2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe - Road Test

Now Playing: Upsized and downrevved for the enthusiast of tomorrow.
BY JOHN PHILLIPS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROY RITCHIE May 2011

For the past six years, we’ve felt a little like Estragon and Vladimir in Waiting for Godot. So many hours have been lost debating whether the previous-gen Honda Civic Si produced enough power to hold its head above water in the pocket-rocket pond. Eventually, this existential controversy morphed into a kind of recreation, with Si devotees screeching fiery epithets from the bleachers. Well, finally, Generation Nine is upon us. “We’re saved!” shouted Beckett’s protagonists whenever they suspected Godot might momentarily appear.

Here’s a sad fact: Godot never showed. And whether the Si is “saved” likewise remains unclear.

Let us review recent history.

Our first encounter with the previous Si came late in calendar year 2005, when we pitted it against a Volkswagen GTI. The Honda lost. In 2009, we inserted an Si into a seven-car comparo, where it finished fifth, gasping and sweating. We weren’t surprised. The Si’s engine—2.0 liters, 197 horsepower, 139 pound-feet of torque—relegated it to least-powerful status in the whole segment. It certainly didn’t possess the grits to fend off, say, a 263-hp Mazdaspeed 3 Grand Touring or a 265-hp Subaru Impreza WRX. What’s more, accessing the Si’s horses has always required the spinning of the crank and cams to a fine fare-thee-well. The VTEC didn’t swap cam profiles until 6000 rpm, and it was thereafter vital to rely on every single rev right up to the colossal eight-grand cutoff.

Of course, Si purists—and trust us, they are legion—smugly insisted that the little howler-monkey engine comprised much of the car’s charm. Yet in the same breath, they’d also confess the coppery taste of  humiliation whenever a WRX achieved 60 mph 2.0 seconds in front of them, fast becoming a gnat on the horizon.

Now comes Honda’s solution for the ninth-gen Si, a solution both simple and a little surprising, given the rumors of a turbo. Out goes the 2.0-liter engine, in comes the naturally aspirated 2.4-liter unit that sees simultaneous duty in the Acura TSX. The result is an unnoticeable 4-hp gain, but torque is up 22 percent—peaking at 4400 rpm instead of 6100 rpm—and that’s a difference you can feel. While they were at it, the engineers paired the engine to the TSX’s delightful six-speed transaxle. But is that enough?

Well, sort of. At the track, the Si nailed 60 mph in 6.3 seconds versus the previous 6.7, and it proved a half-second quicker in our 5-to-60-mph rolling start. Turn off  the traction control, and you can now shred rubber for 15 feet, followed by a Rottweiler bark as you bang into second. An improvement, for sure, but it’s still shy of the accelerative thrust of five turbocharged competitors, including the Speed 3, the WRX, and even the GTI, which has a similarly meager 200 horses but can nonetheless summon 60 mph in 6.1 seconds.

On the other hand, the larger engine ushers in welcome perks. The mechanical thrash of the previous powerplant, for instance, is now largely MIA, and gear noise is likewise reduced, with all three of our sound-level tests confirming the fact. (Still, road-borne noise and tread roar remain issues that Honda must address.) Equally important, the number of shifts required for ’round-town cruising seems subjectively halved. In traffic, the Si is perfectly content relying on first, third, and fifth. And by eschewing a turbo, the Si’s mileage—now up to an observed 26 mpg—is best described as a charming achievement.

Yes, yes, 900 top-end revs have been lost. But the car now pulls with at least vague enthusiasm just after step-off. In fact, our only serious beef with the new engine is its considerable overrun when the throttle is suddenly dropped. Among other things, that makes for very little initial engine braking, and the revs sometimes take a couple of seconds to return to idle. Most drivers won’t complain, but it’s a behavior that lends the drivetrain a titch of laziness that has historically been anathema to Honda-think.

As with the previous-gen Si, this is among the most-neutral-handling front-drivers on the planet. Around our 15-mile public-road loop in southern Ohio, we could provoke only the most minor of nibbling understeer—and that was at speeds approaching Fear Factor Nine—with the rear tires faithfully following whatever paths had been established by the fronts. No rotation, no drifts, no drama. Body motions were exquisitely controlled, with the ride revealing the stiff springs and dampers only over high-frequency imperfections, primarily expansion joints and broken pavement.

At around-town speeds, the Si’s steering tends to feel artificial, as if it were the outcome of some sort of electrical/mechanical calculus that never precisely balanced. At least it’s light. As speed rises, fortunately, it firms up nicely and also becomes livelier. There’s no bump steer, no nervousness, and interstate tracking is peerless. The brakes are fade-free, and the pedal is firm and informative.

Moreover, the light, fluid shifter—as good as any that Honda has ever produced—allows the driver to summon alternate rev ranges with the flick of two fingers, abetted by a new lightweight clutch with simply seamless takeup. Faced with slow hairpins, the limited-slip differential carefully apportions power so that the inside front wheel never scrabbles. The thinly cushioned seats hold you firmly in place, and the dead pedal is perfectly sited. With lateral grip rising from 0.87 g to 0.90 g, the Si just dances and sings in the hills. This 2864-pound coupe is perfectly balanced, agile, poised, ever willing, a car that is easy to drive. Real fast comes real quickly.

The only obvious failure here is the unimproved interior. There are crass plastic trim bits on the steering wheel and around the HVAC controls. The Civic’s trademark minivan-sized windshield leans over a mini­van-sized dash, a vast plain of cut-lines, textures, and colors. The bunk-bed layout for the IP is okay, but the garish LCD gauges are right out of a RadioShack in Akron. The mouse-fur headliner suffers from the mange, and there’s a lumpy, wrinkled collar of felt that surrounds the steering column, shouting to one and all, “Yessir, that’s right, I actually am the cheapest bit of flotsam in the universe!” Note to Honda: Check out the Ford Focus’s interior.

The new Si—manual six-speed only—comes in both sedan and coupe forms. The coupe starts at $22,955, the sedan opens at $23,155, and both top out at $24,655. The only options are navigation, XM radio, and (exclusive to the coupe) summer tires—17-inch Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2s, as fitted on our test car. (Fun driving tip: Demand that your spouse call you “Pilot Exalto.”) If you’ve got a calculator handy, you’ll perhaps already know that a starter Si coupe is more than $1500 cheaper than either a GTI or a Speed 3.

This latest Si is more sophisticated than its forebear, although it has been somewhat cruelly left to play David to the turbocharged Goliaths. As of now, it offers a better ride, produces less noise, and is faster in both a straight line and through the most diabolical off-camber, double-apex turns that Ohio’s deranged civil engineers could conjure. It is surely less raw than its predecessor, a trait that many Si purists—including our own revered Tony Quiroga and Dan Pund—lament. Until they commit to a three-day, 800-mile road trip, two-thirds of which skates over frost-heaved interstates. No longer is the Si a one-trick pony. At speed it’s a serial killer, yet during commutes and city errands it’s a near-soothing mental-health counselor with practicality and a price that make it easy to justify.

And with that, as always, please feel free to express your unalloyed hatred.

Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/11q2/2012_honda_civic_si_coupe-road_test

Honda Tuning: 1985 Honda CRX SI

Ah, Honda's glory days.... what a fun car....
1985 Honda CRX SI - CRX Memoirs
Although the first-generation CRX had been formally introduced during the 1984 model year, when Honda unveiled the Si model just 12 months later, enthusiasts realized that the brand’s little, performance-minded hatchback was better in almost every way.
From the June, 2011 issue of Honda Tuning
By Aaron Bonk


Thank the mid-’80’s mini-truck clubs for Honda performance as you know itcarefully tailored mullets, Ray-Ban Aviators, pegged jeans, and all. When you’re done, thank the ’85 CRX Si too. By 1985, mini-trucks were arguably a prevailing force among boy enthusiasts who denied more predictable domestic cars. As expected, testosterone-charged arcade meet-ups lost their luster as mini-truck clubs soon sought a more balanced male-to-female ratio. The fairer sex added an interesting and unexpected element to the equation thougharriving at events in smaller, easier to maneuver Ford Escorts, Volkswagen Rabbits, Nissan Sentras, Toyota MR2s, even Honda CRXs. Discriminating, newly enlightened mini-truckers traded their trucks for hatchbacksso many so that by 1989 Mini-Truckin’ magazine, for example, had a compact performance following so large it spawned the first-ever publication catering to sport compact enthusiasts: Sport Compact Car magazine. Sport Compact Car’s editors would later create Honda Tuning.
Honda’s CRX wasn’t the first sport compact enthusiasts cared about. Volkswagen’s early-’80’s Rabbit GTI overwhelmed much of the competition within a market that, frankly, had little rivalry. Although the first-generation CRX had been formally introduced during the 1984 model year, when Honda unveiled the Si model just 12 months later, enthusiasts realized that the brand’s little, performance-minded hatchback was better in almost every way.

American Honda had a difficult time convincing Honda of Japan to make the CRX available to U.S. consumers. The two-seater was designed for the world market, not Americans. Its essence was aimed toward young, economically conscious, city-dwelling Japanese who grappled with big-city traffic and nonsensical parking. Americans, who Honda’s analysts were convinced bought cars for legroom and impressive cubic-inch counts, were not who the company initially considered as viable consumers. Of course, American Honda was given the go-ahead and, from its first sales brochure and its first commercial, did something nobody expectedit solicited Honda’s all-new sport compact for exactly what it wasa sports car. This should come as no surprise; the Si acronym stands for Sport Injected after all. The media immediately pitted the angular-shaped, two-seater CRX against the GTI and MR2. The CRX delivered. Later, Honda’s CRX made Car and Driver magazine’s Ten Best list in 1985, among other accolades, like earning Motor Trend magazine’s Import Car of the Millennium title in 1990. Road & Track magazine went on to say that the Si had the sprit of an exotic.

Astute enthusiasts appreciated the high-revving Si’s modern fuel injection, taut suspension, precise steering, and ample braking, yet were left jaundiced by the fact that America never received the higher-output 1.6-liter, DOHC version the rest of the world had. To ensure exclusivity to the much-anticipated Acura brand that would launch later that year, and to the chagrin of CRX enthusiasts, twin-cam D-series engines were reserved solely for the upper echelon nameplate’s entry-level compact, the Integra. None of this mattered, though. Every CRX American Honda received sold.

For the rest of the article, follow the link;
http://www.hondatuningmagazine.com/features/htup_1106_1985_honda_crz_si_crx_memoirs/index.html

Auto123: 2011 Honda Pilot Touring Review

By Michel Deslauriers
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Honda can, without a doubt, be considered an environmentally friendly car company. Their small cars, the Fit and the Civic, are versatile, fuel-efficient and produce low levels of CO2 emissions. Their hybrid models, the Insight and CR-Z, are extremely efficient. So how can they justify an 8-passenger SUV in their product line-up?

Well, it has to maximize fuel economy. It has to maximize interior space. And it has to avoid being perceived by the public as a dirty, socially-irresponsable truck. The Pilot manages to meet at least two of these three conditions.

Under the hood of the Pilot resides a 24-valve, 3.5-litre V6 that’s found in various Honda and Acura products. In this case, it gets cylinder deactivation systems across the model range and develops 250 horsepower as well as 253 pound-feet of torque. The sole transmission choice is a 5-speed automatic; Honda does have a 6-speed in the tool shed, which equips the Odyssey Touring and several Acura models, so why don’t they quit fooling around and put it in the Pilot?

Whatever. Zero to 100 takes 8.8 seconds, which isn’t bad by truck standards, but some of its rivals are quicker. As for fuel economy, our average of 13.2 L/100 km is decent but didn’t trigger any high-fives in the office. The Advanced VCM system, or Variable Cylinder Management, helps a little but isn’t a miracle worker.

The V6 is smooth while providing enough muscle for a tow rating of 4,500 pounds (or 2,045 kg). That’s better than the Mazda CX-9, but not as good as pretty much every other mid-size, 7- or 8-passenger SUV.

The VTM-4 all-wheel drive system works the front wheels under normal conditions, and sends up to 70 percent of engine torque back to the rear during acceleration or when wheel slippage is detected. The system can be locked in four-wheel mode with the help of a dash-mounted button, but it only works under about 30 km/h.

The Pilot is a trooper on the highway, but the driving experience is tarnished by a steering rack that doesn’t send up enough road feel. Change lanes on a snowy day, and you’ll barely feel that strip of slush as you merge back into the slow lane; it should be more communicative.

The cockpit’s overall appearance is industrial-strength robust, although the dash piece seams at the top of the centre stack spoil it a little. It takes a few days to get used to the climate control switchgear, while the sound system includes a USB port in the Touring trim only; however, you can flip through music folders by holding down the song-skip buttons on the wheel, which is practical. Oh yeah, the rear-seat DVD with wireless headphones works beautifully for the kiddies.

We’re a little less enthusiastic about the navigation system. While relatively easy to use, spelling out a city or a street name by turning the system’s control knob isn’t a quick operation. The navigation display’s crude graphics makes me feel like I’ve fired up my Super Nintendo console.

Space-wise, the Pilot’s interior is muy grande. All three rows can accommodate adults, a pretty rare accomplishment in this vehicle category. Imagine a bus built by Honda, and it would look a lot like the Pilot. The Touring trim also benefits from heated front and outboard second-row seats. Visibility all around is great, and the truck’s narrow turning radius makes it easy to park.

Cargo space with the second and third rows of seats folded amounts to 2,464 litres; that’s bigger than in the Ford Explorer and Nissan Pathfinder, but smaller than in the Mazda CX-9 and way smaller than in the Chevrolet Traverse/GMC Acadia twins. The tailgate window can also be opened separately.

In general, though, the Pilot feels solid. Not just solid, but Tonka truck durable. The Pilot’s squared-off look doesn’t offend anyone, and the truck’s front fascia also makes it socially acceptable because it looks sympathetic, not truckish.

The entry price for a LX 2WD model is $34,820 before tax, freight and delivery charges. The Touring version we’re driving this week escalates the price ladder like the yodeling mountain climber in The Price is Right, reaching $48,420. Ouch.

But wait. Similarly-equipped rivals are also a wallet-drain. A Chevrolet Traverse 2LT AWD costs $54,720. A Mazda CX-9 GT AWD costs $49,790. A Nissan Pathfinder LE costs $52,548. A Toyota 4Runner Limited costs $49,665. A Dodge Durango Crew Plus costs $48,995. Actually, only the $46,999 Ford Explorer Limited and the $44,900 Toyota Highlander Limited are cheaper, although the latter doesn’t offer a rear-seat DVD.

With every passing year, the competition gets better and better, and the Pilot needs to stay in the game. In typical Honda product mid-cycle fashion, a facelift should arrive in 2012; we’ll see what other changes will be made.

Still, the Pilot is a competent, practical SUV that’s easy to live with. It maximizes interior space, it arguably consumes a reasonable amount of fuel, and its lack of aggressiveness prevents it from being conceived as an environmentally-unfriendly vehicle. Can the Pilot justify its presence in Honda’s line-up? We think so.

Source;
http://www.auto123.com/en/honda/pilot/2011/review?carid=1112301205&printable=1&artid=130547

Canadian Driver: Used Vehicle Review: Honda Civic, 2006-2011

By Chris Chase
The eighth-generation Honda Civic hit the market in 2006, and made a bit of a splash when it did, with its wedgy exterior and modern interior, including a controversial split-level dashboard. Nevertheless, the Civic remained one of the most popular cars on the market and largely retained its reputation for being a dependable form of transportation.

