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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  Dont buy this car - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Bergie Frazier - October 28 - 8:42 am

  I have two main problems with this car. The first is the vibration when at idle and at highway speeds. The vibration at 65 -70 mph is felt both in the driver and passenger areas and Honda has no solution for it. The dealer tried new software but did not correct the problem and said Hoda is working on more upgrades. In the meantime we have to drive a car thats shaking like crazy. The second is the hesitation at low speeds which I understand is caused by the transmission. When trying to accelerate through a intersection the car just hesitates then finally will start to accelerate. This is a safety problem. Dealer says thats the way the transmission is. I thought I was buying a car that would last a long time but now Im stuck with this thing with no solution in site. DONT BUY ONE.

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  Honda is the Best! Get a CRV! - 2013 Honda CR-V
  By Kayla Holler - October 27 - 11:03 am

  It is beautiful, fun to drive, had good traction in rain and highway speeds+ and always looked beautiful. The seats and interior were easy to clean and always looked great on my 2013 CRV. The back seat is super spacious and so is the rear cargo area. I looked at all other small suvs and they never had as much room inside, especially in the back seat and cargo area. The only complaint I have is the road noise was louder than in a car. I was told that smaller SUVs are like that. Im not sure I believe that, but in spite of the noise which is worse if the road is rough and at highway speeds and if your car needs an alignment, I could still enjoy my music from the fabulous USB plugins. I just loaded up a flash drive and plugged it in. Sounded great. I looked at newer models though, and we bought a new Civic and the newer models have a touch screen for music controls which I hate. The knob you could turn to quickly scroll through songs and albums worked much easier. The touch screen is a pain for finding anything and not getting sidetracked by accidentally touching the wrong spot. My CRV was a gorgeous blue called Mountain Air. I dont know why Honda doesnt make more cars in this color and make the Acura SUVs in that color. The newer CRV has a redesigned front which I do not like as well as the 2013 model and possibly the 2014. It is more of a snub-nosed look I find ugly. The interior is uglier, too, with more of a very dark charcoal kind of color with beige. I know that color is harder to keep clean because we have it on our new Civic. All dust shows all the time. The touch screen is more of a pain on the Civic to clean, too. Our 2013 CRV was easy to clean and always looked great. We got a super trade-in value for it because it still looked like new. Ive never missed a car so much or regretted trading one more. Id buy it back in a second. I have always owned American-made brands and always had problems with them, windows quit working, air conditioners quit, handles fall off, the vent louvres break, quit working, they just are not that dependable. Then, we bought an older, 1998 Honda Odyssey with high miles and to my surprise, everything worked! I could immediately see the difference in quality materials and design. Everything was quality built, no thin, cheap plastic like on my GM or Ford cars. I loved it. It drove and rode like a smooth-riding car, unlike a previous Pontiac van we owned which was more like a truck and soon had no working AC or windows. Fun in our 100+ summers. After owning the Odyssey, I decided the next vehicles would be Hondas. They are so ridiculously dependable. All reviews agree. Never go back to American made crap. Our friends work for a dealership that has GM and Ford and Chrysler. They get new vehicles every couple of years and we watch as they always have to have their new vehicles in the shop for ridiculous little things that dont work or quit working within weeks of getting their brand new vehicle. That doesnt happen with Honda. I value the five-star crash test rating (youd be horrified if you knew what the other makers ratings are....try one star front crash rating on Nissan Rogue for instance...and I value the dependability of Honda most of all. I hate breakdowns. With all the other old cars I have owned, I am practically an expert on what car noises, symptoms usually mean, but dont have to worry with a Honda. My other car, a 2003 Buick LeSabre Custome Celebration model with alll the bells and whistles for that year, has had problems with AC quitting, then mysteriously working again and lights not working, lots of fuse replacements, etc. Not fun. Get a Honda.

