Compare the2024 Honda AccordVS 2023 Lexus IS

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Accord are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The IS doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Accord’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The IS doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Accord and the IS have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Accord its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The IS has not been fully tested, yet.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Accord for 1 year and 14,000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the IS (2/24,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 4 times as many Honda dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Accord’s warranty.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Accord’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the IS’ camshafts. If the IS’ belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

On the EPA test cycle the Accord gets better mileage than the IS:

Regenerative brakes improve the Accord Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The IS doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Accord’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (1.5T only). The IS doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Accord uses regular unleaded gasoline. The IS requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Accord has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The IS doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Accord higher (7 out of 10) than the Lexus IS (5). This means the Accord produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the IS every 15,000 miles.

The Accord has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The IS doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Accord stops shorter than the IS:

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Accord’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the IS (111.4 inches vs. 110.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Accord is .6 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the average track on the IS.

The Honda Accord may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 500 pounds less than the Lexus IS.

The front grille of the Accord uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The IS doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Accord uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The IS doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Accord a Large car, while the IS is rated a Compact.

The Accord has 15.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the IS (105.7 vs. 90.2).

The Accord has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 1.1 inches more front hip room, 2 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 8.6 inches more rear legroom, 1.4 inches more rear hip room and 3.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the IS.

The Accord has a much larger trunk than the IS (16.7 vs. 10.8 cubic feet).

The Accord Touring has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The IS doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Accord and the IS have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Accord is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The IS prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Accord’s power window, power lock and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The IS’ cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Accord’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The IS’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Accord has standard extendable sun visors. The IS doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Both the Accord and the IS offer available heated front seats. The Accord Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the IS.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Accord Touring has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The IS doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Honda Accord and the Lexus IS, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Honda Accord outsold the Lexus IS by over seven to one during 2022.