If you bought a Civic in 2006, you got a compact sedan or coupe powered by a 1.8-litre, four-cylinder engine making 140 horsepower in all trims save the Si coupe and Hybrid. The Si got a 2.0-litre, 197-hp motor, while the Hybrid used 1.3-litre engine paired with an electric motor for a net horsepower power rating of 110. Regular-grade Civics came standard with a five-speed manual transmission that could be optioned to a five-speed automatic. The Si used a six-speed manual exclusively and also got a limited-slip differential; the Hybrid came with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) as the only one available.

In 2008, an Si sedan was added to the line-up. Some upper trim models got stability/traction control in 2009.

Natural Resources Canada’s fuel consumption ratings for the 2006 Civic were 7.8/5.7 L/100 km (city/highway) for the 1.8-litre model with manual transmission, or 8.2/5.7 with the automatic. The Hybrid was rated at 4.7/4.3, and the Si at 10.2/6.8. These figures would remain the same through the eighth-gen Civic’s run, to 2011.

Reliability on the whole has been good, earning the Civic inclusion on Consumer Reports’ list of used car “good bets.” It’s not without fault, however, particularly the hybrid model.
Consumer Reports’ data on the Civic shows electrical system problems with the Hybrid powertrain. These include the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) warning light turning on, indicating a problem with the battery or the software that manages the IMA system. Here’s a thread talking about how high ambient temperatures and hot weather can negatively affect the Civic Hybrid’s battery pack. The battery packs themselves appear to be pricey; I’ve seen figures upwards of $3,000 for replacement (including labour) mentioned in more than one forum.
There’s also an IMA software update mentioned frequently that apparently causes driveability issues after it’s installed in the car’s CPU. Apparently, this is due to the system needing to recalibrate itself, but kills the electric assist function in the process, making the car slow, and dangerously so, say some owners.

If the check engine, IMA and battery light come on and the car loses electric assist (runs on the gas engine only), a common, and simple, cause is a weak 12-volt battery (just like the one every car has). If this battery is bad, it frequently causes the car’s sensitive electronics to go haywire.
Here’s a Civic Hybrid FAQ from CleanMPG.com.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that the Honda Civic Hybrid is one to approach with caution, especially used, and even more so if the hybrid system warranty is close to expiry. A couple of posters in this GreenHybrid.com thread call their 2007 Civic Hybrids the worst cars they’ve ever owned.

With that out of the way, non-hybrid Civics have fared much better, suffering only from relatively minor problems.

There’s a common problem with the Civic Si’s transmission that causes grinding and hard shifting into third gear, and a shifter that pops out of third. This prompted the folks at 8thCivic.com to draft a (poorly written) petition in an effort to get Honda to acknowledge the problem. The company eventually did, by issuing a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) advising dealers on how to fix the bad transmissions.

A popping sound from the front suspension, a problem that appears to affect mostly 2006, 2007 and a few 2008 Civics, is caused by an incorrectly manufactured bump stop. Honda addressed this in 2007, with the TSB that can be found here.

Read this thread for a few details about a rear suspension problem – bad upper control arms – that seems to affect only the Hybrid.

This thread indicates that some Civic owners have experienced head gasket failures. There’s no evidence of this in Consumer Reports’ data, though.

The two-door Civic earned a “good” rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) frontal offset crash test, and an “acceptable” score in side impact testing, with the IIHS citing a possibility of rib and pelvis fractures for front seat occupants. The four-door model scored “good” in both tests, but the IIHS noted that there was still a small possibility of rib fractures for front-seat riders.

From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave Civic two- and four-door models five stars for driver and front passenger protection in its frontal crash test, and four and five stars for front and rear seat protection in side impacts, respectively.

Used Civic pricing, from Canadian Black Book (CBB), shows these cars have held their value well, as is the Honda way. At the low end is a 2006 DX coupe, at $8,150, or $8,625 for a DX sedan; for bigger budgets, a 2010 sedan in top EX-L trim is worth $20,200. The Si’s values range from $15,525 for a 2006 coupe, to $21,300 for a 2010 sedan (the coupe is a bit cheaper), and the Hybrid starts at $10,750 for a 2006 and ranges up to $17,075 for a 2009. (CBB doesn’t have pricing info for the 2010 Hybrid.) For middle-ground shoppers, a 2008 LX is worth $14,450.

As stated above, the Civic Hybrid is a car to avoid, or at least, consider very carefully when shopping for a fuel-thrifty vehicle. The rest of the Civic line has held up well, earning consistent above-average used vehicle reliability ratings from Consumer Reports, with few, if any, serious trouble spots. Regardless, look for a car with detailed service records and have it checked out by a trustworthy mechanic before buying.

Source;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2011/01/27/used-vehicle-review-honda-civic-2006-2011.htm

Road and Track: 2011 Acura TSX Wagon Review

Hatching a plan for sporty, stylish and practical transport.
By Douglas Kott

What’s Hot:
Tight handling
Swoon-worthy styling
Crossover carrying capacity
What’s Not:
No V-6 offered
No manual gearbox offered
Inline-4 merely adequate

Small, sporty wagons are a little like Elvis or Colin Chapman: By most accounts they’re dead, but occasionally there will be sightings. Truth is, we wonder why there aren’t more of them as they’re likable adversaries to sport utes and crossovers, lacking the tippy “command” seating position and pretense of off-road capability yet endowed with car-like handling and truly useful cargo capacity. Consider that Acura’s latest here has a storage volume aft of the rear seats that’s roughly the same as its RDX crossover, albeit differently shaped. With its 60/40-split rear seats folded down, there’s a full 60.5 cu. ft. of space, which slots the TSX slightly ahead of marketplace rivals Audi A4 Avant and BMW 328i Sport Wagon.

Acura chose not to compare acceleration times in its presentation, as the TSX Sport Wagon comes just one way, with a 201-bhp 2.4-liter inline-4 paired with a paddle-shift torque-converter 5-speed automatic. Let’s just say the combination makes for, er, adequate acceleration with, um, reasonable roll-on torque, the quick-reacting gearbox doing its best to keep the engine in the feel-good upper half of the rev range. Shifts are snappy….with the selector in S, both kickdown reaction and throttle response are really crisp, and shifts summoned by the paddles are laudably fast. The only transmission demerit? There’s no auto-blip on downshifts.
On a twisty road, the TSX Sport Wagon carries its additional 130 lb. and 3.5 in. of length well, the extra rear overhang reducing the nose-heaviness by a couple of percentage points…now 57/43 front/rear, versus roughly 59/41 for a comparably equipped TSX sedan. The electric-assist steering weights up nicely as more steering angle is cranked in, and roll control is excellent, with spring/damping rates definitely skewed toward the sportier end of the spectrum.

The same could be said of looks. With its wedgy beltline, snazzy 17-in. alloys (with P225/50R-17 Michelins) and brightwork for both the sturdy roof rails and side window trim, the Sport Wagon appears anything but utilitarian. Up front, the oft-criticized “Power Plenum” grille has been tastefully toned down—it now has a platinum-look horizontal element ringed with chrome.

Inside, all the standard TSX trimmings are there—thick-rimmed sport wheel, futuristically styled center stack, and great seats with perforated leather inserts and substantial up-high shoulder bolstering. The cargo area is well finished also; dual brushed stainless sill plates for the hatch are a nice touch, as are chrome tie-down hooks and a total of four hidden storage spaces beneath and to the left side of the load floor. The main compartment is square and quite shallow, perfect for shady types involved in the pizza smuggling trade.

Across the model line, all TSXs for 2011 benefit from slightly better fuel economy (the Sport Wagon’s numbers are 22/30 city/hwy) through measures such as low-friction engine coatings, lower-viscosity ATF, an ATF heater (!) and underbody fairings that improve aerodynamics. A noise-insulating windshield and thicker rear side glass are said to further reduce cabin noise. And the Sport Wagon featured here has a generous roster of standard equipment including a power moonroof, heated leather seats, a 360-watt 7-speaker sound system, Bluetooth, etc. Opting for the Tech Package ($3650 dearer than the base Sport Wagon’s MSRP of $30,960) buys the excellent nav system/high-def display screen, the 460-watt ELS sound system with hard drive storage for roughly 3500 songs, and a power tailgate.

