also the LX-Premium addition which has everything but leather and comes the $22,980. Which model would I buy? Well, I would probably go for the $24,105 EX model but that's only because having a USB-port for my iPod is more important than leather seats any day. I realize that does, however, put me in the minority and I was perfectly content during my week in the SE with the standard 6-speaker audio system which offered crisp and clear sound no matter how loudly I pumped up the Lady Gaga.

Also, although I found the EXTRA LARGE size dash board lettering fonts on all the Accord's buttons to be rather amusing, I realized how easy its dashboard would be for an older person or someone with bad eyesight. Or someone who doesn't like to have to read the hieroglyphics that pass for button labels in the 2011 Sonata. The Accords buttons are actual words that you read so of all the cars mentioned in this test it is the easiest to get along with even when equipped with high tech features like navigation and Bluetooth.

I have always loved the Accord simply because its steering feel, driving dynamics, the ride/handling compromise and the efficient performance offered by Honda's industry-leading, rev happy and gloriously sporty sounding VTEC 4-cylinders. I was actually a bit scared of driving this 2011 Honda Accord SE because I have to admit that I think that the Optima's exterior is a game changer and its interior quality is just as good if not better in a couple of spots where the Accord uses harder plastics.

But, dynamically and from a driving enjoyment perspective the Kia can't touch the Honda. Do you ever go out in your car for a pleasure drive or just to clear your head? Well, you will make up reasons to do so in the Accord. It may not look as sexy as the Optima (although its conservative lines are undeniably appealing just not revolutionary) but the Accord is the best front drive 4-cylinder family car you can buy and it has been that way for a long time.

So while Kia is maybe just some fine tuning away from potential "best in class" status, the 2011 Honda Accord SE holds onto that mantle simply because of its fun, nimble, athletic and playful nature. Family sedans represent responsibility and being practical and when you we should all be grateful that when you drive an Accord you just know that they baked in just enough naughtiness to keep it interesting for you.