Honda Cars

Amaze offers a lot of space and a large boot for not much money. Ideal for government fleets, rental companies, Uber drivers or budget company cars. Where a lockable metal boot matters.

Doesn’t feel like a pedigree-engineered Honda to drive, but it’s all about low maintenance and longevity. The 1.2-litre engine’s durability is enhanced by having a single camshaft. But it only makes 66kW, which means Amaze feels very slow at Gauteng altitudes, fully loaded.

Entry-level versions get two airbags; mid- and upper-trims have six. Drum brakes at the rear wheels and no ESP make the total dynamic safety spec less than 'Amazing'.

No longer the premium Japanese compact sedan it once was, when associated with Mercedes-Benz locally.

Cabin manages a much better balance between physical infotainment controls, HVAC controls, and touchscreen menus than many rivals.

Still offers amazingly durable engines and mechanical integrity, but the only transmission option is a CVT. And it has rear drum brakes.

Boot capacity is outstanding at 506-litres, embarrassing many larger sedans and SUVs. But you pay for that with a smallish 40-litre fuel tank.

Residual values remain strong, trading on Honda’s decades of durable product legacy in South Africa. Simple fluids and filter servicing can keep it running flawlessly for years.

Budget crossover with 7-seats, but without the budged price.

 If you need the passenger-carrying ability, the BR-V combines Honda’s legendary 1.5-litre petrol engines with reasonable ground clearance and active safety spec.

BR-V’s 89kW engine delivers reasonable performance at the coast but it suffers a lot fo power loss on the highveld. That said, it’s chain driven ancillaries are a lot more durable and reliable than belt-driven systems.

All BR-Vs have ABS and ESP, although the lower trim only has dual front airbags. At 207mm, there’s plenty of ground clearance for dirt-road driving. Impressively, for a compact 7-seater, the BR-V does have a full size spare wheel, which matters on South African roads.

Cabin functionality blends a 7-inch touchscreen with traditional physical controls. But the real issue is price.

For the same money, you can get a turbocharged 1.5-litre Chery Tiggo 7, with vastly better performance, a more luxurious cabin and advanced infotainment. Unless you absolutely must have 7-seats. Then the Comfort 1.5 manual is the best BR-V to buy.

Civic RS and Type R models serve a segment that doesn’t really exist anymore: high-performance front-wheel drive family sedans.

Honda’s turbocharged 1.5 VTEC engine feels much better here than in its heavier SUVs and crossovers. Excellent cruising performance, but it’s not quite the performance car Honda markets it as, with that legacy RS-badging.

The boot is enormous, the cabin is comfortable, and the build quality makes it feel like a true Honda legacy product.

No real rivals, because nobody buys these kinds of sedans anymore. If you don’t need the image appeal of a crossover, Civic RS is a great family car with some stealth cruising performance.

Then there’s the fifth-generation Type R, which is one of the world’s best front-wheel-drive performance cars.  

Tokyo midnight expressway night-racer styling and red seats are very different to anything German. No dual-clutch gearbox or trick all-wheel drive to maintain, either, something that can make a German compact performance car very expensive to own.

The manual 6-speed metal shifter requires commitment in traffic but is hugely rewarding and engaging to drive when the roads clear.

Honda’s immense depth of motorsport engineering is present in Type R’s driving dynamics. Raw when needed, but liveable as a daily driver. Feels more special than any rival.

Feels authentically Honda throughout, with excellent cabin quality and good feature spec.

Noise levels are wonderfully low at cruising speeds, and overall driving stability is excellent for an SUV.

But it’s a 7-seater, and the 1.5-litre turbopetrol only makes 240Nm of torque for the CR-V’s 1700kg unladen mass. Load it with 7 occupants, and performance-to-weight ratios really suffer.

Flawless quality and engineering. But the issue is that you can buy a larger, more all-terrain-capable Fortuner 7-seater for the same money.

Once Rav4’s most credible rival, CR-V’s become an expensive 7-seater without a diesel or hybrid powertrain option. If you can look beyond the price, it offers a compelling driving and ownership experience, as well as a very low theft risk.

Very compelling compact crossover from Honda. The boxy design looks good, and the 1.5-litre petrol engine is proven.

Amazingly, Honda has managed to engineer Elevate true to its name. It features 199mm of ground clearance without compromising the centre of gravity during high-speed driving. To keep you safe in all road conditions, there is ESP on all versions.

Tyres are road-biased, but have more than enough ground clearance to survive reasonably bad dirt roads. Cheaper ‘Comfort’ trim Elevate has steel wheels for even better rough-road survivability. All Elevates have full-size spare wheels, which are a must for South African road conditions.

Honda’s 1.5-litre petrol engine is hugely reliable, but it isn’t that powerful. Elevate loses a lot of power at altitude, which could be an issue if you do a lot of long-distance highway driving on the Highveld. With a fully-loaded Elevate.

A combination of physical buttons, tabs, switches, steering wheel satellite controls, and a touchscreen controls cabin switchgear, HVAC, and infotainment. It all works better than most Chinese full-digital UX ergonomics.

Not cheap. But the design, build quality and usable cabin UX make it one of the better Japanese crossovers.

The Comfort 6-speed manual is a better buy than the Elegance version, which only comes with a CVT transmission.

Futurist design with a brilliantly spacious interior for a city car. And Honda’s more-reliable-than-time 1.5-litre petrol engines.

Fit continues the Jazz legacy. That means you get those amazingly clever rear Magic Seats, which can fold flat and flip as required. Its adaptability and loadability are incredible for a compact hatchback.

There aren’t many family hatchbacks on sale anymore, but this is probably the best one to live with if you have kids and need an outrageously versatile cabin.

The hybrid version is expensive, but capable of actual sub-5l/100km economy, and has good overtaking throttle response when required. Even at altitude. Hybrid system has an 8-year/200 000km warranty.

Fit is everything great about Honda’s legacy of clever city-car design and entrenched mechanical reliability. Strong residual values – for all the right reasons.

Crossover version of the Honda Jazz/Fit platform.

Proven mechanical integrity with a cabin that most people find much easier to operate and live with than the UX-overdesign of some Chinese rivals.

HR-V’s best feature is its Magic Seats. A legacy rear seat technology made famous by Jazz, the HR-V’s Magic Seats can flip and fold in ways that its rivals can’t. And for a family car, that’s invaluable when you need to pack a lot of stuff for that road trip. Or a school sport’s day.

A testament to Honda’s engineers is that the HR-V features the Magic Seat system, with all the space-utilisation benefits, and a full-size spare wheel. This is invaluable for South African drivers, considering the tyre risk on local roads.

The 1.5-litre engine is unquestionably reliable, but it's very underpowered compared to Chinese 1.5-litre turbocharged rivals, for the same price. Has a bit more ground clearance than a Jazz, allowing light-duty dirt-road travel.

Like all Hondas, the HR-V’s overall technical build quality is good, and theft risk is low.