Acura’s sales goals are modest for the Sport Wagon, about 4000 units for the 2011 model year. With its slick styling, sporty road manners and considerable utility, this tailgated TSX might jump-start the resurgence of the small sporty wagon. Is it possible that Elvis has re-entered the building?

Source;
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/impressions/2011-acura-tsx-sport-wagon

Honda FIT Hybrid Review: A trip to work in the new Honda Jazz Hybrid

Just because we won't get the FIT/JAZZ Hybrid right away doesn't mean we can't see what it's all about, here's a good read on the Jazz Hybrid....

IF you are considering buying one of the brand new Honda Jazz Hybrid cars due to be released in the UK in the New Year, you can be sure that your daily commute into work will take on a whole new meaning.

That warm feeling will begin over breakfast as you munch your way through your piece of toast, reminiscing about how you came to choose this latest Honda hybrid car over the others available.

Certainly there was plenty of choice. You admit that you were sorely tempted by the CR-Z with its mighty 1.5-litre petrol hybrid engine and reputation for being the sporty hot hatchback that delivers outstanding performance and yet has a fuel economy of just 56.5 mpg and emission levels of just 117g/km of CO2.

The Civic Hybrid also took your eye. This beautifully designed saloon came with a host of features like keyless entry, alloy wheels, climate control, a multi-function drive computer and all the accoutrements that you would expect on an executive vehicle. Yet this Civic hybrid still came in at well under £20,000 and gives outstanding levels of performance, achieving 61.4 mpg from a 1.4-litre petrol hybrid engine, which emits just 108g/km of CO2.

You had almost bought the Honda Insight. This hybrid car boasts astonishing levels of economy with a 1.3-litre petrol hybrid engine giving 64.2mpg and just 101g/km of CO2 emitted. That combined with the now customary level of reliability afforded by Honda hybrid cars, not to mention the build quality, meant that you almost, almost had opted for the Insight.

However, there was just something intriguing about the brand new Jazz Hybrid. It had certainly created a stir when it debuted at the Paris Motor Show in October in its lime green metallic livery, but it was not just the colour that made this latest design from Honda stand out and catch the eye.

Just why you opted to select the car becomes evident from the moment you kissed your partner and children goodbye and hurried out of the front door and into the welcoming embrace of your new vehicle.

As soon as you are sat inside the car you realise why you made your choice. The new Jazz Hybrid may be bracketed alongside other 'supermini' vehicles but the interior feels anything but. Unlike other models in the same class, you do not have to bend your head awkwardly to get into the car.

The seat is comfortable, the driving position perfect. Even the seatbelt clicks into place with that satisfying click of quality engineering that resonates from every pore of the car.

As you turn the ignition, the dials in front of you light up thanks to stylish blue lighting that gives the interior a fresh and fashionable feel. A quick glance in the rear-view mirror reveals that your partner has left the backseats down from the weekend, when even the spacious 300 litre capacity boot was not enough to fit all the Christmas shopping, some weekly purchases and a new microwave oven into. Not that it mattered of course, as a quick press of the 'Magic Seats' button ensured the back seats slid down to expand the space available in the back to a massive 841 litre capacity, more than enough to accommodate a lot of extra shopping.

As you pull out of your garage, the silence that greets you has gone from being initially disquieting to comforting. The 1.3-litre petrol hybrid engine, managed by the Honda Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, means that the car not only performs superbly but drives quietly, too. It took a little while for you to get used to how quiet the vehicle was when compared to your old petrol engine car, but now the silence is as welcome as it is impressive.

Turning left onto the road, you drive past the local small park and play area and allow yourself a small smile of satisfaction. With just 104g/km of CO2 emitted from the vehicle, not only does this mean that you are only paying road tax of just £20 a year, under current government legislation, but also that you are doing your bit to ensure that future generations can enjoy the environment by lowering your carbon footprint.

As you continue to enjoy the tranquil drive to work, you begin to notice the nuances of driving the new hybrid Jazz. You marvel at the fact that the battery is charged every time that you brake and that the IMA instinctively knows when to use the power of the petrol engine and the economy of the electric motor to allow you to drive as practically, safely and economically as possible.

Economy! Now that is something you have really noticed. You remember filling the car up late last week; since then it has made several trips to and from work, been used on a major Christmas shopping trip at the weekend and taken the children to the park at the weekend.

There was a time when this would have necessitated a trip to the petrol station about now to fill up. Instead, you look at your blue-lit petrol gauge and discover the tank is still over half full.

Well, when you are achieving 64.2 mpg you do not need to visit the petrol station quite so often.

That feeling of contentment is enhanced as you relax into your leather upholstered seats, your new Honda Jazz Hybrid being the first car in the European market that the vehicle manufacturer has offered this upgrade to. The interior feels as opulent as it looks.

The same is true as to how the car looks to others. Your friends at work were quick to notice the brilliant new paint scheme, the blue-tinted headlights and the newly designed grille and bumpers. They cast their admiring glances once again through the office window as you pull into your parking space, apply the handbrake and step out of the car.

As you walk into work with a smile on your face you ponder that perhaps the greatest aspect of all is that the new Honda Jazz Hybrid has not only made the trip to work quieter, cheaper and greener, but infinitely more enjoyable too.

Source;
http://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/7911/A_trip_to_work_in_the_new_Honda_Jazz_Hybrid.html

The Auto Channel: 2011 Honda Odyssey Review

Honda Odyssey for 2011
By Thom CannellSenior EditorDetroit Bureau The Auto Channel

Why does Honda have the guts to develop an all-new minivan when GM and Ford have abandoned the market? Though sales have dropped, annual sales of half a million per year makes the minivan market larger than many and, one supposes, profitable. And why does Honda think it can outsmart perennial leader Chrysler? That is the story.

Today’s minivan intenders and prospectors are the first kids who to grow up inside those early boxes on wheels. As infants, toddlers and adolescents they were car seated, booster seated, soccer-baseball-football-hockey trans-sported in minivans and very likely went to their proms aboard a minivan (not to mention the extreme likelihood their first kiss occurred behind a sliding door). These new and soon-to-be parents are, at least potentially, not put off by the image of soccer mom and car pool carrier, though research says they lust for BMWs, S/CUVs and Mustangs.

For them, Honda has built a minivan that combines the best minivan attributes along with sport sedan styling while offering sufficient technology to inspire the next FaceBook-like leap of imagination. In short, the 2011 Odyssey easily overcomes its potentially dowdy image.

The new Odyssey was introduced at the Chicago Auto Show as a concept and is little changed. Its signature lightning bolt zigzag side view revitalizes its necessarily boxlike shape and creates an appearance that is sleek and swift, if not racy. Production versions seen either head on or from the rear to be very stylish, better proportioned than most non-sedans of any ilk, and not at all like a brick or barn side. A recent brief test drive disclosed other facts about Odyssey.

Honda asserts that Odyssey has great technology, enviable power and fuel economy, and driving characteristics more sedan than van. These are reasonable claims and we have only minor quibbles about them. Certainly Honda’s power train expertise and the V-6 engine that drives the vehicle is almost magically smooth and complex, shifting seamlessly from using all six cylinders to accelerate briskly and then to four, or even three cylinders to cruise economically. This is not new, but the 3.5-liter 248 hp i-VETEC retains all of its magic and mojo. Mated to a five or six-speed automatic transmission (who would want anything else?), it powers the two and a quarter-ton vehicle to highway speed with grace and finesse. Any transition from powerful passing to more economical cruising goes almost totally unnoticed and five-speed versions deliver 18 mpg City and 27 Highway for a combined 21 mpg average (+1 mpg for 6-speed transmission-equipped models).

