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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  PROBLEM WITH THE RADIO - 2016 Honda HR-V
  By Ed - September 20 - 5:19 pm

  September 12 2017 Edmunds.com Honda still refuses to replace the defective radio. I had three different experts in automobile radios review mine and they all concur that it is distorted and defective, But Honda denies that they can hear any distortion and refuses to do anything about it. ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE A second more serious problem came up. The electric parking brake comes on by itself while the car is in motion. It occurred to me once. Honda refuses to do anything about, even though they have a WARNING printed in their manual, indicating that if it occurs to take the car immediately to the dealer to correct the problem. They took the car around the block to test it and because it did not happen they refuse to do anything about it. Honda tells me that they have to observe the problem to correct it. I am not using the car to drive on the freeway because if the parking brake comes on while I am driving at freeway speeds, it could be a disaster. Honda does not care about that possibility and has refused to do anything about it. It has been more than a year since I have asked them repeatedly to correct the problem. Edgar Romo SEE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AFTER THE FIRST COMPLAINT: PROBLEM WITH THE RADIO After purchasing the HR-V 5DFR 2WD EX-L, and while on my way home I turned on the radio and was greeted with a distorted sound on AM stations, on FM stations and when playing CDs. On the next day, I took the car back to the dealership and I was told that the radio was working as designed. One week later with 140 miles on the car I took it back again and I asked the customer service department to check the radio for distorted output. I left the car with them and they told me they would call me back later with results. They call me in the afternoon to inform me that the radio was working as design and there was nothing they could do to it to change and they were not able to verify my complaint. I have since made several recordings from the radio’s AM station, FM stations and when played back it is obvious that the distortion is very high and some times it makes the output unintelligible. Honda so fart refuses to accept any responsibility for this condition. Has anyone had the same experience or know how to get Honda to correct this problem? ADDITIONAL BAD EXPERIENCE WITH HONDA ============================ September 12 2017 Edmunds.com Honda still refuses to replace the defective radio. I had three different experts in automobile radios review mine and they all concur that it is distorted and defective, But Honda denies that they can hear any distortion and refuses to do anything about it. ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE ATIVATES WHEN CAR IS INMOTION A second more serious problem came up. The electric parking brake comes on by itself while the car is in motion. It occurred to me once. Honda refuses to do anything about, even though they have a WARNING printed in their manual, indicating that if it occurs to take the car immediately to the dealer to correct the problem. They took the car around the block to test it and because it did not happen they refuse to do anything about it. Honda tells me that they have to observe the problem to correct it. I am not using the car to drive on the freeway because if the parking brake comes on while I am driving at freeway speeds, it could be a disaster. Honda does not care about that possibility and has refused to do anything about it. It has been more than a year since I have asked them repeatedly to correct the problem. Edgar Romo 10/11/2016 Edmunds.com Thanks for your inquire about the Honda HR-V. Unfortunately, my experience with Honda and with this car has deteriorated. The radio system is distorted to the point that I do not turn the radio on any more when driving. I have gone to Honda three times to ask them to do correct the problem and they refuse to do anything about it. After the third visit, they now deny that they hear the distortion, something that was obvious and accepted in the first two visits. Now they claim they cannot hear any distortion. I took the car to four different car audio specialists to ask them to diagnose my problem and all four of them detected the problem right away. Honda refuses to write in my complain about a defective radio, they told me that they will not acknowledge that I brought the car in with a complaint of a defective radio. Now there is no record at Honda that I have a car with a defective radio and that I have tried to have Hoda correct the problem. Edgar Romo.

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  The WORST Minivan - 2003 Honda Odyssey
  By odysseysucks - September 17 - 10:00 am

  The Honda Odyssey is THE WORST minivan! Definitely! After paying almost 3000 over sticker, I hoped to be satisfied. But no! On the drive from the dealer, when the van had less than 100 miles on it, the CHECK ENGINE light came on, and I went straight to the dealer; guess what, TRANSMISSION! At 100 miles! At another 2000 miles, the climate control completely broke, and it was freezing! Many other small problems not worth mentioning. Is this what Japanese cars are like? I previously owned a Dodge Grand Caravan, and should have stuck to it. NO mechanical problems. Do not buy, do not buy, do not buy. Edmunds, please stop recommending it.

