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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  love at first ride - 1997 Honda Prelude
  By dillon - January 7 - 8:25 pm

  If you can find one manual and in good shape , buy it . You wont regret it . Bought with 130k now at 156k and abused the mess out of it all the time and all Ive had to replace was a shifter cable (800). Love everything about it besides back seats but hey its a coupe.

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  My First Honda Has Been A Winner - 2009 Honda Accord
  By Joy Babb - January 7 - 3:48 pm

  Manufacturer advises against a trailer hitch including one that would hold a bike away from your car because it sits low to ground and bumper cover is closer to ground than other years. Dealer told me after purchase, you should always use a flat bed truck for this year model if ever has to be towed otherwise, fiberglass of bump can get damaged. The exterior noise level that can be heard in the car is terrible, especially at high speed. I noticed in the test drive, even with with high frequency hearing loss but did not dismiss the car because of its safety report and history of low repairs over 5 years on this model on the Edmunds website (Sorry, I havent been able to relocate that very useful tool). As an original owner in July 2009 to January 7, 2016, there has been one repair that would have been close to a grand but I had bought the best extended warranty my dealer recommended. Interior is great! Two men have sat in my car at the same time who were ~ 6 feet. Trunk is a dream - holds 4 wheeled carry on bags. It has no navigation but I do not miss it. I love this car as much as I did my three rear wheeled drive Mercury Cougars ( gave up on this one when they went front wheel drive) but now get better miles/gallon. No plans to sell. I tend to hold on to cars 10-16 years. For mostly city driving the noise is not noticeable but on trips of more than an hour of highway, it is miserable because you cannot hear the radio without turning it up loud.

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  3+ years & 28,000 miles - 2012 Honda Odyssey
  By CTJ - January 6 - 4:13 pm

  I love driving my 2012 Honda Odyssey EX-L. I have 28,000 miles on it and have made no repairs to it, other than standard maintenance like oil changes, air filters, tire rotation. Ive had no problems whatsoever. I agree with the other reviewer who said the headrests are uncomfortable. I also wish there were more USB ports in the rear, but I believe that was added on the newer models. Overall, I love this van!

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  Surge and skips/hesitation at 45-50 mph - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By Nervous Nellie - January 6 - 1:58 pm

  I bought my 2015 Honda CRV in Aug. 2015. It wasnt even 3 mos old (2700 miles on it) when I noticed that it was skipping/hesitating when at a steady speed of about 45-50 mph. The rpm surges from the 1500 mark up to 2000 and right after that there was a momentary hesitation like a skip. It did it about every 10-20 seconds. Only when it is fully warmed up and has been driven at a steady speed. I normally only drive a few miles to work and around town at 30 mph. It is only when I get on a major road and am cruising along. I also noticed a reduction in gas mileage. Dealer could not get any diagnostic codes. They had to get Honda Tech to help. Turned out to be a software malfunction and they had to basically reboot the cars computer. I dont know how this happens with a new car, but I hope it is fixed for good. The dealer staff was excellent and I have no problem with them. They had the car for 3 days. Thankfully I had a loaner. I have NOT noticed the vibration that many people have complained about, but maybe because I rarely am stopped and idling (no streetlights in my town).

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  Transmission with a mind of its own. - 2014 Honda Odyssey
  By John A Campbell II - January 5 - 8:05 pm

  When decelerating in town driving, the transmission shifts are eratic and when you accelerate the transmission will down shift and the car jumps forward at times it has put me in a dangerous situation. When at highway speed and going up a hill or incline the engine misfires. Between the engine misfire and the eratic transmission shifts I some times hate having to drive this thing anywhere especially in traffic. Of course the dealer said all is normal no codes. I am a retired mechanic and this is not normal. I expected more from Honda.

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  Tried and tested....not much more - 2014 Honda Accord
  By Alvin - January 4 - 8:06 pm

  Purchased a 14 Accord EX-L Sedan, traded it in 6 months later. That about sums it up. Was looking for a roomy sedan (3 kids) and the Accord looked great on paper. It was wider and roomier than most of its competitors (Passat, Camry, Impala etc) and had a stellar reliability history. Add that to the fact it was re-designed in 13, it sounded to be a winner! Got the vehicle for ~$3k under MSRP, I was overly pleased with the car. It was predictable in the fact that it had good resale value, great gas mileage, good maintenance costs of ownership and looks pretty good as well! The safety features were stellar, from side airbags to lane departure warnings and the awesome pass-side blind spot camera. Why did I trade it in so soon (and take a ~$3k hit financially?). It was....meh. Again, nothing against the Accord, it is a great vehicle, it just wasnt inspirational and, in my case, the best use of ~$25k. Ended up trading towards an older Lexus that I absolutely loved driving. PLUS - Good comfort, great interior materials for the EX-L (was actually worth the upgrade compared to the base LX/Sport model) - Great gas mileage, Id get almost 40mpg on the highway and respectable almost-30 in the city - Roomy inside including the backseat - Good navigation and entertainment package, decent sound system and user-friendly Negative - Other than personal preference....actually not much. Price-wise it is competitive against a 14 Camry XLE similarly equipped (Camry rides plushier) - Car is predictable but uninspiring, it is a functional vehicle without much pizzazz This is based on my personal expectations and certainly my view. The 14 Accord is a great sedan, I cant be overly critical of it. Just wasnt for me.