Honda also says the vehicle has sporty driving character with a 56/44% weight distribution and improved brakes. Clearly it aspires to sportiness, riding solidly over bad and worse roads while delivering responsive directionality in rain. However the steering is somewhat on the rubber-bandish side of direct when moving off center for our tastes and, while boasting a supportive and massively rigid chassis that never puts a tire wrong, cannot be described as actually sporty. Despite minor negatives (we thought the brakes exhibited more than a hint of sogginess, though solid), Odyssey is better connected to the road than any minivan we’ve driven.

Where Odyssey truly displays differentiation is in its adaptability and interior style. For instance, the front door bins might accommodate most of a paperback library or the most capacious clutch bag while holding any manner of beverage container. The way its multitude of interior surfaces creates harmony would be more familiar to shoppers of Bergdorf Goodman’s or Lord & Taylor than Gap, American Eagle, or Forever 21.

Instruments are clear and the center stack that holds controls for climate and entertainment could be delivered as your den’s media center, complete with a large video screen. That screen—navigation, not television—is easy to understand—once you understand it. We had trouble figuring out how to change mapping scale; it is blindingly obvious once understood. The nav screen is used for a multitude of operations: climate control, rear view camera, incoming call numbers, XM and CD information, and traffic map display.

Depending on model (an LX starts at $27,800 plus destination to the ultra-premium Touring Elite at $43,250) more features are piled on, from the navigation system to humidity-controlled climate control, a variety of audio systems, and a “must have” 16.2” rear video display that can show two channels (video or game systems) simultaneous. How’s that for keeping the back seat free of disputes?

Regardless of price, the functions of a minivan are retained and improved. The third row seat is, as a matter of fact, comfortable for adults of more than modest size and access to that former purgatory is truly easy enough for a child’s muscles. The 60/40 split third row Magic Seat now folds into the floor with a single tug of the pull-rope and the front center console is removable. If you wish, (removable) second row seating can slide outward, and back in to increase elbow room or ease access to the third row. Heck, there’s even a six-pack sized cool box and a bin just for your mobile devices (think handsfree.) This is a very well developed minivan, one conceived, designed, engineered and built in the US.

Source;
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2010/10/18/501792.html

Honda’s Hot New Hybrid a Blast from the Past

*Edit*
Here's a really good read on the new CR-Z by Jim Bray.... out of respect for Jim, I have just added the link, check it out, you'll find a well thought out article, all the best Jim!

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/26815

Globe and Mail: CR-V an SUV you can count on

Here's a nice look at the 2007 Honda CRV, (not much has changed from this to 2010) ....
Since its introduction to the North American market in 1996, the Honda CR-V has been a consistently strong seller for the Japanese company and, as things turned out, one of the most reliable cars on the road. In 2007, Consumer Reports ranked it as the second-most-dependable compact SUV on the market, and it is sold in countries around the world.

Not hard to understand why. The CR-V was, and is, the epitome of driver-friendliness. Easy to drive, comfortable, dependable, affordable, thrifty and versatile. It’s not the kind of vehicle that makes you sit up and bark, but for mainstream buyers, it’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

In 2007, the CR-V underwent some changes. It became more powerful and larger, got a restyling job and was more refined than before. It was offered with 2WD or AWD, and fuel consumption on the AWD was only a titch higher than the FWD version.

Engine output was now up some six hp over 2006, and transmission choice was a five-speed automatic only. Honda called the AWD system on the CR-V “Real Time” 4WD and it was about as unobtrusive as these arrangements get, with a front-drive bias until the wheels need more traction, at which point a power takeoff unit located adjacent to the transmission sends more torque to the back wheels via a driveshaft. This was definitely not a heavy-duty 4WD setup, but it has always done the job.

Aside from its almost ironclad dependability, one of the CR-V’s strongest selling points has been its drivability and user-friendliness. From the beginning, this has been one of the most car-like SUVs on the market, and it is no surprise that a sizable proportion of CR-V buyers are female.

It’s also safe to say that most typical CR-V buyers place reliability and value for money over things like engine displacement, towing capacity, or how quickly you can get from zero to 100 km. Then, as now, the CR-V is the compact-ute for people who don’t really care about cars. Coincidentally, one of my neighbours bought a CR-V new in 1997 and sold it last year, with almost 400,000 trouble-free kilometres on the odometer. “It was still running like a clock when I sold it,” she said.

The CR-V came in two basic trim levels in 2007: LX and EX. Equipment level was reasonably high on the LX, and you got air conditioning, power door locks, power seats, tilt/telescoping steering, remote keyless entry, 60/40-folding rear seats and a full roster of safety features for its $27,700 base price. You could also order things like leather interior, heated front seats and a DVD-based navi system with the top-of-the-line EX-L model. One handy little feature: front-seat armrests.

With the rear sets folded down, the CR-V provided some 2,064 litres of total cargo space. This was less than the same vintage of Toyota RAV4 or Hyundai Santa Fe, but for most people in this market, it was all they needed. Honda has known from the beginning what compact SUV buyers look for and the CR-V has always given it to them.

No safety recalls to report either from Transport Canada or the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA, however, does list 12 technical service bulletins for this vintage of CR-V. These include windshield wipers that won’t “park” correctly, front-seat issues and incorrect labelling. There was also that false odometer reading class action suit with some vehicles, but Honda dealt with it.

Tagging the 2007 CR-V as a “Best Bet,” Consumer Reports has good things to say about this compact SUV virtually right across the board. It gets the magazine’s highest marks for predicted reliability, although road noise is a common complaint from owners. Comments include: “rough ride,” “body trim is fragile” and “uncomfortable front seats.”

Aside from some minor gripes regarding lacklustre performance, market research firm J.D. Power gives the 2007 CR-V high marks in virtually all categories. As well as garnering this organization’s awards for “Most Dependable Compact Multi-Activity Vehicle,” “Highest Ranked Multi-Activity Vehicle In Initial Quality” and “Most Appealing Compact Multi-Activity Vehicle,” the 2007 CR-V get top marks from J.D. Power for overall dependability.

No great surprise then to learn that the CR-V has held its value well. You’ll be lucky to find a base 2WD model for less than $16,000 these days, and a well-appointed EX-L fetches at least $20,000.

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/used-cars/used-cars-archive/cr-v-an-suv-you-can-count-on/article1669343/

The 2010 Honda Fit(s Like a Glove)

Vancouver is a terrible place to put a city. Sandwiched between the Coastal Mountain Ranges and Pacific Ocean, it may have proven an oceanfront paradise in decades past, but has become a city under compression in recent years. Inviting Canadians from the frozen east and new immigrants from points west, the city’s population has swollen to untold heights, now housing 27% of metro Vancouver’s total population on just 4% of its land mass. This is a bad thing if you want to park anywhere.

Of course, if you find yourself comfortably behind the wheel of Honda’s recently revised subcompact five door Fit, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. With a footprint approximately that of a large dog, finding a place to leave your Fit in even the busiest of Vancouver neighbourhoods is surprisingly easy. And should no space be available, rest assured that even the most jaded Vancouverite will express none of the usual distaste for your cutesy ride as you repeatedly circle the block. Borrowing numerous styling cues from the previous model, the new Fit boasts a slipperier shape that brings the previously foreign-market-only vehicle further in line with Honda’s new image. Out front, a significantly revised fascia houses a more heavily styled grille and front air dam; all sculpted to provide maximum visual effect with minimal aerodynamic drag. The headlights, although a familiar shape (and still possessing the previous model’s unique blister), dominate the front fascia, and seem to occupy the majority of the short prow and are only slightly smaller than the fenders their share space with. Moving rearward, a pair of familiar three-quarter windows open up the greenhouse nicely, and give way to tall, large windows for both front and rear seat passengers. Out back, the new Fit is finished nicely with a well sculpted hatch and nice details like a chrome exhaust tip and nifty wing.