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  Steering wheel is a vibrator - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Mike McDaniel - October 26 - 5:43 pm

  Loved the CRV (EXL with Nav) until we took it on interstate. Really bad vibration in steering wheel and dashboard at 70+MPH. Have had it back 4 times, they re-balanced everything and it still has bad vibration....hands go numb on interstate. Dealer on last visit said it is a software problem and Honda is doing a recall and would get us a fix, but nothing yet. Now at 4,600 miles. Have 4 cars, so I know this is not normal. You must drive one at 75 MPH before you take delivery. If they dont get this fixed, am gonna do the lemon thing!

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  Perfect Car for High School Student - 2001 Honda Civic
  By Honda=Reliable - October 26 - 5:24 pm

  Im 16 and spent the entire summer looking at cars on TrueCar. When I turned 16, I got this car for my birthday. Honda is one of the car manufacturers that I trust. I havent had any issues with it. Its very practical. The trunk is larger compared to some big sedans. The rear seat can seat three people comfortably. The car gets 30 MPG. I love this car!

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  Saved My Life - 2012 Honda CR-V
  By a nn - October 25 - 9:55 pm

  This car was smashed by a truck and totalled. And I lived.

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  210,000 miles - 2008 Honda Civic
  By D - October 25 - 7:24 pm

  210,000 miles and still going strong, BUT mileage is down to 39 mpg and I have to keep replacing the rear tires do to a recall of the rear control arms years ago. The Honda tire warranty is horrible. I would not buy another one!!

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  Great and not so great. - 2015 Honda Accord
  By Hector Mercado - October 25 - 3:26 pm

  Im a 27 year old man with a large upper body (a little over weight) and I drove an 09 4 door civic till this year when I decided it was time for an upgrade, or so I thought. Like most civic owners, buying an accord v6 feels like your entering the big leagues of Honda, and I was so happy when I got a slammin deal for my 2015 V6 accord. Fast forward 3 weeks later and I notice Im starting to get back aches in my lower back. At first I ignored it and blocked out any idea that it was the car, but I came to the realization it is my new car. The leather seats have 0 give. Theyre way to firm, and it feels like your sitting on hard wood. No matter what adjustments you make to the seat, including the so called lumbar support which honestly feels like someone is pushing you forward, roughly, and not supportive like, your back will be telling you it hurts eventually. I have read many reviews about the accord seats after I started getting back pains and Im not the only one with this issue. On top of the horrible back support and lumbar support, the seat feels like it was designed for primarily "small" people. My upper back has no support since the "bucket" style seats have side cushions that feel like theyre pushing my arms and sides forward, not allowing me to actually relax my back whilst diving. The entire car outside the drivers seat is beyond my expectations, considering Honda is not a luxury brand, but how can I enjoy my fabulous monster of a car when I cant sit in it comfortably? Ill be switching to Acura when my lease is up.

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  Better value for your dollar! - 2009 Honda Ridgeline
  By Rob Riegel - October 24 - 9:38 pm

  I bought my 09 RT used from a very reputable dealer one year ago with 80 k miles. 20k miles later and no major issues. Every time I take it in for service my mechanic is amazed to see how clean it is inside where oil cap screws in. I use Mobil 1 full synthetic oil with proper oil filter. Engine runs strong and gets up to 23 mpg on the highway with a light load and not towing anything. I have not towed anything yet. Great handling on dirt roads and muddy roads and there was not a need to use 4wd feature. Acceleration and shifting is good. Climate control is good. Height and visibility is good. Stereo system sound is ok. Plenty of storage, which is really awesome. Interior fabric stains too easy from water. Love the sliding rear window. Love the extra storage in the cab and in truck bed, which beats the storage of a Toyota. There is ample passenger space. Love the way the rear seats fold up to load extra cargo. Transmission has a little clunk, but its normal. Its from how I operate the accelerator pedal as trans picks up the slop. I can get about 380 miles per tank of gas. Full synthetic oil change every 5,000 miles and I service the fuel system with one can of sea foam at every oil change interval. Once a month I fill the gas tank with non ethanol gas. Ill be due for 4 wheel brake service soon and 4 new tires. I compared this truck to a certified Toyota Tacoma. Toyota has a nice reputation, but I got a better deal on this truck and its got everything that I need at a fraction of the cost. Paint chips to easily, but thats where touch up paint comes in handy. Suspension, steering, brakes and any of the power options work great. No report on the 4wd yet, because I have not used it. Cruise control works great and the TPMS is accurate. I like the 5 ft bed. Its not to big and not to small. This is a very practical truck for the working man and I chose a 285.00 a month payment vs a 400.00 a month payment of the Toyota Tacoma certified(2 door single cab 4 cyl 2009). Ill expect 400k miles on this Honda motor. Once the motor is tired then Ill replace it, because this truck serves a better purpose for me than any other general truck. Its like a small military truck.lol. People keep trying to buy my truck and I tell them no. :)

