Overview & Reviews

Why are Honda vehicles so highly regarded by American drivers? Certainly, their excellent reputation for reliability and quality is a major factor. But it also has to do with the overall driving and owning experience. Read any Honda review and you'll likely notice common themes such as thoughtful design, a friendly nature, better-than-average fuel economy and attention to safety.

Japan-based Honda Motor Company was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda. The company got its start making motorbikes. Japan had been rendered cash poor and fuel-starved after World War II, and its citizens were hurting for an inexpensive, fuel-efficient mode of transportation. Honda's first motorcycles mated engines with bicycles to create a motorbike that was cheap to make and operate.

Honda's bikes quickly evolved into vehicles far more sophisticated than small engines stuck into bicycle frames. The manufacturer's 1949 D-Type could reach speeds of up to 50 mph, and offered front and rear suspension. The 1950s saw the launch of the successful Juno scooter, built to steal market share from the Vespa knockoffs that were popular in Japan at that time. In the latter part of that decade, Honda introduced the ultra-successful C100 Super Cub. The motorbike was remarkably easy to operate and featured a crossbar-free frame that made it popular with women. It went on to become the first Honda motorbike sold in the U.S. via then-new American Honda Co. in 1959.

By the early 1960s, Honda had built its first automobiles for the Japanese home market and entered Formula One racing. But it wasn't until 1970 that it exported its first car, the diminutive N600, to the U.S. The automaker initially had a hard time sparking interest among American buyers, but that all changed in 1973 with the introduction of the Civic. The car was larger than Honda's previous models even though it was still very petite compared to compact American cars. The Civic's high fuel efficiency (an important selling point given that decade's energy crisis) and affordability made it Honda's first American success story. By 1976, the Civic had been joined by the Accord, which quickly became a favorite with U.S. consumers as well.

By the 1980s, Honda's success and its reputation as a maker of well-built reliable cars and motorcycles continued to grow. It began building Accords in the U.S. in 1982 and by 1989 had earned the distinction of making America's most popular car. This was also the decade in which Honda created the Acura brand as a way to sell more upscale and luxurious vehicles. Throughout this decade and into the 1990s, the Civic and Accord were huge sellers and considered class benchmarks. Also during this time, Honda continued to innovate through such technologies as variable valve timing, aluminum body construction and improved safety features.

Today, Honda's lineup runs the gamut. Included are fuel-sipping hybrids, a spacious minivan, reliable family sedans, practical SUVs and even a pickup. Although the latest Civic and Accord aren't quite the benchmarks they once were for their respective classes, Honda's brand as a whole continues to be one of the most well respected in the industry, with millions of loyal and satisfied customers.

User Reviews:

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  How can so many people buy this junk? - 2004 Honda Civic
  By Henry04 - November 7 - 10:00 am

  I really hate this car! Summer in Virginia is always hot, and this car has the worst AC I have seen in any of the car! Take >10 minutes to cool down even set at the maximum. I want to get rid of it ASAP!!!

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  Problems Honda Civic Transmissions - 2003 Honda Civic
  By b2cmu - November 5 - 3:40 am

  My 2003 Honda Civic LX was a great car until 60,000 miles. It began to shake as if riding on rumple strip before toll booth. I took it into dealer, who said could find nothing. I took it in a second time when they heard problem and changed transmission fluid. I have now been told there is a honda advisory about transmission problems on all Civics which is coming to light and of great concern as they have no fix. I finally got dealer to admit to problem, still in the shop

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  2016 Touring Review- The Ugly, the Bad & the Good. - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Zman - November 1 - 1:33 am