Inside is, as one would expect, familiarly Honda-esque. With a bunch of buttons scattered about in a stylish manner, it’s not the most intuitive small car on the planet, but it does pay dividends in the looks department. Furthermore, although there are arguably too many plastic finishes and surfaces throughout, the fit and finish is quite good; easily that of Ford’s class-leading Fiesta. Soft touch surfaces are limited, however, and some passengers objected to the, ahem, unique cloth patterning on the doors’ interior panels. All comers did enjoy the ridiculous number of storage spaces though, with the dual gloveboxes and passenger-side dashboard tray all earning many compliments. A quick trip to the local hardware store for some non-skid would help immensely, however, since none of the various pockets come so equipped, leaving your personal effects to slide hither and thither with each jerk of the wheel.

And jerk the wheel you will, especially if you find yourself behind the controls of a manual transmission-equipped Honda Fit Sport. Although equipped with a relatively low powered 1,497 cc inline four, the 117 horsepower motor proves adequately peppy, revving quite freely all the way to 6,800 rpm. Like most Hondas, it’s a powerplant that loves the upper regions of the tachometer, and works perfectly with the five speed transmission. But even more importantly, it’s the perfect motivational force to pair with the Fit’s feisty suspension setup. Taking just under two and a half rotations of the wheel to go from lock to lock, the Fit’s steering is both quick and precise; conducting full u-eys in just 34.4 feet. Trading the stock 15” wheels for 16” wheels and slightly wider rubber, the Fit Sport does handle slightly better, but doesn’t do anything to alter the standard Fit’s soft and squishy suspension, and is all the better for it. Thanks to the Fit’s short wheelbase and softly sprung suspension, every corner can turn into a lesson on weight transfer; a dab of left foot braking on corner entry is usually all that’s required to send the light rear end around, while the quick steering keeps the whole process from feeling rushed. The best part? Since it only wears 185-series tires, all this can be practiced at wholly legal speeds. To hot hatches as a Mazda Miata is to sports cars, the Fit’s low performance threshold allows even the most ham-fisted of drivers to explore its upper limits in an attainable and safe manner.

And much like the Miata, the Fit does all this without imposing upon its owner. There are no uncomfortably sporty seats, no harsh ride, and no untoward noises... unless you count overly annoying passengers. Still possessing some of the most versatile seating in the market, the Fit’s cabin can be converted from people carrier to stuff hauler in a manner of minutes, and does both tasks enviably well. People will enjoy the downright shocking amount of legroom to be found, as even my six foot frame left more than a few inches to spare between my kneecaps and the front seat’s back. In fact, taking a quick jaunt down the highway in the rear seat proved as comfortable as the front, thanks mostly to an excess of leg and headroom, a comfortably reclined (and adjustable) rear seatback, and large windows that keep the rear compartment from feeling airy and open. Should the need arise, the 60/40 split rear seat can be folded up quite easily to make room for cargo, as can the front passenger seat. A low load-over height, shallow bumper, and wide-opening liftgate all make loading easy, while the flat load floor, deep cargo well, and tall ceiling keeps all the but the largest of objects well contained.

Overall, it’s incredibly hard to find fault with the new Fit. While the old one may have been practical and efficient, it did so at the expense of some comfort, and would never be confused with anything other than a basic runabout thanks to questionable build quality. This new one feels like a scaled down version of Honda’s wildly successful Civic or Accord, with a huge helping of amiable driving ability tossed in for good measure. Consuming just over seven litres of fuel for every hell-bent-for-leather kilometre I put it through, it’s the veritable picture of efficiency, and after a very active week with it, I have the undeniable sense that I’d only just scratched the surface of the Fit’s capability. Truth be told, while I may have been squarely located in the hotly-anticipated Ford Fiesta’s camp prior to this test, I can’t help but come away wondering if the best small car on the market isn’t already here.

Source;
http://www.carguideweb.com/articles/8171/

DRIVEN: HONDA CR-Z

Has Honda really made the world's first genuinely sporty hybrid?

I really want to like the Honda CR-Z. Whatever you think of hybrids (and I can think of plenty of unpublishable but appropriate adjectives), they are here to stay. So if we have to put up with their existence, then making them sporty can be no bad thing.

Question is: can you really make a truly fun hybrid, or is the CR-Z too much of a compromise, a car that's neither sporty enough nor green enough?

Honda is certainly keen to talk up the CR-Z's sporting CV. "During the development of the CR-Z the Lotus Elise kept on inspiring us throughout the whole development process", says Terukazu Torikai, the CR-Z's chief chassis engineer. That's big talk.

Still, despite the Norfolk-sourced inspiration, Torikai-san says the CR-Z is really aiming at slightly less extreme rivals. "The base concept of this car is the fun-to-drive," he says. "We therefore wanted to realise the agile handling of the Mini and easy to drive performance for daily use."

But the CR-Z's development team are naturally going to be biased - we're not going to just take their word on the CR-Z's abilities as Gospel. Which is why I find myself at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport - to get the PH-eye view on the CR-Z. Is it indeed a Lotus-inspired Mini-beating hybrid coupe or, er, something else?

Visually the CR-Z seems to set the right tones, to these eyes at least. The bold nose has an aggression to it that telegraphs its sporting intent, while the wedgy profile will put those with long memories in mind of the chunky, nippy and well-liked 1980s CR-X. It can look a little gawky from some angles, though - whether you can forgive that is the key to whether you will like the way it looks.

The CR-Z's on-paper credentials are definitely a bit mixed, however. There's a six-speed manual gearbox (a first for a hybrid - although the original 1999 Honda Insight hybrid had a five-speed manual), which is a good thing, as is the relatively light 1198kg kerb weight.

Less exciting on paper is the 122bhp power output engine, which comes from a combination of a 113bhp 1.5-litre four-pot and a 14bhp electric motor, both driving the front wheels. This translates to a 0-62mph time of 9.9secs (10.1secs if you go for the equipment-laden top-spec version) and a top speed of 124mph - the CR-Z is not a car that is going to set the Tarmac alight.

On the road the CR-Z begins impressively. The gearchange is a typically light, accurate and direct Honda shift, while the zippy engine provides a pleasingly sharp throttle response, especially with the 'sport' mode engaged (the usage of which also tweaks the exhaust for a sportier note and firms up the electric power steering). The 6300rpm red line is disappointingly low for a company famed for its revvy motors, but the extra shove of low-down torque (available from 1500rpm) that the electric motor provides helps to make up for the absence of a stratospheric top end.

Find a decent bend or two (which we managed to do once or twice on our Dutch drive - the Swiss Alps the Netherlands is not), and the CR-Z does reveal a light-on-its-toes agility and an essentially neutral, balanced chassis. Perhaps there's something in this Elise inspiration, although the accurate but numb electronic power steering is hardly the stuff of Lotus dreams.

Push on beyond the grip limits of the modest 195/55 R16 tyres with the ESP off, however, and you'll soon experience pretty terminal understeer. Keep the electronics working, though, and the understeer is unobtrusively kept in check.

The CR-Z's brain works equally hard to keep the brakes controlled, too. A perennial problem with hybrids is how to effectively remove the electric power from the driveline, with the result that brake feel is often an unpredictable affair. The CR-Z deals with this by constantly monitoring braking pressure from both the pedal and the engine and creating a braking curve of how the driver will expect to stop. The result is a predictable, if wooden brake pedal.

The CR-Z is so close to being a modern day Ford Puma with a green twist that it hurts - a lively chassis coupled to a lively if not super-fast motor. Ultimately, though, the hybrid drivetrain forces the CR-Z to make too many compromises. Oh, and at £20k for the top-end model and £17k for the cheapest version it's hardly the bargain of the century either. Like I said, I really want to like this car. It just won't let me.

Source;

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=21797

2009 Honda Pilot Touring 4WD - Long-Term Road Test

Here's a good read, they put 40,000 miles on their 2009 Honda Pilot and go over the results....

Ground Control: Another pilot as reliable as Captain Sully.
At Harry Houdini’s funeral, Broadway producers Charles Dillingham and Florenz Ziegfeld agreed to be pallbearers. As they hoisted the coffin out of the church, Dillingham said, “Ziggie, I bet you a hundred bucks he ain’t in here.”

