10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Honda Accord, Toyota Camry Hybrids Battle for Efficiency, Supremacy

Despite charging forward in driving range, practicality and overall livability in recent years, you’d be forgiven if you’re still not quite ready to take the plug-in plunge and buy an all-electric vehicle. But if you’re still looking to save some gas — be it for the planet, your pocketbook or both — hybrids have also continued to improve over time. No longer must hybrid buyers compromise on many of the quirks of hybrid vehicles, from unconventional exterior styling to unnatural-feeling regenerative brakes, in order to enjoy fuel efficiency. Speaking of not compromising, you can even get two of America’s favorite cars in perfectly palatable, highly competitive hybrid form — so the only compromise will be which one to choose, the Honda Accord Hybrid or the Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Related: So You Want to Buy a Hybrid Car: 6 Things to Know

In Cars.com’s two most popular news articles of the past week, we test, assess and compare the model-year 2023 hybrid versions of the Accord and Camry sedans. In the gas mileage contest — chronicled in the first-place finisher on this week’s countdown of most read articles — editors took both cars on a 200-mile test drive covering everything from high-speed interstate highways to low-speed rural roads, and even switched drivers midway to ensure driving styles were evenly distributed. While both performed admirably — the Accord Hybrid Sport-L trim handily beating its own EPA-estimated 46/41/44 mpg city/highway/combined rating and the Camry Hybrid XLE exceeding its own 44/47/46 mpg rating — the Camry’s real-world return of 52.6 mpg versus the Accord’s 51.3 figure made the Camry the mpg MVP.

For the full details on our fuel economy faceoff between the 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid and 2023 Toyota Camry Hybrid, follow the link below to the No. 1 news story of the week.

While that measly 1.3 mpg earned the Camry its victory over the Accord in the mileage realm, the Camry managed to flip the final standings in the best overall contest between the two hybrids by a similarly slim margin. The Accord scored 536 points out of a possible 700 versus the Camry’s 521. The Accord earned judges’ praise for front- and rear-seat comfort, infotainment excellence, interior appointments, powertrain refinement and capability, and confident handling, but it was dinged for an overly firm ride, outside noise infiltration, outward visibility and numb braking. The Camry, meanwhile, curried favor with its aforementioned fuel economy, smooth ride, responsive brakes, inclusion of physical multimedia controls and well-stocked safety tech, but it lost points for lackluster infotainment screens, unimpressive front-seat comfort, off-putting interior-quality oddities and lacking convenience features.

“The Accord Hybrid’s powertrain refinement, interior space and comfort, and modern, usable tech features were more than enough to make up for its firm ride quality and at-times-loud interior, putting it ahead of the Camry Hybrid in this test,” judges concluded.

For the complete rundown on how each vehicle scored in individual categories and additional context on how the 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid edged ahead of the 2023 Toyota Camry Hybrid, follow the link below to the No. 2 news story of the week.

Beyond that we’ve got headlines on the Toyota Prius Prime, Ford Mustang, Ford Maverick, Hyundai Palisade and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:

1. 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Vs. 2023 Toyota Camry Hybrid: Which Gets Better Real-World Gas Mileage? 

2. Toyota Camry Hybrid Vs. Honda Accord Hybrid: Which Is Best? 

3. Electric Cars With the Longest Range 

4. Is the 2023 Toyota Prius Prime a Good Plug-in Hybrid? 4 Pros and 3 Cons 

5. Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy 

6. What Should My Tire Pressure Be? 

7. 6 Automakers Band Together in New EV Charging Network 

8. 2024 Ford Mustang GT Review: Stomping Into the Future 

9. 2024 Ford Maverick Shuffles Powertrains and Features 

10. 2024 Hyundai Palisade Gets New Calligraphy Night Edition, More Standard Equipment

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.