  Hi, I had an older Mercury villager that still ran great but lacked the looks. Wife and kids wanted bling bling with Nav, DVD, AWD etc. We test drove the 2016 pilot. I drove an MDX a few times which is owned by a friend. That will be my benchmark. Well, The Honda Sensing package was the ONLY reason I was attracted to the 16 Pilot. The shape and other changes in 16 seemed frivolous to me. I wanted a SUV that works great & safe in Chicagos winters. I wanted to get the EX with sensing. Wife wanted leather (EXL), kids wanted the DVD, friends chimed in and we were looking at the Touring. A south side Chicago dealer quoted 2k below list on the phone. We drove 2 hours in traffic to get it. When we were ready to buy, he raised the price by $1799. When I asked he said there were some useless dealer added options (paint stripes and door molding..). I came home and complained to Honda USA Inc about the false advertisement. They said we hope you buy a Pilot from another dealer. That bothered me a bit that Honda Inc. didnt care about that dealer. The Touring MSRP is 43700. Chicago Tax of 10% and extended warranty put it closer to 50k. I still have a sticker remorse heartburn when I think of the price. This thing was hard to get. Lot of dealers added unnecessary options that bump the price higher and most were selling at the MSRP. A dealer nearby quoted 42k (1700 below list) and we decided to buy it. I came to know later that he made up some money on the overpriced ext warranty. Ahhh car dealers. I have been driving the touring now and these are my observations. THE UGLY: The things that I hate was that even Touring does not have blind spot monitoring and does not have parking sensors on the front bumper. Only on the rear bumpers. No blind spot monitoring on a 2016 SUV that people have to shell out close to 50K? You have to go to Elite for that. Come on Honda - Elite is your greedy option. They should have added the blind spot and the front bumper sensors on lower models. Even Subarus have blind spot detection. There is a camera on the passenger side mirror and not on the drivers side. In case it is counter intuitive to look at the right (console) while you want to go to the left lane, how come the MDX has cameras on both the sides? THE BAD: The steering wheel is light and I do not get a feeling that I am driving such a big SUV. Maybe I will get used to the steering. Navigation: I think google maps on the phone are much better, especially when you want to search. The remote start is disappointing. I have to park a bit away at my work and the range is not enough. There is no indicator on the remote to indicate if the car started or not. My old car has a 2 way remote start. Some times it remote starts and other times it wont. Honda saved $50 by making a 1 way remote start. Great Savings Honda;) Noise : We had a storm recently and it was windy. When I drove, the noise was very loud. Could have been better noise insulated. SNOW...ahh driving in snow. While moving the car from the parking spot, the rear parking sensors beeped. Maybe the bumper sensors think snow is an obstruction. The sensors beeped even when I wiped clean the sensors during snow. I was driving about 45 MPH on a highway during snow. There was no vehicle in front on me. Guess what? The auto brake mitigation was activated for a few seconds and the vehicle slowed down from 45 to about 30 MPH. I was able to push the gas and continue normally. It kinda bothered me that it incorrectly detected snow as an obstruction. What if it stops in the middle of the highway? Hope the ones behind you have good insurance. The sound is OK. They should have had a better sound system. FM radio isnt great. The leather seemed OK compared to the leather on the MDX. Mats - Cant they use weathertech like mats? Lane watch - It has its own mind when there is snow on the roads or if the roads are dirty (winter). I guess the lines are not clear enough for the camera. Warranty: For the price they should have at-least 4 year warranty like some other brands. There are too many electronics and you will be forced to purchase extended warranty. The good: Spacious, enough space in the 3rd row. AWD is good. Drives good. Looks good. Handles well. USB!!! Blue Ray DVD player. My wife thinks it is easy to drive even though it is big. The cameras help. Honda Sensing features are very useful. Bluetooth is good. Phone integration is good and fast. 2 drivers seat settings. auto lights. Fog lights. LEDs. Good family car. Mileage is decent. Regular gas. Heated seats. Lot of options on the steering wheel. Keyless start......and more Load it up and go places!

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  Disappointed. - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Sandra Cameron - October 27 - 12:54 am

  Ive had the car 6 wks, it currently has 1500 miles on it. The vehicle has a "condition" so its called by the manufacturer (Honda) wherein the car vibrates when you accelerate and idles rough. Honda is aware of this "condition" and has been aware of it, and has not determined a fix for it. IF and WHEN they do find a fix, owners will be notified. This "condition" has been verified by the dealer. Honda chooses to ignore it.

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  2008 honda flickering lights - 2008 Honda Accord
  By Rocky - October 23 - 12:00 am

  My 2008 honda accord ex headlights flicker approximately every 30 seconds when the A/C is on. They flicker at idle and while driving. This is a major safety issue and its against the law to have flickering lights on a four wheel vehicle. Honda says this is normal for the vehicle. This is unacceptable and should be recalled.

