When the Honda Ridgeline showed up in the test driveway recently it was like an old friend had come by for a visit. Ridgeline has become my favorite new midsize pickup and spending another week behind the wheel in the new 2018 model was as enjoyable as ever.
If you want to blame anyone for the rise in popularity of crossover utility vehicles in America, blame Honda. And blame its uber-popular CR-V. For 2017, Honda has delivered the fifth-generation of this mid-size family utility to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the nameplate – and it is going to be as popular as ever.
When we first tested the 10th generation Honda Civic last year we were left yearning for a manual gearbox. We got our wish as Honda recently brought us its all-new 2017 Civic Si, the first turbocharged Si in the model’s history.
The final vehicle in the recent round of rerun reviews is the Honda HR-V. It launched just a little more than a year ago and we recently spent time behind the wheel of the 2017 EX-L AWD model with Navi that featured the only thing new for this year – the Lunar Silver Metallic paint job.
It still surprises me just how many vehicles grace the test driveway each calendar year. It also surprises me what has not yet made it down our way when I look at the number of new or refreshed vehicles that have hit the market this year. Here is a look at my top five faves from 2016.
The first of my 2017 review vehicles arrived recently in the form of the all-new Honda Ridgeline. Ridgeline is the Honda pickup utility vehicle that shares its platform with the Pilot SUV, with Ridgeline getting a few truck-like modifications. This second-generation Ridgeline is a significant transformation over the previous model.
On the heels of winning North American Car of the Year, Honda launched the new 2016 Civic Coupe to join the honored sedan sibling in its showrooms. For coupe fans, Honda did more than just hack off a couple of doors in delivering its new coupe to the market, but can it live up to the high mark already set?
The Honda Accord has long been one of the most popular sedans in North America and was the first nameplate built here by the automaker. In its nine generations the model has seen significant upgrades and improvements and for 2016 Accord gets some appreciated styling enhancements along with technology upgrades.
On the day it was named North American Car of the Year, the all-new 2016 Honda Civic sedan was delivered to the test driveway. Civic is Honda’s longest-running automotive nameplate and it is one of the best-selling cars in the world period. This is Gen 10, and it may just be the best Civic yet.
It looks like Honda has done it again. Without asking permission or begging any pardon, the automaker has brought a vehicle to market that is most likely going to dominate its segment. I am speaking of the all-new HR-V compact crossover utility vehicle and I predict that Honda is going to sell a boatload of them.
When the 2015 Honda CR-V compact crossover utility vehicle arrived a while back I realized it has been quite some time since I had tested this model. The vehicle itself has been around for 17 years and has become the best-selling model in its class. For 2015 the CR-V receives some significant mid-cycle upgrades, most notably under the hood.
Compact cars are just not as popular in North America as they are with car buyers around the globe. Midsize sedans dominate car sales in the U.S., but globally cars like the Honda Civic are top sellers; after a week in the 2015 Honda Civic Sedan it is easy to see why it is No. 1 in compacts here.
Some vehicles go for more than a decade without changing much (Nissan Titan, I am looking at you) but others seem to get makeovers as often as the seasons change. The Honda Fit falls into this latter category as although it was introduced to the U.S. in 2006 as a 2007 model, MY2015 is the third-generation of the tiny Honda.
This year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety started a new crash test, the “small overlap test“. Effectively, this tests what happens when a front corner hits an obstacle, like a light pole or tree. Many, many cars have failed this test, but the videos of the Honda Pilot and Mazda CX-9 may scare you away from driving all day! Check out the CX-9 crash test: And here’s the Honda Pilot test: Scary, right? Drive safely out there, and you can see how various cars have performed in these tests at the IIHS site. Via Jalopnik
Last year we reviewed the ninth-generation Honda Accord sedan that quickly became one of our favorite new rides. Fast-forward a year, and we test the newest of that family in the form of the 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid with the most significant difference being the next-generation two-motor hybrid-drive powertrain and, just like that, Honda has another hit on its hands.
Apple announces CarPlay which makes extensive of their Siri voice control software to control your iPhone 5 (or higher) while driving. Available on select cars (initially Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, and Ferrari) in 2014, the system will allow hands-free control of your iPhone and important apps such as phone, music, maps, messages as well as select third-party apps.
Honda unveiled the all-new 2015 Fit subcompact hatch at the North American International Auto Show. Arriving this spring, the new Fit is redesigned from the ground up offering more interior space in a stylish, fun to drive package with good fuel efficiency and state-of-the-art safety combined with vehicle connectivity, or, in Honda’s words, a small car with big aspirations.
The Open Automotive Alliance was announced this week as a partnership initially between Audi, GM, Google, Honda, Hyundai and NVIDIA to work together to advance integration of the Android platform into the automotive environment. The announcement boasts the OAA being dedicated to a common platform to drive innovation and make technology in the car safer and more intuitive.
While some automakers have abandoned the minivan segment, Honda is out to prove its leadership in this arena yet again with the release of the 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite. The new model has already begun an interesting marketing campaign in the quest to prove the Honda minivan doesn’t suck with the launch of an all-new feature that, well, truly sucks. I don’t really know why it took an automaker four decades to introduce a built-in vacuum in a minivan, as kids have been dropping stuff on the carpeted floors since they were first strapped in the second or third rows….
The Honda Accord is one of the longest running nameplates from a Japanese automaker on the roads of America today. Model year 2013 marks the start of the ninth-generation of the popular midsize sedan, and it offers not only coupe and sedan variants but a new plugin hybrid version as well. Honda is celebrating 30 years of Accord production in the United States with this newest Accord that has been given a complete makeover. The new car is described as crisper and will redefine sophistication, efficiency, and driving joy in the midsize class. While interior space remains the same in…
One of the best things about spending some time at the North American International Auto Show was having the chance to see some of the cool concept cars. Chief among them was this EV-STER Roadster concept from Honda. EV-STER is a next generation roadster powered by electricity. Based on Honda’s unchanging principles, it shows what a genuine small sports car can be. Even the steering mechanism screams “cool”! I love the look, I love the fact that it is electric, and I truly hope some of these design features make it to market.