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  Fold flat cheat - 2003 Honda Odyssey
  By dodgeboy - August 30 - 10:00 am

  This car is too overrated!! There is nothing reliable about a car that has a severe mechanical problem during the FIRST 5,000 MILES!! Guess what, Edmunds: looks like the Dodge is much more reliable than this crappy import. In the lonely part of Colorado, this van broke down and left my wife, kids, and myself stranded at night. Luckily we could get rid of it, buy a brand new Dodge, and have an end to problems. Our Dodge, which now has 17,000 miles, hasnt had ONE PROBLEMS. So Edmunds, looks like youre very wrong, so take that comment of your sight before misleading more people.

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  Horrible experience!!! - 2004 Honda Odyssey
  By Douglas Kelley - August 18 - 2:00 am

  I purchase this Odyssey from Rick Case Honda in Florida and from the beginning to now the Honda Odyssey and the Honda experience has been horrible!! The vehicle has been to the shop 5 times for different things going wrong....The problems can be fixed but not always permanently as 2 of the problems have come back....stay away...stay away...stay away!!!!

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  New and shiny does not = great car - 2016 Honda HR-V
  By Sam - July 20 - 5:28 am

  The interior seems like it was designed by Stevie Wonder.

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  Leave the trucks to people who know them - 2006 Honda Ridgeline
  By Gertrude Morgala - July 9 - 5:50 am

  When we bought this vehicle, the dealer told us it could outpull a ford or dodge, pretty impressive, so we bought it. Not even close. My old Ranger could outhaul it. On top of that, it had cramped interior compared to similar sized trucks and it was one of the ugliest vehicles Ive ever seen. If you want a REAL truck, go with ford, dodge, or even a chev

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  Worst car Ive ever owned - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Kimberly Moore - July 2 - 12:21 am

  I drove around a CRV and loved it which was why I didnt spend much time researching when I traded in my 2015 GMC Crew Cab for the 2016 Pilot (I put a ton of miles on my vehicles so I trade them in before I hit 30k) I miss that truck dearly loved loved it!!! ... Anyway the first major problem I cant handle is the blue tooth ... It is terrible!!! I cant hold a conversation with anyone because they cant hear me and vise versa. According to them there is a ton of background noise I either have to pull over or take them off Bluetooth. 2nd the stereo is sub standard. My 2013 Kia Sportage was superior to this stereo system and that car was half this price. 3rd) the touch screen is VERY sensitive and Im always pressing too close to another option and it goes to something else (hard to explain) but I NEVER had any problem with my GMc touch screen. It also just seems too busy oh and fingerprints are a terrible issue!! In the gleam of the light sometimes I cant even see behind them (and I clean it all the time.. Because I have to 😉) Also, the third row isnt easy to put down and up. The system seems antiquated and cumbersome. THIS VEHICLE IS VERY SLOW. Even when I take the Econ option off its very slow. It drives like a van and you sit like your in a van (Ive driven a Nissan Quest and it was more fun than driving this) so if you have back problems I advise you truly test it out for awhile. If I drive it for over an hour my psyatic nerve starts to bother me. Im 57" and weigh 135. also, its not as quiet of a ride as I expected. My truck was quieter and so was my Kia. Honestly the only thing about it thats a plus is the gas mileage. I average 22.4mpg. But thats the only plus and over everything else I would pay the gas difference in a heart beat to drive an expedition again. (Ive driven them too) I hope this helps, everyone is different but Ive heard that there have been a lot of bad reviews of this vehicle and Im sure Honda will iron them out for the next years model or at least I hope so!! I will be trading this one in asap and its to the point I dont care how much money I loose in doing so. 😢 I also advise against the grey leather... My jeans stain it and Im having to clean the leather every weak Bc it shows wear very quickly.

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  Broken off the lot and in the shop for a month - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Michael King - June 10 - 10:35 am

