TOYOTA vs HONDA
Toyota vs Honda is a heated rivalry between two of Japan’s largest automobile industries. The complex battle between the two car companies dates back to the 1960s when both brands started selling their vehicles in the United States. When it comes to providing the best quality and reliable cars to their customers, these two Japanese companies are most competitive with each other. Both of the brands aim to provide durable, safe and highly equipped technological featured cars and trucks that are fun to drive and comfortable.
Although both brands are the epitome of reliability, there is always a very serious question that lingers: Is Honda a better choice or is it Toyota? The engine, fuel efficiency, body, and overall performance are the few aspects that can provide valuable insight in understanding the similarities and differences of the two competitors. To compare these two largest automotive manufacturers, we need to look at major differences between Toyota and Honda.
Core Differences between Toyota and Honda
- Overall Corporate Value and Sales
Most of the people think of Toyota and Honda stand on the same scale, however, Toyota is a much bigger and much richer company than its rival Honda. It is the most successful and predominant automaker in the world in terms of total corporate value. Honda is much smaller as it holds overall value just 25 percent of that of Toyota. Moreover, Toyota also sells many more vehicles all around the world when compared to Honda.
- Differences in Models
Toyota offers more models to its consumers than Honda. Toyota is also a full-line manufacturer like other automobile giants such as Ford or General Motors. It offers the vast majority of vehicle classes to its customers, including full-size trucks, SUVs and Sedans. Toyota offers 18 nameplates for the year 2019 which include two pickups, eight hybrid models, six different SUVs and a long list of Sedans.
On the other hand, Honda’s lineup is much smaller as it only offers 11 nameplates including one full- electric model. However both companies do offer fuel-cell vehicles which include Toyota Mirai and Honda Clarity Fuel Cell which generate electricity from Hydrogen.
It is pertinent to mention here that Toyota vs Honda rivalry also expands into luxury cars. Toyota owns Lexus, while Honda has Acura. These luxury cars share common features and components, including engines, with their Toyota and Honda models.
- Reliability
Both brands have set a high standard of quality, durability, and dependability. Achieving perfection in every product in terms of reliability is the priority of both Honda and Toyota. Their prime concern is customer safety and satisfaction.
Toyota is a more suitable choice as it does have a very slight edge over Honda in recent predicted reliability scores. Almost all of the Toyota models score well above the industry average while in the case of Honda, only a few can attain well above average rating. So one can say that Toyota is more preferable in terms of reliability after comparing it to Honda.
- Variation in Performance
Honda beats Toyota when it comes to performance. You can enjoy your ride with better momentum and more flexible and approachable handling of Honda. The Odyssey version of Honda has a performance rating of 9.1 while Toyota manufactured Sienna has an overall rating of 8.4. Even this half point can make a huge impact on the performance of the vehicle. So if you are in search of high- performance vehicles, go for Honda.
- Interior Design
One of the most sought after thing in a vehicle is its interior design. The shining and attractive interiors of Honda grab more attention from the customers. The uniqueness of design and quality interior material allows Honda to stand out in this category of competition. On the other hand, Toyota, with its simple and common interiors has failed to come up with the expectations of consumers who prefer aesthetics.
- Affordability
Although Toyota and Honda compete head to head in most of the vehicle classes, the comparison is not fair when it comes to price. Toyota offers more models than Honda, but Honda provides a more affordable price range to its customers. Due to the wider variety of vehicles that it offers, Toyota ranges from $15,600 to $85000 while Honda lineup ranges from about $16000 to just under $35000. Comparable models usually offer similar options and features.
- Maintenance Costs
When it comes to maintenance, both Toyota and Honda are among the least expensive cars to keep on the road. Due to high-quality engines and proprietary fluid formulations, Honda develops a unique maintenance program for each of their vehicles to keep a better eye on the vehicle’s maintenance needs. Honda recommends proprietary fluid for all their vehicles, be it the brake fluid, the power steering fluid or the gear oil.
Toyota prefers safety and dependability when it comes to maintenance and allows its customers to stick to the standard fluid selection in their vehicles.
- Global Reach for the brand
Although both Toyota and Honda have excellent reputations, but Toyota is still the most popular brand around the globe. Toyota offers a significantly higher variety of models than Honda and because of its reliability and affordability; it has more global outreach as compared to Honda. Toyota Corolla is one of the most popular sedans in the world with more than 43 million units sold worldwide and Toyota Camry is the people’s choice among the richest residents of UAE and America. Having significantly more hybrid models than Honda, including the popular Prius, have earned Toyota a great deal of popularity in the global market.
Honda is more preferred in the sports vehicle segment by performance enthusiasts. It offers more turbocharged engines than Toyota and represents the ultimate combination of sportiness and efficiency.
The Bottom Line
Toyota and Honda are the two leading names in the automobile industry and both build a wide range of quality products. They are the most valuable auto manufacturers in the world competing for top spot in the industry for almost two decades. Toyota is the market leader in the hybrid electric vehicle segment and provides more fuel-efficient engines with a longer service life, while Honda lacks in offering valuable fuel consumption products.
Now after this extensive debate has explained the major differences between Toyota and Honda, you must be able to choose the car that suits you and your family the best.
