The Battle Of The Brands: Honda vs Toyota

The increasingly competitive Honda vs Toyota battle is one that’s dominated the automotive industry for decades.

The two Japanese carmakers have soared to incredible heights internationally, and with both offering some incredible models at prices worthy of the ‘cost-effective’ label, their feud is one of quality rather than a fierce nature. What do you think? Is Honda the superior car brand? Or does Toyota deserve that top spot? We’re digging deeper below.

Reliability

Both Honda and Toyota are known for their reliability and so the question really remains as this: which is most reliable? Both brands have their common problems. Honda, for example, tends to have an issue with vibration when braking. Granted, this only happens after an average of 95,000 miles, but it isn’t usually easy to repair. Power locking has also proven to be an issue, but again, this is around the 100,000 mark. Toyota, meanwhile, have had issues with gearbox issues with their Yaris model and the Rav4, and a lot of their models can have heavy oil consumption. However, all in all, every car that these two brands produce are set to last you a while and with average repair costs when this isn’t the case.

Safety

The safety of your vehicle isn’t something that you should be taking shortcuts with. However, Honda and Toyota seem to be pretty on par when it comes to safety scores and features. In 2017, Honda’s line up scored around 9.3 in safety ratings, with the Civic scoring the maximum 10. Toyota has the same 9.3 score and one vehicle that scored a 10 too – the Prius Prime. However, both brands had low scorers too, with the Honda HR-V scoring an 8.7 and the Toyota Sequoia earning 7.7.

Performance

As far as handling and acceleration go, Honda’s models take the cake. However, that doesn’t mean that Toyota are worthy of being overlooked. Honda’s models tend to score much higher on performance, with scores anywhere between 8 and 9.1 in most cases. Toyota, however, tend to score 8.0 or below, though it doesn’t tend to drop too far below. Recent models are gaining better scores, but as Toyota improve, so do Honda so it’s a battle they may need to speed up on.

Design

As far as design is concerned, Honda and Toyota are on-par with their mid-sized and larger models, with most models coming with high-quality materials worthy of any luxury brand. Toyota’s SUV models are probably the best of the lot, with all the class and sophistication of a high-end car with the affordability and comfort of your everyday drive. Honda’s smaller cars are where they excel, however. Toyota’s smaller cars are known for being about-average, however the high-quality design of the larger Honda models can be found in their smaller ones too, giving you all the luxury you need in mini size!

Cost

Had you asked us which brand where a better value for money previously, we probably would’ve told you Honda without a doubt. Recent offerings from Toyota, however, have made that debate much more complicated. Toyota are offering a wider range of affordable cars than ever before, but the best part is that they are actually good too. The Toyota C-HR competes easily with the Honda HR-V on its price and quality, but due to its later release, this wasn’t so much of a battle as simply a nice addition to the market.

Overall, neither brand is racing ahead of the other, although Honda excels in areas that Toyota is slowly beginning to catch up on. The brand or model that you choose will ultimately depend on your personal preference, budget and availability in your area, but it’s safe to say that whether you opt for Honda or Toyota, you’ll be investing in a car set to last.