Compare the2024 Honda AccordVS 2024 Lexus ES

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 ES doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Accord and the ES 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, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Accord is much safer than the ES:

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Honda Accord is safer than the ES:

The Honda Accord has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The ES was last only a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023 but no longer qualifies.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Accord for 1 year and 14,000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the ES (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.

As tested in Motor Trend the Accord Hybrid 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid is faster than the ES 300h 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid:

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

Regardless of its engine, the Accord’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. 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). Lexus only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the ES Hybrid, and doesn’t offer a disable button.

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 ES 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 ES (5 to 7). This means the Accord produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the ES every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Accord Hybrid’s brake rotors are larger than those on the ES:

The Accord stops much shorter than the ES:

For better traction, the Accord has larger standard tires than the ES (225/50R17 vs. 215/55R17).

The Accord LX/EX/EX-L’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the ES’ standard 55 series tires.

The Accord Touring Hybrid handles at .87 G’s, while the ES 300h pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Accord Touring Hybrid executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the ES 300h (27.1 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The Honda Accord may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 450 pounds less than the Lexus ES.

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 ES doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Accord a Large car, while the ES is rated a Mid-size.

The Accord has 5.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the ES (105.7 vs. 99.9).

The Accord has 2 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front hip room, 2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.6 inches more rear legroom, 1.1 inches more rear hip room and 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the ES.

The Accord has a much larger trunk than the ES (16.7 vs. 13.9 cubic feet).

The Accord’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The ES doesn’t offer folding rear seats, only a ski pass-through.

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 ES’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Accord’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the ES’ headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

Both the Accord and the ES 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 ES.

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

The Accord was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024 and 25 more times in the last 26 years. The ES has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

The Honda Accord outsold the Lexus ES by over five to one during 2023.