So popular was our long-term Honda Pilot Touring 4WD that, during the summer vacation months, you could likewise bet that its keys weren’t hanging on the sign-out board but were, instead, somewhere out of state. We should have called it the Honda Houdini.

Our Pilot logged its requisite 40,000 miles in 53 weeks, during which spell its 250-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 was rarely cool. The Pilot visited Ohio, New Jersey, Minnesota, both ­Dakotas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Hershey swap meet, Yellowstone National Park, a Kruse auction, and Manhattan Island. It also carried maybe 350 pounds’ worth of camera and camping gear to Montana in support of our “The Hard Way to Hemingway” feature [December 2009].

In Big Sky country, the Pilot bumped its way along roughly 100 miles of Forest Service roads, where we failed to knock off the chin spoiler but repeatedly scraped the twin chrome exhaust tips while exiting gullies and washouts. We never fully tested its 19-inch wading potential, but, as capabilities go, it was comforting.

Honda has blessed the Pilot with practical design cues aplenty. There’s a useful storage bin beneath the rear third of the cargo bay, cleverly proportioned so that it can still be used when the third-row seats are upright. The backlight opens independently of the rear hatch, and its wiper sweeps about 80 percent of the glass. The IP gauges are paragons of clarity, although the 50 center-stack buttons, dials, and switches are daunting, especially the identical radio volume and tuning knobs, which are confusingly mounted directly atop one another. And here’s something you don’t often see: The automatic temperature control can be set as low as 58 degrees and as high as 86 degrees.

During its life with us, the Pilot was as reliable as congressional spending. It required routine servicing four times, for oil, tire rotation, a variety of inspections, one new cabin air filter, and, strangely, two fresh loads of rear differential lubricant. Those four stops cost $566. Along the way, we replaced the front-wiper-blade inserts ($10), and the V-6 consumed but a half quart of extracurricular oil. The lone item to malfunction was a two-inch plastic trim piece, which fell off during Week One, but we’ll be damned if we can find what it was attached to. Automobiles don’t get more reliable than that.

We did, however, experience a faint, intermittent pulsing through the brake pedal, as if one rotor were mildly warped. It never rose to any appreciable level of annoyance, and, in any event, the pulsing would reliably vanish just before each servicing.

Curiously, the Pilot’s gray leather seats, fore and aft, took on a somewhat disgusting beige patina of, oh, say, the towel that hangs above the french-fry vat at Irvel’s All-U-Can-Eat. This Honda’s leather has a pebbled surface, and the interstices between pebbles apparently are uniquely talented at collecting grime. We scrubbed the cushions first with Griot’s Interior Cleaner, then Armor All Multi-Purpose Auto Cleaner, then plain old Windex. Each worked equally well, which is to say not very. The seats still look as though they should be steam-cleaned with Clorox. In addition, the liftgate’s interior plastic panel appears to have been mauled by a wolverine wielding a cheese grater.

Otherwise, the seats in the Pilot approached perfection: firm but never confining, with an aggressive lower-back bolster much appreciated by the over-50 crowd. Our pilots piloted the Pilot on dozens of 10-to-12-hour slogs. For such spells, the seats drew nothing but praise, and, on at least two occasions, we loaded the vehicle to its eight-passenger capacity. Briefly.

Other complaints? Well, the Pilot’s V-6 produces less power than five of its close competitors, a trait that occasionally drew attention during passing maneuvers and on-ramp sprints. When new, the Pilot required 7.9 seconds to get to 60 mph; a year later, it was 0.2 second quicker. Editors who deployed the Pilot as a tow vehicle—trailer­ing, for instance, a 6-by-12-foot U-Haul box, a 600-pound catamaran, and a Honda S2000 race car—resigned themselves to leisurely motoring, with fuel economy dipping as low as 9 mpg.

The other major criticism was that the Acura MDX–based Pilot always felt, well, a little more truckish than SUVish. In part, that perception can be blamed on the slightly heavy steering. But around town, in particular, the Pilot felt a tad slow-witted, larger than its actual dimensions, and less than eager to make directional changes. Squirting in and out of holes in traffic—and zig­zagging through crowded parking lots—­required care and forethought.

There were also a few beefs about road noise. The Pilot’s firm suspension was adept at yielding to scabrous pavement, but the Michelin LTXs and the 17-inch wheels too audibly telegraphed their outrage with various ka-thunks and ker-blams. On the other hand, the knobby tires were terrific in the snow.

For the rest of the article follow the link;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q1/2009_honda_pilot_touring_4wd-long-term_road_test

2010 Honda CR-V EX-L NAVI Review

Standing out from the crowd is no small task for compact sport utility vehicles. The competition in this market segment keeps getting wider and fiercer. Yet, at the same time, most entries feature similar aesthetics, making the selection a tough dilemma.

The front grille stretches wide to form a complex structure that integrates a pair of tapered headlight clusters for a unique crowning effect.

How does the Honda CR-V continue to shine, then? Well, this popular Japanese SUV boasts a rather distinctive silhouette and, while extreme off-road trips are definitely not its game, it offers a smooth, uneventful ride along with a sensible, fuel-efficient operation.

Sensible — now that’s a word that perfectly defines all aspects of the 2010 Honda CR-V.

Singular styling
It’s obviously a difficult thing to let your imagination run wild and create a fancy design when you’re given a specific assignment: to develop an SUV-style product that will appeal to the masses.

Consequently, Honda designers didn’t break any mold with the CR-V’s raised tail, fairly upright hatch and anonymous body lines. They did, however, have fun with the slightly arching roofline in the back that somewhat improves aerodynamics (or at least the impression of). The shape of the rearmost side windows further enhances this feeling of motion.

Revised for 2010, the front grille stretches wide to form a complex structure that integrates a pair of tapered headlight clusters for a unique crowning effect. Here you have an unpretentious SUV that still manages to stand out at first glance. Nothing flashy; just smart stuff.

Inside, the CR-V is surprisingly well-equipped (granted, my tester was the top-of-the-line EX-L NAVI). Build quality and material selection also impressed me, especially given the price range. The cabin is fairly spacious, too. Even tall friends of mine who sat in the back never complained about a lack of room. Behind them was a convenient cargo area offering easy access and decent volume.

Up front, the dashboard sure looks nice and displays cool backlighting at night, but the gear selector once again finds itself in an unconventional spot, right in the middle of the center stack. Some say they appreciate such ergonomics; I, on the contrary, find manipulating the CR-V shifter quite unnatural and unpleasant.

Build quality and material selection impressed me, especially given the price range.

Newfound energy on the road
The biggest flaw of the Honda CR-V used to be its underpowered 4-cylinder engine that often voiced discontent whenever you would try to push it. Fortunately, engineers addressed the issue by increasing output (+14 horsepower) while making the engine less fuel-thirsty. Bravo!

The new mill could be described as lively and responsive, not to mention quiet and predictable, even when you ask for a little more performance than you probably should. On-the-fly accelerations aren’t breathtaking but still on par with buyer expectations for this type of vehicle. As a bonus, the five-speed automatic transmission with Grade Logic Control knows how to pick the right gear at the right time.
The suspension plays a key role in delivering car-like driving dynamics, while Honda’s part-time 4WD system proves opportunistic in the most civilized conditions.

On the other hand, the steering doesn’t feel as sharp and high on feedback as one could hope for. It does a decent job most of the time but clearly remains the weakest link in an otherwise well-executed, fun-to-drive compact 'ute.

The suspension plays a key role in delivering car-like driving dynamics, while Honda’s part-time 4WD system (which acts like a FWD setup until the front wheels start to slip) proves opportunistic in the most civilized conditions. As mentioned earlier, the CR-V should never be mistaken for an extreme sports tool; drivers who dare will get stuck in a hurry.

Wrap-up

Like I said, the competition in the compact SUV segment is wide open and incredibly fierce. Admittedly, despite a few shortcomings, the 2010 Honda CR-V still comes from the dominant breed and attracts more than a fair share of consumers. Emotion has little to do here; CR-V success depends on a simple, sensible recipe.

