When it comes to cars for families, few cars are even in the same league as the 2021 Toyota Camry. That said, the cars that are in that league put up a good fight against the Camry. More recently, however, one of the Camry’s biggest rivals, the 2021 Honda Accord, actually managed to beat out the Camry for the Best Family Car award.

A recap of the list of the best cars for families

U.S. News recently compiled a list of the best cars for families, and as expected, U.S. News looked at attributes that families care about. Cars needed to be safe, reliable, and of course, spacious enough to carry around a family. By and large, the winners of U.S. News’ list were expected, as automakers like Toyota and Honda simply dominated. 

With that being said, there were a few surprises. For one thing, Chevy made it onto the list. The Chevy Suburban was, according to U.S. News, the best family car as far as large SUVs go.

Another surprise had to do with sedans. Although Toyota won in the large sedan and the hybrid sedan segments, in the midsize sedan segment, the Camry didn’t win. The Camry was a finalist, but ultimately, U.S. News picked the Accord instead.

The 2021 Toyota Camry was pretty close to winning

According to U.S. News‘ review of the Toyota Camry, it was a pretty close race overall. The Camry has an overall rating of 8.6 out of 10, and it performed extremely well in the two categories that folks expect it to. Not only does the Camry have a long list of standard smart safety features such as adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, and traffic sign recognition, but it’s as reliable as any Toyota ought to be.

Furthermore, the Camry seats five people comfortably, as there’s a good amount of headroom and legroom available. Not only that, but the Camry also provides a pretty gentle ride, which is a great thing for a road trip. That being said, the Camry does have some issues, according to U.S. News.

For example, despite the comfortable ride, its cabin was “noisy.” On top of that, while the Camry’s interior is comfortable and spacious, its trunk space is actually below average. U.S. News wrote that the Camry has 15.1 cu. ft. of trunk space, and although that’s enough space for some groceries, it’s still below average (the Honda Accord has 16.7 cu. ft.). The Camry can also fold its seats down to get more cargo room, but obviously, for many families, that’s not going to be an option.

Why the 2021 Honda Accord beat the Camry

U.S. News gave the Honda Accord an overall rating of 8.9 out of 10, so it’s no surprise why U.S. News chose the Accord over the Toyota Camry. The Accord excels in the same areas that the Camry does, since it also has a long list of standard smart safety features, and it’s also a very reliable car. Additionally, the Accord is also as spacious as the Camry, as U.S. News said that there’s plenty of headroom and legroom in the Accord.

When it comes to the trunk space, though, that’s where the Accord starts to overtake the Camry. The Accord has 16.7 cu. ft. of trunk space, and that’s above average for the segment. The Accord can also fold its seats down to get more room, so no matter what, the Accord simply has more cargo capacity than the Camry has.

The Accord isn’t flawless, however. While U.S. News said that the Accord has a “comfortable ride,” it also said that the Accord has a “somewhat firm suspension.” In any case, for those reasons, U.S. News decided to ultimately give the nod to the Accord.