For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Avalon 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 Honda Accord doesn't offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The Avalon has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats (WIL), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WIL system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Accord doesn't offer a whiplash protection system.

The Avalon has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Accord doesn't offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Avalon Limited/Touring offers an optional Bird's Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Accord only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn't help with obstacles to the sides.

The Avalon has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle's blind spots where the side view mirrors don't reveal them. Only the Accord Sport 2.0T/EX/EX-L/Touring offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Avalon has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Accord Sport 2.0T/EX-L/Touring has a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Avalon and the Accord have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger 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 and rearview cameras.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Avalon is safer than the Honda Accord:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Avalon for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Honda doesn't pay scheduled maintenance for the Accord.

There are over 16 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Honda dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Avalon's warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota 13th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 7 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 17th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 47 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 27th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports' January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in reliability. Honda is ranked fifth.

The Avalon's 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 109 more horsepower (301 vs. 192) and 75 lbs.-ft. more torque (267 vs. 192) than the Accord's standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Avalon's 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 49 more horsepower (301 vs. 252) than the Accord's optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Avalon is faster than the Honda Accord 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder:

The Avalon Limited/Touring's standard fuel tank has a gallon more fuel capacity than the Accord (15.8 vs. 14.8 gallons).

For better stopping power the Avalon's standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Accord:

The Avalon stops much shorter than the Accord:

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Avalon's wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Accord (113 inches vs. 111.4 inches).

The Avalon Touring handles at .82 G's, while the Accord pulls only .81 G's of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Avalon Touring executes Motor Trend's “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Accord (26.8 seconds @ .65 average G's vs. 27.7 seconds @ .61 average G's).

For better maneuverability, the Avalon XLE's turning circle is .5 feet tighter than the Accord LX/EX-L's (37.7 feet vs. 38.2 feet). The Avalon Limited/Touring's turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Accord 2.0T's (38.7 feet vs. 39.6 feet).

The Avalon has .5 inches more front hip room, .2 inches more rear headroom and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Accord.

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Avalon's trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don't intrude into the trunk. The Accord's useful trunk space is reduced by its intrusive beam hinge.

The Avalon's standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The Accord LX's standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can't share the rear seat.

The Avalon uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Accord uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

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

The Avalon's front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Accord's rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Avalon's driver power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Accord's power window (except driver window), power lock and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Avalon Limited/Touring has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Accord doesn't offer cornering lights.

The Avalon's standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Honda only offers heated mirrors on the Accord Sport 2.0T/Sport SE/EX-L/Touring.

The Avalon's standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Accord offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don't dim.

On extremely cold winter days, the Avalon Limited/Touring's standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The Accord doesn't offer a heated steering wheel.

Both the Avalon and the Accord offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Avalon has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Accord doesn't offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Insurance will cost less for the Avalon owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Avalon with a number “5” insurance rate while the Accord is rated higher at a number “8” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Avalon is less expensive to operate than the Accord because typical repairs cost much less on the Avalon than the Accord, including $70 less for a muffler, $51 less for fuel injection, $108 less for a fuel pump and $487 less for a power steering pump.

The Toyota Avalon has won recognition from these important consumer publications: