comparing the two from a driver's perspective:

1. corona has poorer outward visibility, with a high cowl, high dashboard, low seat (like sitting in a bathtub hehe), and huge butt

2. i remember that the corona's steering feels overboosted and vague compared to the accord's

3. corona's engine has good mid-range torque but gets raspy beyond 5000 or so rpm. still, accord's smooth engine beats it

4. manual transmission coronas (as ours was) has a floppy-feeling shifter and a clutch that is not quite up to honda standards

5. i don't remember the ride quality too much, but i recall the corona had the smoother ride. the accord feels more solid as a whole though (just compare the light, flimsy-feeling doors of the corona to the accord's substantial ones)

and from a passenger point of view:

the corona is much, MUCH roomier than the accord. the corona almost matches the room of the latest camry and accord i think. however, the accord has a better-designed and smarter-looking interior, and standard genuine leather seats feel much richer

and from an owner's point of view:

once, our accord needed a certain hose and bracket in the engine bay replaced, and the cost for the part was 11,000 or so. hehe. both will be happy with regular oil (no need for synthetics) changed every 5K km. both are very reliable and will have minimal downtime.