Look Back: Honda Logo




Honda's Logo was a kei car produced between 1996-2001 and was available in a 3dr or 5dr hatchback. The design car/concept for the Logo was nicknamed, "Tall Boy". it was refreshed in 1998 with a new front end and a slightly extended wheelbase along with the introduction of 4WD. It was sold in Japan for its first few years then expanded to the UK market in 2000 (UK Logo consumers got another revised front end) until its death in 2001. Its platform was shared with the Capa and the Honda City/Jazz eventually replaced the Logo.



Honda called the styling of the Logo as stylish and distinctive, many of you would say otherwise. A meagre 1.3L engine powered the Logo which was an upgrade from a smaller engine. The smaller engine raked in complaints where it was too underpowered. The Logo did however, have its share of accolades. It was the only sub-10 000 euro car with ABS, dual airbags, A/C, power steering and power windows as standard equipment. Honda offered a CVT or a 5spd manual. Its suspension was tuned for European roads and final drive gearing was improved upon to give better acceleration, 0-60 in 14.2 seconds if you were wondering. Dismal in 2011, but it was comparable in 2000. Fuel injection was offered, but Honda's class-leading VTEC technology did not make it to the Logo.


The interior was very spacious for the car. It had a flat rear floor with a high roofline, giving class-leading headroom (at the time) for 5 occupants. If you needed more room, a 50/50 split rear seat was offered as standard equipment. 230 litres with the seatbacks raised was the cargo capacity, very reasonable for a small car.


Resale values for the Logo are very high especially in the UK. The Logo in the UK has retained its value outstandingly. It topped a JD Power Survey in 2001 with outstanding value.

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