  Frustrating is the only word I can use to describe my experience with my brand new 2016 Honda Pilot. I don’t know if it was a freak occurrence or maybe I’m just unlucky, but I drove my Pilot off the lot and about 10 miles later the Touch Screen Infotainment system just stopped working. I was ok with that honestly, things break, car manufacturing isnt a perfect process. However the thing that is unforgivable and what warrants a 1 star review for my brand new car is the face that getting Honda to repair it has been an absolute clown show. I’ve owned the car for 25 days and I’ve only had the car to drive for 5 days because the last 17 days the car has been in the shop. So here follow my timeline and make your own decision about whether or not buying a new Honda Pilot is right for you. Day 1: I bought the car and drove it away. The sales process was clean and efficient. I drove 10 miles home and on the way my infotainment touch screen started fading to black. Day 2: Driving the car around town the infotainment screen just stopped functioning entirely. Just a black screen that would show lines. Made an appointment to get the car in the shop the next day. Day 3: After staying at the dealership for 3 hours Honda told me their computers found nothing wrong, and that I should leave the car there and take a loaner while they called Honda Tech support to figure out the issue. This wasn’t immediately possible as I was planning an out of state trip that weekend so I said I would bring it right back on Monday. Day 7: After driving the car all weekend the infotainment system never worked once. It’s a blessing that I could control the radio was from the buttons on the steering wheel. I took the car into the dealership, and drove away with my loaner. All in all I had put about 780 miles on the car (150 miles of which was driving it back and forth to the dealership) They told me they hope to have it fixed in “a few days”. Great. Day 10: Haven’t heard back from the dealership so I give them a call. The tech line said they should just replace the entire infotainment system, it’s on order and they should have the part some time this week. They hope to get me the car in “a few days”. Great. Day 14: The part didn’t come over the weekend. We’re investigating why the part order didn’t go through. We’ll get this cleared up and get the car back to you as soon as we can. At this point Honda has had my car longer than I have. We’re starting to get really upset so we call Honda of America Corporate to see whats the problem. They said the dealership should figure it out and there is nothing they could do about it. They gave us a case number incase there was a problem. Day 16: We’ve ordered the part but it’s on hold. They won’t release it to us yet. At this point we’re wondering if the part even exists. This is where we start pulling our hair out from frustration. Day 17: I get a call from manager for my region at Honda Corporate. He seems just as upset as I am at how this has been handled and assures me that he understands my frustration. He say’s he’ll talk to my dealerships service manager and get the part shipping expedited. He says he’s going to investigate and crack skulls and call me the following Monday Day 21. Day 22: The regional manager from Honda of America calls me back and tells me the part still hasn’t been ordered. That he’ll call me back with an update later this week. This is today. At this point all I feel is silent rage. The car was fun to drive, the features were amazing but how can I feel excited at this point. My brand new car that I paid for now just feels like its a refurbished lemon. We’ve been given nothing but the run around by Honda and NOTHING has been done. THEY HAVEN’T EVEN ORDERED A REPLACEMENT PART SUCCESSFULLY. I’m exhausted. This was the first new car I’ve ever purchased. It’s been in the shop for 17 days and at this point I hope they keep the car in the shop another 10 days so they will be forced to replace or buy it back via the lemon law. It’s just been a customer service catastrophy so buyer beware and pray if your Pilot breaks that the replacement part actually exists.

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  Car From Hell - 1999 Honda Passport
  By LJC - May 15 - 2:00 am

  I was a Honda Accord owner before I decided to get the Passport. Huge mistake. It is definately NOT a Honda. It was in the shop at least every 3 months. I was on the phone constantly with the the corporate office. Since I was in a lease they claimed they could not do anything. In the end my warranty was extendended from 36,000 to 60,000, which was the only postive thing. If I had not gotten the extention, I would have been thousands of dollars in the hole.

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  one of the worst vehicle purchases I ever made - 2016 Honda HR-V
  By Edgar S. - April 20 - 10:56 pm

  Having owned Honda vehicles the past few years, 1996 accord , 2000 CRV. I thought the quality will stay the same if not a little better. I was dead wrong. I have low standards, however, I got this car for my daughter, thinking that Honda reliability will make us be worry free for the next few years. First issue, front windshield blurry in the bottom inch before the dashboard, hey, what can you do , its not perfect, its a $21000 dollar vehicle, not gonna bring it to the dealership to replace it, we can live with that. Second issue , no engine temperature gauge, I mean come on now, how hard can it be for Honda to put that in, okay , I guess we can just get a scan gauge to remedy the issue. Third issue, its been raining here in Los Angeles, the past few days, and guess what? the rear passenger side has some leaks ,primarily the seat belt is soaking wet, aside from that the trunk has leaks too, in the same side. I mean, wow , this is supposed to be Honda...what happened to your quality control.?Ive only had the HRV for 6 months, at 6300 miles, garage kept . pampered and babied like my other old Hondas..Now I have to bring it the dealerships here in L.A. Im not sure how long they will fix it or not and they might not even offer a loaner car, I think, hope im wrong ...what a disappointment. Imagine the molds that may be in those wet areas ...Now im stuck with this HRV, cant wait to get rid of it....