Imagine a Honda showroom where Preludes and Integras were sold alongside one another, and where there existed an additional Honda between the Civic and the Accord. Also imagine this showroom lineup existed in a country where Honda sold in smaller volumes than Mitsubishi. Welcome to Australia, once home to the tweener hatchback known as the Concerto.
Lasting a single generation, the Civic-derived Concerto hatchback (and in some markets, sedan) replaced the Ballade sedan and Quint hatchback. The former is better known to Brits first as the Triumph Acclaim and then as the Rover 200, while the latter also has a British Leyland/Austin-Rover connection as it was sold in Australia as the Rover Quintet.
The existence of so many similarly-sized Hondas made more sense in their home market. In Japan, Honda sold cars through different networks named Clio, Verno and Primo. Quint, Prelude, Integra and Ballade were sold through Verno dealerships; Civics through Primo dealers; and the Concerto through Clio showrooms. The Verno Hondas were generally sportier offerings, while the Concerto shared Clio showroom space with the upscale Honda Legend.
Although the Concerto was 7.3 inches longer than the fourth-generation Civic sedan, Rover chose to use it as a base for its second-generation Rover 200 as well as the 400. Both featured more elegant styling and warmer interiors than the Concerto although most of the powertrain lineup was shared with the Honda.
Rover also used the platform as a base for the shapely 200 coupe…
…and the extremely handsome 400 Tourer.
The Concerto was built alongside the 200 and 400 in Rover’s Longbridge plant and UK-built Concertos were exported to continental Europe. The main difference between the UK and Japanese-built Concertos was the former’s use of a MacPherson strut front suspension instead of Honda’s trademark double wishbones, as employed on the latter. JDM Concertos also came with optional four-wheel-drive, the same system used in the Civic Shuttle.
(clockwise from top left) European-market Honda Civic hatch, Isuzu Gemini, Canadian Acura EL, Honda Domani
The following 200 and 400 would be based on the Concerto’s replacement, the Domani. This was better known to Canadians as the Acura 1.7EL; it was also rebadged in Japan as the Isuzu Gemini. Interestingly, the UK sold the Domani hatch and wagon under the Civic nameplate due to the lack of a five-door Civic hatch or wagon and that market’s general aversion to compact sedans.
So, it wasn’t quite as confusing as it looked to offer the Concerto in between the Civic and Accord as the Civic didn’t offer a five-door hatch. And to reduce confusion in Australia, the second-generation Integra was sold only as a three-door hatch; the first-generation’s five-door had been sold only in Rover showrooms as the 416i in the absence of the real UK-market Rover 400. On that note, the Integra’s strongest market was likely the North American one as the first-generation sold poorly in Europe and the line was discontinued, effectively replaced by the starchier Concerto.
It’s funny how the Concerto seems like a forgotten JDM Honda like the Torneo or the Rafaga, when in actuality it was sold in numerous markets and spawned a range of popular Rovers. Maybe it should have simply been sold as the Civic in export markets and banked on the popularity of that much older, more established nameplate. It could have also filled out the Civic lineup in North America, although that market’s preference towards sedans might have spelled doom for the Concerto.
The Concerto was one of Honda’s earlier attempts at tailoring a model for the European market and although it was a fairly unexceptional seller there, it led to future models like the Ascot Innova (sold as the Accord in Europe) and the Accord Euro (Acura TSX). While the Concerto was never very popular, it signalled the start of a stronger commitment by Honda to the European market.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1987 Honda Civic 4WD Wagon (Shuttle) – The Automotive Swiss Army Knife
Curbside Classic: 1991 Honda Civic Hatchback – Citizen Of The World
Curbside Classic: 1992 Rover 214GSi – Thanks To Honda, Rover Finally Finds True Success
Carshow Classic: 1989 Rover 216 EFi Vanden Plas Automatic – Taking A Step Upmarket
That generation Rover 2/400 (coded R8) was peak Rover. The following generation (HH-R) was a disappointment (that said, I like it. Especially in 45 saloon shape), and ultimately was one of the reasons for them to become a laughing stock.
