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Honda Guide

Honda is an engineering-based motor company that is relatively new to the business of making cars but is already known for its reliability, high resale value, and being ahead of pollution standards. Honda’s impressive reliability has been showcased in six years of Honda engines in Indy Car racing with no in-race engine failures. Honda has set the bar for small, entry-level vehicles for years, and remains the largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines in the world. Since manufacturing their first automobiles in the 1960’s Honda has become one of the largest automakers in the world, and a leader in green technology. Whether you’re looking for a hybrid, a sedan, or a family hauler (or a motorcycle or a boat engine or a weed whacker) Honda has one to sell you.

Select a Model (10 Available)
Honda Accord

Year: Starting at $22,480 MPG 27-36 The Honda Accord has been the most dependably dependable sedan on the market for decades. The 2013 model will be the Accord’s first redesign since 2008, and will feature a coupe model in addition to the familiar sedan. The Accord coupe concept caused a huge stir when it debuted at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, and for good reason. New features include Pandora Internet radio connectivity and available lane departure and forward collision warning. The new Accord will also offer SMS functionality for phones with Bluetooth capability. The Accord’s interior isn’t quite luxurious, but it is functional. That is not to say it is completely devoid of innovation, though. A new feature in the top trim level delivers a push-button start option to this practical commuter car. The redesign should offer some excitement to the brand, and a new reason to buy perhaps the most practical car on the market. The 2013 Accord will earn up to 36 mpg on the highway, not quite on par with competitors. If the Accord’s long-awaited redesign still doesn’t impress you, the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) joins the lineup in New York and California in early 2013. …
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Honda Crosstour

Year: Starting at $27,230 The Crosstour is easily Honda’s most distinctive mid-size car, with a body more SUV-like than the studiously sedan-y Accord and Civic. The 2013 model year will bring an even more aggressive style, inching it closer to the SUV side of the crossover market. The Crosstour shares much of what’s inside with the Accord, including the engine and suspension. It also makes use of variable cylinder management, which allows the car to adjust its power to the demands of the driver and increases fuel economy. The 2013 model will come with Honda’s new safety equipment, including blind spot cameras, lane departure warning, and front collision warning. The Crosstour distinguishes itself from Honda’s other mid-size cars not only in its styling, but with its much greater capacity. With 25.7 cubic feet of cargo space, it has just about twice as much space as the Accord or Civic. Despite being one of only four Honda models not rated above 30 mpg on the highway, it still gets a relatively strong 25 to 27 mpg highway and 17 to 18 mpg in the city, enough to incite gas-pump envy from plenty of drivers. …
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Honda Fit

Year: Starting at $16,225 MPG 28-35 The Fit is a small car, but don’t let that fool you. With just enough room to fit four fully grown adults (or five, if you know an adult who can fit in the back middle seat) it is able to morph into a utility vehicle with the seats down, offering up to 57.3 cubic feet of storage space, more than any of Honda’s sedans or the Crosstour. The Fit accomplishes this with its rear Magic Seat, which folds up like origami paper into four different positions, including a bed-like reclined state. Its small size also helps the Fit achieve Honda’s characteristic strong gas mileage, with 27 to 28 city mpg and 33 to 35 highway mpg. The 117-horsepower engine and five-speed transmission (available as a manual or an automatic) suffers from the lack of a sixth gear, and the suspension can leave you bouncing from time to time, but the Fit is plenty fun to drive, especially with its mileage and cargo space taken into account. With a base price range topping out at $20,000, the Fit lacks interior options, giving it a slightly spartan feel, but with all of the Fit’s other charms, you may not even notice. …
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Honda Ridgeline

Year: Starting at $29,450 MPG 15-21 The Honda Ridgeline is Honda’s somewhat strange stab at a pickup truck. Strange, of course, does not always mean bad. The Ridgeline’s design is its most unusual feature, giving it the air of an SUV with a chunk missing. It bucks traditional pickup build by being the only mid-size truck on the market with a cab and truck bed built in one piece, meaning that the sections don’t bounce around separately while driving. This gives the Ridgeline a smoother ride than many pickups, while still maintaining the convenience of an open-bed truck. It is, however, significantly more expensive than many of its competitors, with a base price range in the $30,000s. The Ridgeline has a 250-horsepower V-6 engine and is rated to tow 5,000 pounds. With four doors and two rows of seats, the Ridgeline can seat five, though the cabin is not appointed quite as well as the rest of Honda’s fleet. As if the Ridgeline needed any more cargo space, there is a lockable in-bed trunk with 8.5 cubic feet of storage for anything you don’t want flying around the truck bed. As always with Honda, the Ridgeline is reliable and drives well. …
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Honda Civic

Year: Starting at $17,965 MPG 28-36 The Honda Civic is due for a redesign in its 2013 model, but until then buyers are left with the somewhat lackluster 2012 model. Though not seriously deficient in any way, this Civic fails to make a tangible improvement over earlier years. Still, the Civic offers a little something for everyone, with plenty of models, including a hybrid and fuel-efficient HF sedan, both achieving a stellar EPA rating above 40 mpg on the highway. The interior is dull plastic and the navigation system could be more streamlined, but the 2012 did manage to find nearly four cubic feet of extra cargo space despite an unchanged exterior size. It goes without saying that the Civic is reliable, drives well, and has a fantastic resale value. The Civic’s price is unbeatable, and offers a great value per dollar. The cheapest base model is highly affordable at just over $16,000, with the price range topping out at a still-reasonable $30,000. The 2012 Civic is good but maybe too familiar, and with a (potentially more enticing) reboot only months away, it could be worth the wait. …
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Honda CR-V

