What is your opinion on Honda?

[Franco Cozzo]

Just curious to see what the average Ford/Holden man/woman's opinion is on Honda as a manufacturer and their vehicles. Just after your opinions on their products and if you would possibly buy one of their vehicles if the price is right or for something different.

* No FWD/RWD debate.

[Morexbs]

Honda have never made a bad car that I can recall and that is reflected in their high resale values.My perception of them is high quality and very reliable but very conservative.
If they made a diesel 4x4 dual cab I would probably buy one...

[snappy]

I personally dont mind them , They have never really made a car i wanted to own but all expierences with them have been good .

[chrisfpv]

A friend of mine recently purchased a Honda Jazz, one of the new ones and it looks ok. I haven't driven it as I don't know how to drive manual and can't say i'd ever buy one myself but they're not horrible.

I don't know what kind of cars they offer besides the Jazz to be honest.

Edit: Just took a look on the Honda site, the interior of the Honda Legend looks pretty hardcore.

[jpd80]

Better than Toyota but Accord looks very "old man" American chrome styling...
Jazz is OK, I don't mind Civic or the hybrid, Accord Euro is passable.

Oddly enough I don't see them as competitors to Ford even though they are...

[FPV GTHO]

Good engines and handling. Not much of a fan of the styling though.

[Franco Cozzo]

Honda have:

Accord Euro:

http://euro.honda.com.au/resources.a...5/1024x768.jpg

Accord:

http://accord.honda.com.au/resources...xt_01_1024.jpg

City:

http://city.honda.com.au/resources.a...xt_01_1024.jpg

Civic Range:

http://civic.honda.com.au/resources....o_1024x768.jpg

http://civictyper.honda.com.au/resou...8_1024x768.jpg

http://civicsi.honda.com.au/resource...xt_01_1024.jpg

Legend:

http://legend.honda.com.au/resources...unnel_1024.jpg

Odyssey:

http://odyssey.honda.com.au/resource...2_1024x768.jpg

CRV:

http://crv.honda.com.au/resources.as...1_1024x768.jpg

Jazz:

http://jazz.honda.com.au/resources.a...xt_01_1024.jpg

You can see their entire model range, 360 degree shots and interior of them here:

http://www.honda.com.au/wps/wcm/conn...Home/Showroom/

Personally, I really like the Accord Euro and the Odyssey.

[geckoGT]

I have test driven both the Civic Type R and the Accord Euro and I have to say from a handling, ride and trim perspective they are first rate, very nice and good through corners (without entering the FWD thing). The only down side for me was they are down on power and require a lot of revs to keep them on song. We bought the Mini instead of the Civic Type R although the Civic interior was more usable and the handling was on par, the Mini has a lot more go to it.

From what I saw when we were looking and the research I did with other Honda owners is they definitely had better build quality than Ford (FG was not released at that time). Ford have improved but I think they still have a way to go to catch Honda.

[bigdude1011]

They're pretty innovative, well equipped, and have some pretty good power-to-weight ratios. Some models also handle pretty well.

In reply to XR, the new Jazz also has a 5-speed automatic - not bad for a light car.

The only thing missing here is the CNG-powered Civic that sold in the US for a while

[tezxr8man]

just wait toll u need to fix it, i thought ford was steep with parts but you may need a few limbs to pay for them, other than that they aren't too bad

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by tezxr8man

just wait toll u need to fix it, i thought ford was steep with parts but you may need a few limbs to pay for them, other than that they aren't too bad

Thats because Honda is considered the "premium" brand of all the Asian auto manufacturers (Well here anyway). They are pretty expensive to fix.

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

I have test driven both the Civic Type R and the Accord Euro and I have to say from a handling, ride and trim perspective they are first rate, very nice and good through corners (without entering the FWD thing). The only down side for me was they are down on power and require a lot of revs to keep them on song. We bought the Mini instead of the Civic Type R although the Civic interior was more usable and the handling was on par, the Mini has a lot more go to it.

Civic type R handling is very good. Getting to almost EVO levels of ability and thats saying something considering its only FWD.

In general Hondas are nice cars and fairly well built. Not sure if there is anything in there range that would interest me though.

