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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  Nice car - 1992 Honda Accord
  By rcgus - February 22 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this vehicle used. I have put 42k on it in 3 years. Its a great reliable car. Only problems have been a cracked distributor, wiper switch is going bad, and the cloth cover over a speaker if falling off. But the car still looks new and drives great. I run this baby until the tire fall off ! 150k plus Im counting on

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  This car is a precious gem. - 2006 Honda Civic
  By Ani - February 22 - 12:20 am

  Would not sell this car for $50,000. An engineering marvel, the best handling car I have ever driven. Cars like these come along every 25 yrs. Everyting is optimum, power, power distribution, responsive steering, braking, gear ratios. It goes from angel to the beast itself in no time.

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  Honda Pilot from Hell - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Larry Simms - February 21 - 9:31 pm

  The Honda from hell. Bought a 2016 Honda Pilot Touring. Picked up my new SUV from Morristown Honda and took it on a road trip the next day. It failed me three times on a road trip with computer issues to So Fla. The power steering wouldnt work along with other issues on the dash board. Needless to say, It was left at the dealership in South Fla the following morning. After 12 days left the vehicle in So Fla. Its now day 25 without my new vehicle. Have requested another vehicle since it never worked safely the day after purchase. Honda Motors and Morristown Honda have only just given me lip service on that issue. They plan to ship it to me when repaired. Today I heard from the service department of the So Fla dealership and informed me the part has come in and if the SURGERY goes well I will get a call back. Never happened. Shame on Honda Motors for not stepping up to the plate and get me a replacement Pilot.

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  Sophisticated Samurai - 2005 Honda Accord
  By Bon Accord - February 21 - 6:56 pm

  Excellent car - superb build quality, equipment levels, and performance. dealer was first rate - received a $2500 discount + an "excellent" Blue Book trade-in on my Passat. Dealer was professional and I felt very satisfied with the experience. Not the prettiest car Ive owned, but feel strongly it will be one of the most enjoyable and reliable.

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  About Time; Honda Listened - 2007 Honda Accord
  By The Colonel - February 21 - 6:16 pm

  This is my fourth Honda Accord since 2002. Had a 2002 6 cylinder coupe, loved it but hated the auto. Got a 2003 6 cylinder Sedan w/auto hated the car, suspension was the worse. The 2004 Sedan w/4 cylinder 5 speed totally built in Japan was awesome!! 100,000 miles in 2 years, no problems except for tires. This was corrected w/ Bridgestone LSVs. BUT the 2007, 6 cylinder w/ 6 speed is totally great. Honda did it all with this car! Will change tires soon. Stock Michelins are lame. Would put this car against Lexus IS 250, Cadillac CTS, Volvo, ACURA TSX and more. Thanks for listening Honda, you hit a home run with this car. Got great deal as dealer did not want the 6 speed on the lot. TOO BAD!!!

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  Great Handling but not very quick - 1997 Honda Prelude
  By fishboy - February 21 - 2:00 am

  This car feels like it is on rails going into a turn. It is the best handling car I have ever driven and can do some amazing things even in the rain. The ride is very nice, not jarring. Having driven V8 engined cars exclusively prior to this car I do miss the torque of a strong motor. The 2.2 puts out a lot of power for its size but that power doesnt come on until 5,000 rpm. It is hard to get a good launch off the line because you either spin the tires or you end up waiting for the rpms to hit the vtec range. Not a great straight line vehicle. The engine is very smooth even up the 8,000 rpm fuel cutoff.

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  Prelude Power - 1995 Honda Prelude
  By Prelude Driver - February 21 - 2:00 am

  I used to drive a 95 Acura Integra GSR. The GSR was a fun car to drive. Excellent gas mileage. Fast. Redline at 8k rpm. Lacked torque from 0-40 mph...smaller engine 1.8L Prelude kicks butt. No need to replace shifter. Lots of power with 2.3L engine. Handles like its on rails. Not us much aftermarket parts like GSR but theres enough parts to go around. I miss the high rev 8k rpm. Wish I had the 2.3L engine with the GSR body.

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  CRV Review - 2000 Honda CR-V
  By purple88 - February 21 - 2:00 am

  The CRV is great to get around town, but due to its limited engine, highway driving is not as fun.

