Compare the2024 Honda AccordVS 2024 Volkswagen Jetta

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Volkswagen Jetta 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 Jetta 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 Jetta doesn’t offer knee airbags.

With its standard Collision Mitigation Braking System, the Honda Accord is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Volkswagen Jetta, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

	Accord	Jetta
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH	-23 MPH	-12 MPH
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-18 MPH
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH Low beams	-19 MPH	No Slowing
37 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Brights	2.5 sec	No Warning
37 MPH Low beams	No Slowing	No Slowing

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 Jetta doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

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 Jetta doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Accord and the Jetta have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, 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 Jetta:

	Accord	Jetta
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	POOR
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	111	239
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	POOR
Chest Rating	GOOD	POOR
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE

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 Jetta:

	Accord	Jetta
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	216	226
Neck Tension	178 lbs.	245 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Torso Max Deflection	1.26 in	1.85 in
Torso Deflection Rate	10 MPH	12 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	1026 lbs.	1182 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	150	274
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.3 in	1.97 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	379 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.46 in	1.69 in
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	669 lbs.	1049 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 Jetta is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Warranty

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the Accord 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Jetta. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Jetta ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Accord’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Jetta’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 65 percent more Honda dealers than there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Accord’s warranty.

Reliability

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 Jetta’s camshafts. If the Jetta’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Honda Accord’s reliability 33 points higher than the Jetta and the Honda Accord Hybrid is rated 41 points higher than the Jetta.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 60 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 61 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 22 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The Accord’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 34 more horsepower (192 vs. 158) and 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (192 vs. 184) than the Jetta’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Accord Hybrid’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 46 more horsepower (204 vs. 158) and 63 lbs.-ft. more torque (247 vs. 184) than the Jetta’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Accord
	Auto	EX-L 2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	51 city/44 hwy
		Sport/Touring 2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	46 city/41 hwy
Jetta
	Manual	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/42 hwy
	Auto	S 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	30 city/41 hwy
		SE/SEL 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/40 hwy

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

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). Volkswagen only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Jetta Automatic.

The Accord’s standard fuel tank has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Jetta (14.8 vs. 13.2 gallons).

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 Jetta doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Transmission

The Honda Accord comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Jetta.

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 Jetta doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Accord	Accord Hybrid	Jetta
Front Rotors	11.5 inches	12.3 inches	11.3 inches
Rear Rotors	11.1 inches	11.1 inches	10.7 inches

The Accord stops much shorter than the Jetta:

	Accord	Jetta
70 to 0 MPH	173 feet	191 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	128 feet	135 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	137 feet	138 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Accord has larger standard tires than the Jetta (225/50R17 vs. 205/60R16). The Accord Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Jetta (235/40R19 vs. 205/60R16).

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 Jetta S’ standard 60 series tires. The Accord Sport/Touring’s tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Jetta Sport/SE/SEL’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Accord LX/EX/EX-L has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Jetta S. The Accord Sport/Touring’s 19-inch wheels are larger than the 17-inch wheels on the Jetta Sport/SE/SEL.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Honda Accord has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Volkswagen Jetta has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Accord’s wheelbase is 5.7 inches longer than on the Jetta (111.4 inches vs. 105.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Accord is 2.1 inches wider in the front and 3.3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Jetta.

The Accord Touring Hybrid handles at .90 G’s, while the Jetta pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Accord Touring Hybrid executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Jetta SEL (27.1 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

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

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Accord Touring Hybrid is quieter than the Jetta Sport:

	Accord	Jetta
At idle	29 dB	40 dB
Full-Throttle	71 dB	75 dB
70 MPH Cruising	66 dB	69 dB

Passenger Space

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

The Accord has 11 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Jetta (105.7 vs. 94.7).

The Accord has 1 inch more front headroom, 1.2 inches more front legroom, 2.4 inches more front hip room, 2 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 3.4 inches more rear legroom, 4 inches more rear hip room and 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Jetta.

Cargo Capacity

The Accord has a much larger trunk than the Jetta (16.7 vs. 14.1 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Accord easier. The Accord’s trunk lift-over height is 27 inches, while the Jetta’s liftover is 28.7 inches.

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the Accord offers cargo security. The Jetta’s non-lockable remote release defeats cargo security.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Accord EX/Sport/EX-L/Touring. The Jetta doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Ergonomics

The Accord Sport-L/EX-L/Touring’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Jetta doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

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 Jetta doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

On a hot day the Accord’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Jetta can’t use the remote to operate the windows.

The Accord has standard Smart Entry that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Jetta SE/SEL offers Keyless Access.

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

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Accord’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Jetta’s headlights are rated “Marginal” to “Poor.”

When the Accord Touring is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Jetta’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda Accord, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Volkswagen Jetta isn't recommended.

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

The Honda Accord outsold the Volkswagen Jetta by over four to one during 2023.