The R8 was also the donor for most of the R3 200 floor pan (late run R8 wagons got the nice R3 dash), which in 25 shape with the “bloated Minilite” rims still looks good today. Pic of an R3 25
When I was in the UK in the 90s those were the classic pensioner’s cars – utterly boring yet utterly reliable; the perfect combination for people who need a vehicle but have limited available funds for purchase and/or if anything goes wrong. The thing is, I moved to Austria and the same nowadays applies to the Civic! Am not sure this is what you’d want as a manufacturer. Pensioners are loyal but represent only a part of the population; what is more, once the product is seen as staid other types of buyers avoid it like the plague, and it seems all of the Japanese makers bar Mazda and perhaps Suzuki are afflicted with this here, hence their mediocre sales.
That Concerto, always reminds me of the 1989-92 Geo Prizm hatchback.
Separated at birth?
Must be the Japanese copycat theme back then…The ugly 4 door hatchback.
Hate that stodgy librarian body style.
Not only did you post a Sprinter lift back, which I find attractive, you posted what appears to be the GSi. Find a more fitting object for your scorn!
Nothing ugly about that one.
The profile is similar but otherwise quite different, noticeably larger than the Concerto.
The stodgy librarian body style was the equivalent sedan, moreso the Corolla sedan without the 3rd side window.
Thanks for this post William, I shot a few Concertos a while back but I didn’t know more than the bones of the story. I would add that I don’t think they sold that many in Australia, perhaps a couple of thousand a year mainly due to quite expensive pricing – you could get a midsize hatch more cheaply.
Thanks for the history lesson! A very interesting read.
Even Honda couldn’t make the British build good cars, at least not the Sterling. I assume Honda’s later British products improved in quality. The Sterling was a great idea- take Honda quality and engineering and add British panache, style, and luxury, Both countries would benefit by exactly what the other lacked. The sterling even sold fairly well in its first year.
Unfortunately, customers discovered quickly that the car was just as bland as a Legend underneath the Connolly wood and pleated leather but built to British quality, which is to say, none. I wonder if these were any better. I understand that the North American Civic Hatchbacks are to be sourced from Britain.
Current EU Civics are made in the UK and are as reliable as the Japanese equivalents now, plus there’s an 8 year guarantee so it’s a fail safe option.
Oh, and BTW, the 1.7 EL being based on the Domani is a statement I’ve never agreed with. Ir you take a look at the character line, it rather looks like the regular Civic.
What the Domani did spawn was the 96-05 HH-R Rover 400/45, hatch (the Saloon had the rear end redesigned by Richard Woolley, designer of the Rover 75)
I had an Integra built on this chassis in high school and a Civic built on similar bones now and both were susceptible to torque steer. That Rover 200 turbo, with its MacPherson struts, must’ve been a real handful. Competing alongside the likes of the Corrado and Nissan 200SX, it was hopelessly outclassed. In lesser classes, though, a Rover 200 with the 1.6 D series engine was probably a refreshing alternative in the Escort class, with a clean-revving engine and all that glass.
Whatever happened to Honda naming its cars using musical terminology? Ballade, Concerto, Prelude…
Honda Quint is the one most people do not know in North America. In 1980s, Honda dealer in Hong Kong sold four main models, Civic, Accord, Prelude and Quint. Only the first three models were popular. This was also true in American, where Honda really makes its fortune. However, in 1984 when I lived in Toronto, I recalled I read in a US car magazine which listed Quint on the Honda line up. Anyone sees or saw a Quint in US soil?
Those days the model lines from European and Japanese car companies were small, BMW basically sold four model, 3, 5 , 6 & 7 series, and now its sells close to 20 models. I believe this will bubble for the industry one day.
We never got the original Quint at all, although the second-generation Quint Integra was sold here as the Acura Integra.
Thanks for highlighting this oft-forgotten Honda product, that tends to get lost in the shuffle of similar-looking, related vehicles of the time. It’s a nice-looking body, as are the Rover relatives, and I think you’ve highlighted the topic of JDM “channels” that are still somewhat difficult to grasp.
I hoped some version of the Rover 200 and 400 3 and 5 door hatchbacks would make it to North America – we got the Honda/Acura Integra, but their low roofs compromized interior space and visibility. The Rovers had higher rooflines and higher seats but the same low cowl and beltline for awesome outward visability and airy roominess, plus classy British burled walnut interior trim to liven up the usual Japanese plastic. We never got the chance; instead getting it all bassackwards in the Sterling 827 which promised Japanese quality with British style; instead we got Japanese style with British reliability. Rover had a 1992 827 Coupe designed for the US that never made it there because sales had shrunk too far by then to even give them a chance.
Wow, thanks! I’m pretty sure you explained the history perfectly. I’m a Honda guy. Always will be. From my car to powerwasher.