Top 6 things you need to know about the Honda Ballade
The Honda Ballade has been around for a long time in South Africa, but recently it hasn’t received much media coverage. In this article, we rectify that with a quick point-by-point guide to things you should know about the small Honda sedan.
Going for a song
The Honda Ballade was introduced here in 1982 and marketed by Mercedes-Benz South Africa. At that time, Mercedes didn’t have anything resembling a small car and the Honda was touted as a small car with Mercedes-Benz-like quality. In line with Mercedes-Benz’s luxury image, this first-generation (in South Africa) Ballade was equipped with air conditioning, the first small car in its class to have this luxury feature.
Related: Everything that you need to know about the Honda Ballade
The Ballade went through a few generations under the Mercedes-Benz banner and gained a reputation for excellent reliability, a reputation it still has today. When Mercedes-Benz jettisoned the brand in the early 2000s, the Ballade name disappeared from the new-car price lists locally, even though Honda re-established itself as a stand-alone brand with models like the Jazz and the Accord.
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1. Transmission
While the previous generation Honda Ballade was offered with either a 5-speed manual or a CVT gearbox, the latest iteration, regardless of derivative, only comes with a 5-step CVT transmission. While traditionally the CVT transmission only established optimum revs where the engine operates regardless of speed, the newer items are more efficient and result in less engine whine inside the cabin. (It's also a great car for new drivers - here's why)
2. Engine
You can buy any Honda Ballade you like as long as it is fitted with a 1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine. That is correct; all three Ballade derivatives come with the same engine and transmission combination that results in 89 kW and 145 Nm of torque. While you shouldn't expect staggering performance off the line, the powertrain does claim to return an average fuel consumption figure of 5.5 L / 100 km.
3. Boot space
The Ballade has one of the biggest boots in its class, despite having quite a sleek profile. The boot space is rated at 506-litres, a figure that many larger and more luxurious sedans would be proud of. Indeed, many SUVs would be hard-pressed to match this boot space.
4. Cabin space
The cabin space is equally generous, and this small car can truly accommodate a family of five. Measuring 4 568mm long, 1 748mm wide and 1 467mm tall, the Honda Ballade offers ample head-,shoulder-, and legroom to accommodate even taller passengers at the rear.
5. Reliability
Speak to any motor technician who works on cars out of warranty, and the message will be that Hondas are among the most reliable cars on the road. About a decade after the first Ballade was launched in 1982, the word amongst spares salesmen was that you’d never get rich selling Honda spares because there was no demand for them. For an article on items covered under the Honda Ballade’s warranty, click here.
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6. Price
At the time of writing this article, there are three Honda Ballade derivatives on offer, with the entry-point being the Comfort. Find the pricing for the individual variants in the table below.
| Honda Ballade 1.5 Comfort | from R 389 900 |
| Honda Ballade 1.5 Elegance | from R 424 900 |
| Honda Ballade 1.5 RS | from R 459 900 |
Read our launch report from 2021 here.
*The pricing indicated in this table was correct at the time of writing this article; however, it can change at any time and without notice.