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  Unbiased Review - Nice Vehicle BUT........ - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Stephen - February 20 - 11:46 pm

  Before purchasing the new Pilot in Elite trim, I was comparing it to the 2016 Kia Sorento Limited trim with the Technology package. Having owned a loaded 2014 Sorento EX, I needed something bigger with newer safety features that the new Pilot offered. Lets start with the good, its very similar to the look and feel of the current Odyssey; that to me is a good thing. Its no sports car, but handling and response is very good for a vehicle of this size. The seats are comfortable with lumbar support, even better with the ventilation and heating options (Elite only). The Touring only comes with heated seats. Very good visibility all around especially the front A pillar area. The controversial 9 speed transmission has been fine for me. In economy mode, the gears shift quickly and smoothly. Good fuel economy so far; about 23-25 in mixed driving. Low road noise. Plenty of cupholders, plus the ones in the first two rows are lighted at night! The Elite has a 12V plug and two usb sockets under the front console area. In the center console storage, there is another 12V plug and more USB sockets. The center console is deep, large enough to hold an iPad plus lots of other stuff. For a family with lots of tech toys, this is wonderful! The Nav system is decent so far, you can search for a place or address using voice commands. Only one hiccup so far; when I searched for a chain restaurant that I knew was a few miles away (and in business for many years), it listed the closest one as being 27 miles away, weird. Now to the not so good. The touchscreen infotainment system on the Pilot is truly a mixed blessing. The screen is bright and colorful with a lot of tech options, but as other reviewers have mentioned, response is mediocre at best. Some options are so slow that you end up touching the same option more than once thinking you missed it the first time. For example, try touching the audio on/off button. There is a two second delay after you touch it before it executes your command. So if you were trying to turn off the sound system and you touch the audio on/off icon, nothing happens and you think you missed the icon so you touch it again. The system will turn off the audio system after two seconds and a couple of seconds after that turn it back on. Thats just one example. Also, you need to touch the center of all the touch screen icons with a solid tap, if you dont it is not going to register. All of this reminds me of an old Android phone that I used own from 5 years ago. If you own a modern phone or tablet, the Pilots touchscreen will feel painfully slow. The touchscreen has another horrible "feature", its highly glossy. That means it is highly reflective in direct sunlight and a fingerprint magnet. Combining the two makes the screen unreadable at times. My 2014 Sorento had a matte finish so everything was easily readable even in direct sunlight, plus fingerprints werent nearly as visible compared to the Pilot. It had an excellent touch screen. Many other owners have ordered screen protectors (see piloteers.org) similar to what people put on their phones. Im doing the same for sure. There are no analog knobs in this vehicle. So if you want to turn down the radio, you have to use the touchscreen or the steering wheel controls. Good luck trying to quickly turn down or mute the sound. To adjust the temperature controls on the A/C, you have to push a springy flip switch (best description I can come up with). If you want to change the A/C temp from 72 to say 75, you have to push the switch up three times. Or hold it up until the system increments to the desired temperature. To me this is less convenient than a conventional rotary dial and just invites wear. If you are wondering at this point why I bought the Pilot if I knew about the above complaints, its because I thought I would get used to it. Some things I have such as the climate controls, but touch screen response is something I havent gotten used to. I hope Honda listens to Pilot owners and issues a fix soon. Good: Comfortable, Adaptive Cruise Control, spacious interior, plenty of USB slots, driving visibility Neutral: Adaptive Cruise Control (cuts out at 20 mph), push button shifter, mediocre turning radius Bad: No analog dials for audio or A/C, horrible touch screen, no way to permanently disable Auto Stop/Start I purchased the Pilot because of the safety features not available on the Sorento like forward collision mitigation with automatic braking system and LED daytime running lights, and mostly because of Hondas reliability. However, if I had to do it all over again I would probably have purchased the Sorento and waited a few years until Honda fixed the issues with the first year redesigned Pilot. Additionally, Kia is offering some significant rebates at this time, while the hard to find Elites are commanding top dollar. Hope this helps someone make an informed decision.

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  Technology Failure - 2008 Honda Accord
  By sailor14 - February 20 - 6:06 am

  I have the new Accord with all the bells and whistles and what a let down! The cellular system can not do what a Ford Focus does these days - automatically synch a phone book on ANY bluetooth phone, voice dial through the car using the phones voice recognition (Ford, BMW, Lexus, all do!) AND who in their right mind created a car that holds data you can not back-up? There is a CR reader, why not CR-RW- or a place for a chip in the dashboard? It has TWO phone books, the nav system and cellular, and they dont even synch! AND to add insult to injury they have a jack for your iPod but again it is a BASIC audio in - no tunes synching (again a Ford basic) and no display on your dashboard.