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  Poor quality of new Civic - 2006 Honda Civic
  By jack - October 21 - 7:23 pm

  We have driven the 06 Civic EX for about 1500 miles; half in city, the other half on Interstate highway. We have encountered several items that indicate poor quality control in this car. 1) The car is not level (right side 1/4-1/2 inch higher than the left). Dealer fixed it by adjusting left front strut, but problem returned in a week. Dealer will try to fix again when take car in for item #2. 2) Driver side front door not aligned--goes to dealers body shop later in week for adjustment. 3) Interior trim loose on passenger side.

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  will be looking for something else - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Disappointed - October 17 - 2:49 am

  Bought 2015 CR-V(EX) this past October. Now has about 7k miles on it. Have to admit I am disappointed. Feel scrunched in front seat. Im 6ft tall. This car is made for those 58" or less. Had to tilt the back of seat back a little to create a little more room. The problem when you do this is you cannot fold down the back seat due to hitting the back of the front seat. The levers under the stearing wheel( lights and wipers) are not lit up. Cant see at night. The AWD system is my biggest complaint. The vehicle chooses when to place the vehicle in AWD. This was an issue when purchasing but like a fool I listened to the salesman. You never know when the car is in AWD. There is no indicator. The owners manual has one sentence about AWD. I want to know when Im in AWD. I would think the driver knowing that could be kinda important. How do I know if there really is an AWD system? My driveway has a minor hill. Last fall with some freezing rain the front wheels spun barely making it up the hill. No help from the AWD. The car does have a very minor vibration when ideling at stop sign. Plus, when purchasing(October) I asked the salesman when the 2016s were coming out. He stated in the spring. Two weeks later there were 16s on the lot. Mileage is good. 33-36 on highway per computer.

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  Transmission Problems - 2002 Honda Odyssey
  By OddChicago - October 8 - 2:00 am

  Nice Car, Too bad Honda could not design a decent transmission for it. Mine has ~43000 miles on it and the tranny is slipping, shifting from 2nd - 3rd. The tranny recall work was done earlier this year and it is still going out! A Google Search on the internet for "2002 Odyssey Transmission Problems" tells me that I am not alone.

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  False Advertising - 2004 Honda Civic
  By JScottS - October 7 - 2:00 am

  Where is the performance?! This is not the car I thought I was buying. Why did Europe get the Type R model? For all you people thinking that you got a great car go online and see the car Europe got. You will think twice about buying the Si. At highway speeds the transmission whines like a spoiled child. I keep reaching for another gear that does not exist. The ride is very rough. This is not a comfortable car for driving any kind of distance. Lousy fuel economy compared to the standard civic. The silver coating on the center console is cheap and easily scratches.

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  VIBRATION ON IDLE - 2016 HONDA CR-V! :-( - 2016 Honda CR-V
  By CeeCee - October 4 - 10:48 am

  2016 Honda CR-V Vibration Issue - More than two months ago, I started to notice a slight vibration under my drivers seat when at idle, e.g. sitting at a traffic light. Shortly thereafter, I received a notice from AHMC regarding a software update that needed to be done ASAP on my vehicle. The notice mentioned that, "the software in the PCM causes a low pressure problem in the CVT. This may allow the belt in the CVT to slip. If the belt slips, you may see a surge in RPM when driving at highway speeds. If the belt slips the transmission will be damaged and DTC P1890 (the CVT speed control system) will set." The software update was completed about a month ago and since then, I have experienced a more pronounced vibration under my drivers seat and even into the front passenger seat. The intensity of the vibration varies, but it has not gone away. Now that I have hit the 5K mile mark and had my first service done, I am afraid that the older the transmission gets, the worse this problem might become. The service advisor told me that the software update had nothing to do with the vibration issue, but I am not convinced. Before buying this vehicle, my research indicated that many customers with the 2015 model started to report the vibration issue right around this time (5K miles + or around the first scheduled service) and for most, the problem became worse. I am convinced that these issues are related to the new CVT transmission that was put in the 2015 and 2016 models. I have always been loyal to the Honda brand and I really like my vehicle, but I am starting to regret my purchase!!! :-(