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  Quivering in anticipation - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Al - October 23 - 6:19 pm

  Its a rolling vibrator, they seem to have lessened the at idle in D shaking but when you get to Road speed its darn disappointing. Had I known about this on going problem I would not have purchased this CRV. After 30 years of Honda products this one is a downer.

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  Im Back in a Honda Again - 2015 Honda Civic
  By James - October 23 - 1:02 am

  Ive been through a lot of cars in my life, and Id love to recount them for you all, but theres a character limit here. Instead, let me just say that everything about this car meets or exceeds what I expected, aside from a few small things. The interior is huge, the car is gorgeous, the electronics are beyond what I expected, and the price is very reasonable for a low-end sedan. Im financing my new Civic, and I have it in "Honda commercial silver", but I already love it. Its smooth, comfortable and quiet. The stereo is great, and the velocity-based audio is a treat. Its getting 37mpg right now, but its not even broken in. Acceleration and braking are too smooth to be real, and slamming on the brakes or putting the pedal to the metal feel like youre barely changing speed. The smooth changing transmission is amazing for that. No jerky shifting in this auto. Im dropping about $400 a month on it, and when its paid off, Ill be happy about that. The seats are comfortable, the touch screen works well, and I would give it a "great" if it werent for the fact that only iPhones seem to mesh well. Still, bluetooth and USB work excellently with this car. Overall, a quiet, well-controlled environment inside, a beautiful exterior with the chrome bar in the front and the smooth styling, and for a sedan, its really sexy. There are some "bad" parts though. The trunk is relatively small, compared to say, a Hyundai Sonata, but thats more like a 4-banger Accord. Ultimately, Id much rather drive my Civic than a Sonata. The backup and right-turn cameras are awesome, but Im not sure I trust them yet. Im still really leery of both cameras. The little guide rails given are great, but I just cant hand myself over to the computer and camera and still find myself wrapping my right arm around the passenger seat to look out the back. The pillars in the back are atrociously huge and create giant blind spots, but thats where the right-turn camera comes into play. It really doesnt have the guts that the older Civics did, with its roughly 10 second 0-60, but it does still feel responsive, despite that. The ABS is strong and you never feel the jerky push-pull of older systems, and hitting curves feels just as simple as the 1995 version. All-manual seat adjustment is kinda sad for a car in this range, but its a tiny quibble, with the ability to raise and lower the seat being a new thing for me, even if I do have to do it manually. It also has a slightly wider turn radius than I expected, but still pretty nice. It also seems to attract bugs, maybe theyre turned on by the beauty of the front end, which is far better than model years newer and older. Overall, these minor issues are extremely minor, while the positives are huge. If you want a new car that will save you money on gas for a relatively low price, this is absolutely the way to go. Keep the eco on, drive the speed limit, and ignore the jerks who want to get to work a whole 3 minutes earlier. This is no beastly sports car, but if youre looking for that, youre in the wrong place. If you want something that wont cost you and arm and a leg to use, youve found it. Dont bother leasing this thing will keep its value far more than most cars. Its smooth, simple, efficient and fun to drive. There are so many things I like and so few I dont, give it a test drive at least before the 2016s ruin the look for you.