Origins of the Honda Concerto

The birth of the Honda Concerto was the result of a collaboration between Honda and now defunct British car manufacturer, Rover. Work on the Concerto began as early as 1984 and the first model was completed in 1988. Honda built the Concerto in two locations; Japan and the UK and was available in Japan, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The Concerto was never available in North America.

This video showcases what was then Honda's brand new, and first, UK production plant. Pay close attention to the inner-workings of the production plant, for this is where my 1989 Honda Concerto EXi was born. This is where it was created, long before I lost it in my unfortunate car smash on 26 August, 2008.

Note the red, 1989 Honda Concerto EXi located right next to Top Gear host, William Woollard. This is what my car once was, all shiny and brand spanking new when my mother purchased it in 1990 when I was a then 9 year old, so long ago. Certainly a far cry from the suitation I find myself in today.

The Concerto was heavily based on the Rover 200 range, specifically the Rover 216 rebuilt to Honda's specifications, and was spectacular to drive. The steering and handling was just perfect, the engine was fast, loud, powerful, mighty and revvy, the body was solidly built and all the plastic and leather belonged in the right places. Seats were lovingly comfortable, the steering wheel was the right size and the overall essence and feeling you got from driving the car was that it felt fast, warm and cozy. Visibility was perfect and there were no rattling noises as you drove. It honestly was a hard car to fault. It was better than Honda's flagship car, the Civic, seriously, thats how good it was. It still is better than most, if not all, of Honda's vehicles today.

The Concerto was marketed as a $35,000 luxury family car. But being stuck in the middle of the 1989 - 1992 recession, nobody bought it, simply because they couldn't afford it and because of its name. The Concerto was sadly ignored by many and never got the attention it truly deserved. Honda stopped manufacturing the Concerto in Japan and the UK when its collaborative partner, Rover, was taken over by BMW in 1993. As a result, BMW suspended all of Honda's operations in their UK production plant and the plant was handed over to BMW entirely, which meant during the transition, the Honda Concerto died along with it. Rover then went out of business, 12 years later, in 2005. Today, you can pick up a used Honda Concerto EXi for less than $5000.

Personally, if Honda manage to pull out of the current economic crisis and eventually return to sports car and concept car manufacturing, and still have a healthy amount of cash to spend, I would like to see them revive the Honda Concerto in future. That may seem unlikely, as the car is certainly long forgotten and now unknown by many, but it's a nice thought. I would like to see that.

Clip taken from an old episode of Top Gear, circa 1989.