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  Meh - if you want no surprises and can settle.... - 2014 Honda Pilot
  By Alvin - January 4 - 7:54 pm

  Brief summary - If you want a predictable vehicle with good resale value, good safety and plenty of room, the 2009-2015 Honda Pilot is the right vehicle for you. If you want some comfort, good looks, updated design (Pilot hasnt changed much since 2009) and modern technology advances (touch screen navigation), look elsewhere. Coming from previous Honda vehicles (Accord, CRV), we almost purchased the Odyssey before settling on the Pilot. Starting with the trim levels, Honda has these pre-designated so it doesnt confuse consumers. The only way to get both navigation and factory entertainment (DVD) system was the Pilot, which had a MSRP of $42k. Note that for the "top of the line" vehicle in 2014, this thing was well behind the times. Not only has there been no major updates to this Pilot since 2009 (when the first ever Samsung Galaxy smartphone was released), it was well behind the competition. The 14 Toyota Highlander came with LEDs, adaptive cruise control, panoramic moonroof, blu-ray DVD player, heated steering wheel and the 12-speaker JBL system. The Honda Pilot came with regular lights, regular cruise control, regular moonroof, regular DVD player, regular steering wheel, and regular "premium" sound system. FOR ALMOST THE SAME PRICE ($42k Pilot Touring 4WD vs $43k Highlander Platinum AWD) The Honda is very utilitarian meaning it serves its purpose. You want a dependable vehicle that has history of few mechanical issues, good resale value, a lot of interior passenger & cargo room, it is a good vehicle. But on top of a lack of value, it actually is uncomfortable (comparably). Hard leather seats that are far from plush, very hard-plastic interior (same materials as the base Pilot LX...) covers the interior of the vehicle, and a less-than-plush ride. Took a 19 hour road trip over Thanksgiving and it was less-than-desired comfortable, though I have been in worse vehicles. The navigation is an outdated & un-intuitive input system that requires the user to use a knob and turn to the right character, one alphabet at a time...think of a rotary phone but with the whole keyboard as possible options. Also note at 15k and 30k miles, Honda recommends the rear differential fluid to be flushed (~$80-$100 per instance) which wasnt an expected maintenance item. Its in the manual. Also for those who swear by Honda reliablity, google "Honda Pilot VCM" to read through the horror stories many Pilot owners have had with their ENGINE. With the new re-designed 2016 Pilots now out, you can really get a good deal on a low-mileage late model Pilot because the new one fixes a lot of the issues a lot of the old ones have. We got a decent deal (over $4k off MSRP) when we purchased the 14 Pilot 4WD, at the time of this posting new 15 Pilot 4WD Tourings could be had around the $35k mark with all incentives which is a great deal. PLUS - Good gas mileage (23-24mpg highway is realistic) - Aside from the VCM issue, no major concerns around reliability a lot of over 100k mile Pilots still on the road - Great resale value, Honda has done a good job here - Stellar interior room middle row seats has much leg/hip room as a minivan...without being a minivan - Boxy shape means flexibility to haul a lot of cargo like oversized gifts, bicycles and such - Sound system, for being no-brand, sounds pretty decent NEGATIVE - Comfort, comfort, comfort...almost 2 years into ownership, the seats havent gotten any better. - Cheap-ish interior material the fact the leather stains so easily to the very hard plastic that covers the interior of the vehicle from the dash to the door panels, even in the "top of the line" trim is disappointing - Less than plush ride, especially compared to the 14 Pathfinder, 14 Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon, 14 Highlander, 14 Enclave/Traverse/Acadia and even the 14 Durango - Old design, this thing hasnt been refreshed since 2009 when almost all its competitors have come with something new Would I do it again? Absolutely not. Do I regret it? Not really, I am confident this vehicle will run for a long time to come and hold its value respectably. But when you itch to trade the car in almost every month because making car payments on a car that you "settle for", it isnt a good feeling.

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  goodbuy - 2000 Honda Accord
  By Jack Christopherson - January 4 - 3:13 pm

  Its a great car.

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  Love this car! - 2009 Honda Civic
  By Eliana - January 3 - 2:49 am

  I am really not sure what there is to complain on this car. I owned it for more than 1 year and had 0 problems! Well.. I forgot the light on one night, but the battery held it for about 15 hours! Strong battery and good performance. My car gives me 44.0 mpg in summer and around 40 mpg in winter due to idling longer in cold weather. The seats seem to toughen up after 1+ hours of sitting and it is painful, but overall, I would give it an A+ so far. I would definitely recommend! And hoping to keep the car for 10 years or at lease until I finish my degree.

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  Superb gas mileage champ - 2012 Honda Civic
  By Wcjeep - January 3 - 12:36 am

  Initially bought the Civic for my long commutes. Stop and go on the freeway I averaged 35mpg. Now the wifes lead foot averages 25mpg city only driving. The front seats are not designed for long road trips. Any trip under two hours is fine. Did not purchase navigation. We have smartphones. My one tech gripe is the 1-2 second audio delay while streaming Bluetooth. The factory tires were not designed for use in the rain. Probably should have bought leather interior. My work clothes get dirty. I did buy airbag compatible washable seat covers. Factory sound system makes noise. Its not Bose or Mark Levinson. This is reliable transportation that requires little effort to drive and starts every time.