Parents’ Best Family Cars Include CR-V and Odyssey

Parents’ Best Family Cars Include CR-V and Odyssey

08^th June 2012. Hondainthenews.com

When the staff at Parents magazine was putting together their list of “Best Family Cars for 2012,” they naturally turned to some experts for help. And those experts—from Edmunds.com—turned to Honda for three standout choices for families of all sizes: The Honda CR-V, Odyssey and Civic Hybrid.

For bigger families, Honda also offers the CR-V as a “Best Family Car” solution from the Crossover class, featuring a cabin that’s “reminiscent of a minivan, with a slew of cup holders and a gear shifter situated on the dashboard.” The best-selling crossover in America is packed with standard features, too, with Parents calling out its “backup camera, a rear armrest to keep warring siblings apart, and rear seats that fold flat with a single touch.” Helpful as well: For the first time ever, the CR-V offers an optional rear-seat entertainment system. Finally, in addition to the CR-V, an actual SUV from Honda made the roster in the Large Vehicle segment. Regarding the Odyssey, Parents praised its car-like cornering abilities and stable ride, and singled out advantages like its “endless storage compartments and second-row captain’s chairs that slide forward (to get closer to you) and sideways (to put extra real estate between siblings or make room for three car seats in the row)” along with an “optional middle seat in the second row [that] transforms into a cool beverage and snack tray when no one’s using it.”

The Civic Hybrid was picked as a “Best Family Car” in the High Mileage category, which is appropriate for a vehicle that has posted marks of 44 mpg in all three EPA driving categories. Parents also noted that it’s “a pleasure to drive and is sleek inside and out”. In addition, “the loaded version, making it among the most affordable full-feature hybrids.”

Civic Named Among Best Cars for Teens by AAA (American Automobile Association)*

Civic Named Among Best Cars for Teens by AAA (American Automobile Association)*

19^th June 2012. Hondainthenews.com

According to John Nielsen, director of Automotive Engineering for AAA: “Teen drivers see their first vehicle as a step toward independence; parents and teens seeing eye-to-eye on the best vehicle can be tough. Safety behind the wheel should be a priority. Finding a reliable vehicle that has top safety features and fits into the budget will make you and your teen’s vehicle ownership more enjoyable.”



And that’s especially the case if said vehicle is a Honda Civic, recently chosen by AAA as one of this year’s best cars for teens. The Civic was called a “perennial and parental favorite” by AAA and also was lauded for its handling, maneuverability, fuel efficiency—the Civic HF can attain 41 mpg on the highway—and a robust body structure developed according to Honda’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) guidelines. As is the case with most Honda models, the Civic relies on an ACE design that leverages a network of interconnected structural components to help distribute crash forces away from the cabin.



The Civic also boasts standard passenger-protection features like Honda’s Advanced Vehicle Stability Assist technology with traction control, electronic brake-force distribution and dual-stage airbags, all of which helped the car achieve Top Safety Pick status from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).



Teen drivers can choose a Civic in both sedan and coupe body styles, with three different powertrains on tap: A standard 140-hp 1.8-liter I4 engine, a hybrid setup that delivers 44 mpg in all EPA testing procedures, and an I4 that’s been tuned to run on clean-burning compressed natural gas. Take care with the Civic Si, though, since its high-performance engine “may be too powerful for younger drivers.”

* AAA (the American Automobile Association, Inc.) is a federation of affiliated automobile clubs.