For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Accord have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Toyota Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
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 Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Honda Accord has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Accord Touring has a standard Low Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
Both the Accord and the Corolla Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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 Corolla Hybrid:
|
Accord |
Corolla Hybrid |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Leg Forces L/R |
337/382 pounds |
495/540 pounds |
Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
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 Corolla Hybrid:
|
Accord |
Corolla Hybrid |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
178 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.26 in |
1.61 in |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
1026 lbs. |
1339 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.3 in |
1.38 in |
Shoulder Force |
290 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
669 lbs. |
1026 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Corolla Hybrid was last only a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023 but no longer qualifies.