Honda Ballade Reviews from South Africa

Shocks.

Exhaust.

CV's.

Fuel pump.

Brake pads.

Front seats re-upholstered.

Main crankshaft oil seals.

Replaced radiator at 345000 km.

Had the valves done at 310000 km.

This is the most reliable car I have ever had.

It is very comfortable on long trips. It is not a pocket rocket, but cruises comfortably at 120km per hour.

It has never let me down with major problems.

Road holding is very good for such an old vehicle.

The gearbox has to be used if you need to maintain good average speeds in hilly country.

I have never had wheel alignment done on this car, and I rotate the front and back tyres every 15000 km. I get an average of 55000+ km on a set of tyres. The tyres wear off evenly even after 26 years of driving.

I will keep this car forever, as it is worth very little now. But I could still get +/- R 23000.00 for it privately. It cost me R18500.00 back in 1986.

The gearbox had to be overhauled at 146 000km. Although the car has a full service history, the gearbox oil was never changed. This is supposed to be done every 20 000km. There is no indication of this in the owners manual, and it seems that the dealerships are unaware of this. Total repair cost about R6300.

The rooflining came loose at about 160 000km. This was replaced for a cost of R500.

The fan switch stopped working shortly afterwards. The resistor had to be replaced. Total cost of R400.

The head lamp on the right hand side keeps on blowing every few months. Still trying to sort this out.

Even though it's an old car, it is almost 'timeless' with its clean and smooth lines. The car is very reliable and a joy to drive long distances. Overtaking however can be a frustration due to the lack of power.

I bought the car with an Alphine radio/tape installed (the original Becker was in a box in the boot). I replaced it with a Pioneer Radio/CD/Mp3 player.

For safety purposes, I also had an alarm/immobilizer and smash 'n grab film on the windows installed.

ABS and SRS light stayed on. Couldn't be road-worthied because of that. Cost over R800 to fix.

Starting to rust very slowly.

New Vtec gearbox installed (180i box broke).

Uhm haven't have the car long enough to say the rest.

Gearbox is losing oil. Gears tend to grind when going too fast and changing up or gearing down.

0-100kmph about 7seconds on 17" tyres at standard ride height.

Gear ratio is short because of the Vtec gearbox.

Petrol usage is seriously heavy. Need R100 to go anywhere.

Then again this car forces you to have a heavy foot. The accelerator is extremely sensitive, you either going too fast or too slow, which makes this car more of a racer than a town driver.

No cup holders.

Mines modified at 114kw. Not fast enough, I want more :)