Honda

Honda is one of Japan's three biggest automakers, and its products have long been particularly popular with Canadians. For well over a decade, the Civic compact car was the best-selling passenger car in Canada, thanks to free-revving engines, thrifty fuel economy, and nimble handling. Even Honda's valve-timing innovations entered popular culture: namely, in the first Fast and Furious movie, when “VTEC just kicked in, yo.”

History of Honda in Canada

Honda cars arrived in Canada before they made their way to the U.S., with the zippy little S600 sports car. The company was already well established as a motorcycle manufacturer, and a few Canadian Honda bike dealerships imported these tiny little high-rpm screamers as early as 1964. The U.S. waited until the more-pedestrian N600 hatchback arrived in 1970, though the later S600 makes an off-camera appearance in Mad Men, derided as a, “motorcycle with doors.”

Considering that Honda is easily the largest motorcycle company in the world at present, maybe that wasn't such an insult. Having started out as a builder of affordable two-wheeled ability, Honda's early cars were admittedly toy-like. But then the Civic arrived, small of stature, but with an effect on the market like Godzilla stomping into town.

The first Honda Civic in Canada was sold by Dalt's Honda in Toronto in 1973. Incredibly, the car still exists, as it was traded in a few years after purchase and somehow ended up getting stored. Most Civics of this era perished in use, developing rust on Canada's salty roads. However, Civics were fun and frugal during a decade with two fuel crises, and Canadians fell in love. Most folks have a story or two about some kind of Civic, whether one brought them home from the hospital, took them on a first date, or was the hand-me-down commuter for a first job.

In 1986, Honda opened a factory in Alliston, Ontario. A rural area whose former claim to fame was as the “potato capital of Ontario,” Alliston became the site of the first Japanese automaker to set up manufacturing in Canada. The first car built was an Accord sedan, but with the later addition of a second plant in 1998, Honda went on to build its minivans and crossovers in Canada.

Honda sold its millionth car in Canada in 1991, and built its millionth Canadian-made car just six years later. The Alliston factory grew a reputation for quality — in the 1980s, Honda president Tadashi Kume remarked that Canadian-made Hondas were even better than the Japanese-built ones. Partly because of this reputation, and partly because of logistics, Honda's Canadian manufacturing was entrusted with the launch of several new vehicles. The first generation of the Honda Pilot was introduced by Canadian-made vehicles, as was the first generation Ridgeline pickup truck.

Currently, Canadian-made Hondas include the Honda Civic sedan, and the Honda CR-V crossover. Thus, the two best-selling Hondas in Canada are actually made right here, though tastes have changed over the years.

In 1997, the best-selling car in Canada was the Civic. Also 1998. And 1999. In fact, the Civic topped the list all the way until 2022, when it was beaten by the Corolla, an incredible 24 year run.

Honda performance cars

Even the run-of-the-mill models were fun to drive, with well-tuned suspensions, and the SI versions offered sporty driving on a budget. Hatchback versions were flexible and popular, and still are. Passionate Honda fans dreamed of the mighty overseas-only Civic Type-R, and in 2017, they were able to get their hands on one too.

It wasn't all performance at Honda either, as many of the biggest Honda fans love cars that were perhaps a bit off. The boxy Element, for instance, seems less practical than a conventional CR-V, but people still love them. Also, here we should all shed a tear for the clever little Honda Fit hatchback, and its wonderful folding seats. Too bad Honda no longer sells either here any more.

Having sold so many Civics, Honda had a customer base that occasionally showed up at dealerships with a couple of kids and another one on the way: do you guys sell anything bigger? We sure do. And we'll happily take that Civic on trade.

In past years, the upgrade might have been a stalwart of the family sedan segment, the Accord. Now in its eleventh generation, the Accord remains as good as it's ever been. But it's no longer the volume choice.

Honda SUVs

Instead — like everyone else — Honda will now sell you the size of crossover that best fits your needs and budget. As a sort of Civic-sized crossover, the HR-V is best for drivers who want to keep things compact but with greater ride height. The CR-V fits most small families, and is Honda's sales leader. The Pilot brings three rows of seating to the table, or if it's just more space you want, the Passport is bigger than a CR-V but still a five-seater.

For even more passengers, there's the Odyssey, the minivan that drives nicer than it has any business doing. For flexibility with cargo, Honda's Ridgeline is unlike any other pickup truck on the market. Many of its innovative features feel true to the clever engineering tricks you used to find in all Honda products.

In terms of electrification, past Honda products like the first-generation Insight and later Clarity worked well but were too quirky for the mainstream. Instead, hybrid models are now more prevalent through the range, including the Accord and CR-V.

Honda electric cars

Honda builds full battery-EVs like the adorable Honda e, but the range and pricing don't quite make sense for Canadian markets yet.

Instead, what's on the way next for Honda is rightly called the Prologue: an all-electric crossover co-developed with GM. A mid-sized battery-powered crossover co-developed with one of the Detroit Big Three automakers is about as far as you could get from a “motorcycle with doors.” But we hope that there's a little of that scrappy Honda spirit still baked into Honda's future. Canada likes that.

Honda reliability

Consumer Reports currently ranks Honda, with an overall score of 70, in the fifth position behind sister brand Acura in their reliability ratings. JD Power in their 2024 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study found out that Honda cars have a Problems per 100 Vehicles (PP100) score of 206, which is higher than the study average of 190. On the other hand, the Honda Civic is placed second among dependable compact cars while the Honda Odyssey is placed third among the most reliable minivans for the year.