The Honda Concerto is a mid-sized luxury sedan produced from 1988 to 1994. The Concerto was designed for European tastes and jointly developed by

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

and the

Austin Rover Group The Austin Rover Group (abbreviated ARG) was a British motor manufacturer. It was created in 1982 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland (BL). Previously, this entity had been known as BL Cars Ltd (formerly Leyland C ...

and was introduced in Japan on 15 June 1988, and in European markets in October 1989. Japanese production finished in October 1992 and British production finished in 1994. The car was named for the

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

and was a successor to the second generation Honda Ballade, a higher specification

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...

. All Japanese versions were exclusive to Japanese Honda dealerships called ''

Honda Clio is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

.''

Production and delivery

The Concerto was sold in both

liftback A liftback is a variation of hatchback with a sloping roofline between 45 and 5 degrees. Traditional hatchback designs usually have a 90 to 46 degree slope on the tailgate or rear door. As such the liftback is essentially a hatchback with a more ...

and sedan styles and built in two locations, Austin Rover's

Longbridge plant Longbridge plant is an industrial complex in Longbridge, Birmingham, England, currently leased by SAIC as a research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary. Vehicle assembly ended in 2016. Opened in 1905, by the late 1960s Longbr ...

for the European market, and by Honda in

Suzuka, Mie is a city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 197,977 in 87,680 households and a population density of 1000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Suzuka is in northeastern Mie Prefecture, in ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Japanese production began in June 1988 and European deliveries began after British Concerto production commenced at the end of 1989. The Europe-only models, such as the 1.4, were released in October 1989. In Australia and some European countries, for example Germany and Switzerland, it was only sold as a five-door liftback. In other markets it acted as replacement for the

Honda Integra The , marketed in North America as the Acura Integra, is an automobile produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda from 1985 until 2006, and then since 2021. It succeeded the Quint as a more luxurious and sport-oriented derivative o ...

five-door liftback. The sedan version was produced until 1993 for most nations, especially in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where sales were lower compared to the

Rover 200 The Rover 200 Series, and later the Rover 25, are a series of small family cars that were produced by British manufacturer Rover (marque), Rover from 1984 until 2005. There have been three distinct generations of the Rover 200. The first gener ...

and

Rover 400 Series The Rover 400 Series, and later the Rover 45, are a series of small family cars that were produced by the British manufacturer Rover (marque), Rover from 1990 to 2005. The cars were co-developed as part of Rover's collaboration with Honda. The ...

Specifications

The Japanese-built models, MA1 (1.5-liter), MA2 (1.6-liter) and MA3 (1.6-liter 4WD) were produced with

double wishbone suspension A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...

whilst the British-built model, HW, were produced with

MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles, and is named for American automotive engineer Ear ...

s. Engine choices were: *1.4 Liter (SOHC twin carb) with at 6,300 rpm (Europe) *1.5 Liter (SOHC 2-barrel carb) with at 6,000 rpm (Japan) *1.5 Liter (SOHC DPI) with at 6,000 rpm (Europe) *1.6 Liter (SOHC twin carb) with at 6,300 rpm (105 PS in Japan) *1.6 Liter (SOHC MPI) with at 6,300 rpm (120 PS in Japan, Australia) *1.6 Liter (DOHC MPI) with at 6,800 rpm (130 PS in Japan; European models without catalyst: 130 PS DIN with manual transmission and 124 PS DIN with automatic transmission) *1.8 Liter TD

turbodiesel The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output, ...

(

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

-supplied), sold in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

only as a badge-engineered

diesel The four-door sedan was offered with four-wheel drive in Japan, a system later shared with the Civic-based compact SUV, the

Honda CR-V The Honda CR-V (also sold as the Honda Breeze in China since 2019) is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Honda since 1995. The early model was built using the same platform as the Civic. Honda began producing the CR ...

. The Japanese range received a facelift in February 1991, when the twin-cam ZC engine was also added to the JZ-Si model. The Concerto was sold internationally on a platform which was shared with the popular

Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

. Just like the five-door Integra it replaced, it offered more features than the Civic and was aimed at a more prestigious section of the market. The styling of the Concerto reflected an influence from the

Honda Ascot The is a compact sedan manufactured by Honda and marketed only in Japan from 1989 until 1997. The first generation produced two versions based on the Honda Accord CB series called the Ascot and from 1993 to 1996 a "pillared hardtop" called the ...

, most notably the six-light window treatment of the

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

Replacement

Honda stopped manufacturing the Concerto in Great Britain when its partner, Rover, was taken over by BMW in 1994. The Concerto sedan was replaced by the

Honda Domani The () is a car made by Honda and marketed in east Asia, including Japan. The car was mutually developed during Rover's collaboration with Honda. It was introduced in November 1992, replacing the Concerto in Honda's lineup, although that mod ...

in Japan and by the sedan version of the sixth generation (EK and EJ) Honda Civic in other markets. The hatchback version was replaced in Europe by the Domani-based 5-door Civic hatchback which was quite different from the rest of the sixth generation Civic range instead, as with the Domani, being based on the platform that underpinned the fifth generation (EG and EH) Civics. The Domani/5-door Civic hatchback formed the basis for the 1995

Rover 400 The Rover 400 Series, and later the Rover 45, are a series of small family cars that were produced by the British manufacturer Rover from 1990 to 2005. The cars were co-developed as part of Rover's collaboration with Honda. The first-generation ...

while the 1995

was based on the fourth generation Honda Civic platform, and therefore the Concerto's too.

Gallery

File:Sabres, Landes - France (3976166255).jpg, Honda Concerto liftback (Europe). File:1991 Honda Concerto (MA2) EX-i hatchback (2015-05-28) 02.jpg, Honda Concerto liftback (Australia; facelift). File:1991 Honda Concerto (MA2) EX-i Reprise hatchback (27362723083).jpg, Honda Concerto liftback (Australia; pre-facelift). File:Hondaconcertointerior.jpg, Interior File:Honda Concerto EXI.jpg, alt=, Honda Concerto japan

References

{{Honda

Concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

Cars introduced in 1988 1980s cars 1990s cars