[mik]

never been a fan of honda, no different from any other manufacturer , but always thought of them as motor cycle manufacturer, car engines seem to have similar traits lots of revs no torque, appears to be put together ok, the only one i thought may be worth owning was the type r.

[Redrum]

I think they need to do a Mazda type face lift, their cars lack any appeal, like Toyota. Bring out some models that have a bit of appeal. The S2000 is about the only vehicle in their range that might turn heads, other than the crappy XF style digital dash.

Their bikes though are nice.

[gtxb67]

i have always liked them. they do seem to have a reputation of being the better japanese car (within a realistic budget). we test drove the civic, accord, euro and crv yesterday. the accord did nothing for me, but the civic, euro and crv had their good points. i don't think i have a choice anyway. my wife wants a honda and trying to talk her out of it, would be like her trying to get either of us into a holden - it just won't happen

what is your belief damo - are they a reliable and well built car

[Yellow_Festiva]

Nice cars built well with advanced engine technology (but the rest are catching up).

Sell at a premium over other Japanese cars and rightly so. I don't consider them the premium brand of the Asian manufacturers however, that label goes to Lexus.

Tossed up buying a Honda Beat for a while...

[Yaw]

Very well built cars, styling is obviously a lot more european (not my liking) but reliabilty is there. However the one massive downside is very expensive spare parts compared to toyota/ford/holden/mitshubishi

[EB#]

Going by the late model Civics that I have driven, they present as a very well
engineered and built car. Only down side for me is that they are a bit boring to drive,
but I've only driven the autos.

That said, if I opt for a small car in the future, the Civic or Jazz in a manual
would certainly be a front running contender.

[Redrum]

Originally Posted by EB92

That said, if I opt for a small car in the future, the Civic or Jazz in a manual
would certainly be a front running contender.

You surely must consider the Fiesta too!

[XR Martin]

Problem is we dont get the real Type R, just some watered down model.
Actually I think the only real one we ever got was the DC2 Integra.

[RG]

There's a Civic Hybrid at work. It's had a massive amount of issues with the Hybrid system and unfortunately it seems our friendly local Honda dealer took lessons from Ford.

Seems to be going alright now though, horrible thing to drive though.

[XR Martin]

The diffs in CRVs generally die the day the odo hits six figures.

[MethodX]

I hate them, but they up until recently had good build quality.
Seem to be having a few recalls too.
The Civic is a good size car these days but suffers from that awful dash/instruments.

oops last model had that digital dash it seems, so much for being a civic expert.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by MethodX

The Civic is a good size car these days but suffers from that awful dash/instruments.

i liked the instrument lay out - the dash does seem very long and flat, but overall i liked it better than the accord, euro and crv



to me, i enjoyed the civic more than the accord and that was before looking at the $20,000 price difference

[Nikked]

I wish my falcon handled like a honda :(

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

i liked the instrument lay out - the dash does seem very long and flat, but overall i liked it better than the accord, euro and crv



to me, i enjoyed the civic more than the accord and that was before looking at the $20,000 price difference

Ya the Civic is pretty good value for money compared to the accord, dont see that many around though.

[BOSHOG]

everything Honda make is top knotch

[144HSK]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Ford have improved but I think they still have a way to go to catch Honda.

Not having a go - but it's more a matter of choice then a matter of catching up. Honda have been building high quality cars for many many years. We have a 20 year old accord and the inside look and feels better then a lot of newer cars. Ford won't be top notch anytime soon - it's a completely different market really. Don't get me wrong I still love my falcon!

[Peter B - CV8]

About a year ago I was looking at replacing the wife's daily driver with either a Honda Accord Euro - or Mazda 6 Hatchback.
Both were good quality ( the Honda probably moreso) & were pretty equal - until service & part costs come into the equation. Needless to say we bought the Mazda & have been totally happy.
Honda have built a quality product for the past 10 - 15 years, but I still recall some pretty ordinary efforts in the 70's. Civic's & Accords laying down smoke screens after idling at the lights for a minute or two & some fairly bad rust/corrosion issues.

[Falcman0o7]

Honda?

Good.