Year: Starting at $22,795 MPG 22-30 Slightly smaller than previous models, the 2013 CR-V operates a 185-horsepower engine with a five-speed automatic transmission that has been retooled for greater efficiency. The 2013 earns 22 to 23 mpg in the city and 30 to 31 mpg on the highway, a slight uptick that nonetheless pushes it above the 30 mpg benchmark. Honda’s biggest crossover offers 1,500 pounds of towing and 37 cubic feet of cargo space even with the rear seats up, giving it plenty of room for errands around town or family road trips. The engine has spirit, and the car’s steering and handling are assets, especially for its size. Honda didn’t do much to change the CR-V’s interior or exterior styling, but that might be because the existing model worked fairly well. The CR-V has intuitive controls, though it’s navigation system could use an update. Right in the middle of Honda’s price range, the CR-V has a base price topping out just above $30,000. This also makes it one of the cheaper utilitarian vehicles on the market, easily beating the price of larger SUVs while still providing impressive capacity. …
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Honda CR-Z

Year: Starting at $20,625 MPG 36-39 Honda’s CR-Z is the only hybrid on the market that is only available as a six-speed manual, making it perhaps the sportiest way to go green. The stylish coupe only seats two people — and maybe only two small people, with a slim 49.1 cubic feet of passenger space. The hatchback’s low back end limits rear visibility, but the tight squeeze fits with the character of the car, though, and the 122 horsepower engine is able to provide some fun for the driver while still handling well. There are also three available drive modes, so that the driver can decide whether to conserve fuel or pump up the performance. The CR-Z gets a wallet-friendly 35 mpg in the city and 39 mpg highway. Priced at $20,000 to $24,000, the CR-Z keeps with Honda’s tradition of offering impressive fuel economy without forcing you to mortgage your house, but if extra seating or cargo room are of any concern it might make sense to look at one of Honda’s hybrid sedans. On the other hand, if you don’t have kids or equipment to haul around (or if you make the kids walk so you can keep your sweet ride) the CR-Z is certainly worth a look. …
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Honda Insight

Year: Starting at $18,600 MPG 41-44 The Insight is yet another hybrid by Honda, and it provides everything we have come to expect from Honda’s green cars. The Insight shares its hybrid technology with the ever-popular Civic Hybrid, and gets similar gas mileage with 41 mpg in the city and 44 mpg on the highway. The Insight melds the interior of several other Honda sedans, creating an appealing Frankenstein’s monster of ergonomic controls. The interior also offers plenty of hiding spots and storage space for whatever you carry around. Perhaps the Insight’s biggest draw is its price, with a base price below $20,000. The low price isn’t without drawbacks, however, and the Insight can be rough on bumpy roads and loud at high speeds. Honda didn’t skimp on safety, though, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the Insight as a Top Safety Pick. With rear seats down the cargo space – already respectable for a small car – almost doubles. The Insight’s charms and price are enough to make up for some minor deficiencies, and it is a good choice if you’re looking for a hybrid that doesn't break the bank. …
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Honda Odyssey

Year: Starting at $28,675 MPG 18-27 The Honda Odyssey is the kind of minivan you always hoped you’d be able to drive. It holds seven or eight people, depending on seat configuration, tows up to 3,500 pounds, and boasts almost 40 cubic feet of storage behind the third row. There’s plenty of room for storage up front, too, with a large removable center console that can fit a bag and several water bottles. For trips to Ikea or cross-country moves, the rear seats fold seamlessly into the floor to maximize cargo space. The Odyssey runs a V-6 engine with either a five- or six-speed automatic transmission. It has Honda technology that allows some cylinders to shut off when not in use, helping it achieve a class-high 19 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. Perhaps best of all is an available giant rear video monitor with a split-screen to avoid tantrums if your brood can’t agree on a movie. The Odyssey’s price is high, its design is far from sexy, and it can be a little slow to accelerate and decelerate, but otherwise it is just about everything you could ask for in a minivan. …
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Honda Pilot

Year: Starting at $29,520 MPG 18-25 The box-like Honda Pilot shares many of its qualities with its cousin, the Odyssey. It has Honda’s nicely-tuned suspension, and the V-6 engine can tow up to 4,500 pounds when paired with available four-wheel drive. With three rows of seats, the Pilot can seat up to eight people; or with the seats down, it can fit a whole lot of cargo. A 2012 overhaul left the Pilot with a more streamlined and logical control panel and an easy-to-use navigation and entertainment system. At 17 to 18 mpg in the city and 24 to 25 on the highway, the Pilot is relatively efficient for its size but still not as efficient as the Odyssey. Typical of the Honda brand, the Pilot is known for its reliability and utility. It is one of the best-selling vehicles in its category, even outdoing cars that are better looking and more powerful than the boxy Pilot. Like Honda’s other utility vehicles, the Pilot can be pricey. The base price for the cheapest model is almost $30,000, and the price range tops out above $41,000, making the Pilot one of only two Hondas with a base price that high, but if you can get past the price and polarizing exterior styling, the Pilot is a versatile choice. …
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