Source;

http://www.auto123.com/en/honda/cr-v/2010/review?carid=1102300306&artid=117056&pg=2

2010 Honda Civic Sedan SPORT: A compact for the ages

Globe rating 8.5/10 View Rating breakdown
No break on pricing here – you buy this runabout on its merits: No other car in this class has crisper steering, better brakes or superior ergonomics

For six million years, the Honda Civic has been Canada's best-selling car. Just kidding.
Actually, the Civic has been the top dog in passenger cars for 12 years running now – even though in 2009, Civic sales were down 13.5 per cent. (Note: the new-vehicle market overall was down 10.7 per cent, so the Civic managed to beat the market in exactly the wrong way.)

Make no mistake about the made-in-Canada Civic; it's a very good compact car. Let me count the ways:

Excellent crash test scores (a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety);
Top-notch resale value (Automotive Lease Guide ranks the Honda brand second overall here);
Outstanding quality (Consumer Reports argues that only the Hyundai Elantra is a better-rated small car overall with an automatic transmission; and the Civic is tops among small cars with manuals).

In all the right rational ways, the Civic is a very good runabout. Except on pricing. Honda tries hard not to discount its vehicles with sales sweeteners and the like and that means you will likely pay more, feature-for-feature, to buy a Civic than most rivals.

Take the $23,475 (freight included) Civic Sport sedan I just test drove. It does not come with any sparkling “deals” – no incentives that I could find, according to the pricing service www.carcostcanada.com.

Now compare that with the Hyundai Elantra, a direct rival and the fourth best-selling car in Canada last year. Elantra sales were up 151 per cent in Canada in December. This is in no small part because the Elantra comes with a $2,850 factory-to-dealer rebate, says carcostcanada.com.

The Elantra already starts at a lower price, too.

Or the Ford Focus, No. 8 in sales last year. If you take advantage of the Extended Term Finance Allowance, the factory-to-dealer rebate is $4,000. The Focus is an older design, but it's still a recommended pick from Consumer Reports.

The Civic? You buy this car on its own merits. The so-called “deal” is not what Honda pushes here – unless, again, you factor in the strong resale value and the fact that, last November, Honda Canada cut the Civic's price by $1,000.

That price cut applied to both body styles – coupe and sedan – and all five trim levels. The Sport version is one of them and it replaced the previous LX. As Civics go, it lands right in the middle of the range.

The name “Sport” generally implies performance, yet under the hood is the same 1.8-litre, four-cylinder motor in all the other Civics, save the Si (197 hp). Transmission: five-speed manual or automatic.

Frankly, that's more than enough power. The Sport weighs only 1,226 kg, so there isn't much bulk to move. Obviously, fuel economy is good, too – 8.2 litres/100 km city and 5.7 highway.

What does make the Sport sportier are 16-inch alloy wheels (versus the 15-inch on lesser Civics) and P205/55R16 all-season tires. They are reasonably grippy. Honda says the disc brakes have been upgraded, too, with anti-lock standard.

For a bit of visual flair, body-coloured door handles are standard and there is a different exhaust outlet. The side mirrors are heated and a power glass moon-roof is standard. But you get the latter at the cost of 34 mm of headroom.

What's missing? Standard electronic anti-skid system.

But there is other standard stuff, and the list runs longer than on the base Civic: 60/40-split/folding rear seat with centre armrest, leather-wrapped steering wheel, variable intermittent windshield wipers, remote entry system with electric trunk release, auto-up/down driver's power window and iPod plug-in. The extra dough for a Sport also gets you map lights, an outside thermometer and rear cup holders.

But if you want a better sound system, you need to spend more. The stereo in the Sport is the same four-speaker affair sold with base Civic models.

All those details aside, there is no denying that the Civic is a really fine little car. No other car in this class has crisper steering, better brakes or superior ergonomics.

For a small car, the cabin is comfortable and roomy. The seat cushions have dense foam that makes a long drive palatable. Aside from the odd-looking, two-level instrument cluster, the controls and readouts are perfectly sensible, too.

Honda may not be throwing around the deals here, but I'd bet that even six million years from now, most buyers would say, in 2010, they got good value for their money.

2010 Honda Civic Sport sedan

Type: Compact sedan
Price: $23,475
Engine: 1.8-litre, four-cylinder
Horsepower/torque: 140 hp/128 lb-ft
Transmission: Five-speed automatic
Drive: Front-wheel-drive
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 8.2 city/5.7 highway; regular gas

Alternatives: Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus, Kia Forte, Chevrolet Cobalt, Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Sentra, Dodge Caliber, Mitsubishi Lancer

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/reviews/a-compact-for-the-ages/article1474902/

Honda Crossroad Video Review

This is for those that are interested in seeing what Honda sells in other (non-North American) markets....

Honda Crossroad 2007 Test Drive
Uploaded by NihonCar. - Dramatic race and crash videos.

Enjoy!

A Look at Japan's 2010 Honda Odyssey

It’s been a while I haven’t been so content with Honda to write about it … Even if I had a lot of pleasure in driving Honda’s latest Civic Type R and its Mugen version, Honda’s latest line-up did not impress me much… except, maybe, their brand new Odyssey Wagon.

Design
Light-years ahead of its US cousin, the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) Honda Odyssey is a magnificent wagon tailored to please young and dynamic Japanese families.

Coming with a new front bumper in complete harmony with Honda’s latest band image, which is actually coming from the FCX. Regardless of whatever angle you decide to look at Honda’s Odyssey, be it the front, rear or any other angle, our wagon’s simple lines plus its additional kit, which is only available on the Absolute version -our Test vehicle-, qualifies this family car as simple but elegant.

Interior
It seems one of Honda’s weakest points (and just as Subaru, Honda disappoints once again) is that Honda’s design team is divided in 2 groups where the staff who is working on the exterior design never ever exchange talk with the other team of designers in charge of the car’s interiors.I will even go further and say that our Odyssey interior is rough and cheap as well as giving the impression that driver-friendliness was never taken into account… Many aspects of our car’s dashboard are in-elegantly designed, difficult to access to the extent that would bother you while driving, which in my case manifested itself in hurt knees.

However, Honda offers very comfortable seat with plenty of leg space for the rear-seat passengers, as well as many little gadgets ranging from a dedicated USB port with iPod compatibility to an excellent set of different cameras helping you to better park your car and to have a better knowledge of your surroundings in narrow places.

On the Road
Here comes another surprise, yes the Honda Odyssey is not only comfortable but it is also very stable, offers flat cornering even when pushed hard, and also very accurately, for a family car, responsive to any input you may make on the steering wheel. Rest assured, the Odyssey is still a family car and not a family “Kart”, and despite its “sportiness” our wagon won’t be any match to an Audi RS6 or even to our dear old Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Wagon. But still, Honda’s sport spirit is still alive and it feels good to know that the Odyssey knows how to take a corner efficiently and smoothly.

Under the Bonnet, our Odyssey, is available in different flavors, but our test car came with a nice 2.4l DOHC i-VTEC engine offering 206PS with a 232Nm of torque and comes with DBW (Drive-By-Wire) improving greatly your driving experience. Despite being a new generation engine, I did not see much improvement when it comes to consumption, an area that I would have loved to see Honda work harder on. But well, still and depending on your driving style, you will be capable of getting 400 to 550km out of your Odyssey, but this will really depend on how heavy your right foot is.

Plus:Exterior DesignComfort
Minus:Interior Design

Conclusion:Elegant and discrete, the Odyssey is so far my favorite Japanese family car and especially wagon. Offering a comfortable interior and a comfortable driving experience, the Odyssey’s only fault is for me its in-elegant interior and its being a little bit vulgar… But if you think you can get used to it, the Odyssey is definitively a car that is worth checking, and we just can’t help praying for Honda to export this wagon to the USA where there is a desperate need of something new in order to replace the old fashioned Odyssey Mini Van.

Source;
http://www.nihoncar.com/en/review-495-2010+Honda+Odyssey+JDM.html