Honda cars have always been more respected in other countries than they are in UK - people are really badge snobs in UK, as well as being 'latest registration plate' snobs (the government is well aware of this and issues new 'year' suffixes every 6 months) they used to change it once a year but this was causing such a massive spike in car sales every 12 months, with low sales in-between that the motor manufacturers complained, now it only causes a spike in the sales every 6 months.
German makers are running on past glories with their cars, their reliability is below Japanese and Korean brands.
Honda has traditionally been the car purchased by people who want engineering excellence which translates into rock solid reliability and pretty good performance, while interiors have often been dull, and the badge has been seen as not fashionable. Honda spend the money on things that matter in a car, engine, drive-train and excellent electrical systems. Without these things a car is just an expensive trolley that you may as well push around. I have a friend who bought a Nissan Qashqai because he could get cruise control and didn't buy a Civic because cruise control only comes in top model, he has come to bitterly regret that decision because the Nissan is so badly built that it is coming apart after just 3 years and has so many rattles and other problems - Nissan used to have rock solid build - until they teamed up with the French - and now they are as bad as any French car, but you do get the normal French fripparies like auto lights, fog-lights as standard (for use all the time, whether foggy or not) auto wipers, cruise control, keyless entry etc. Which do nothing for reliability or longevity.
most people thought the Jazz was a tiny car until I showed them the magic seats and the useable interior space and their opinion changed instantly - some even went out and bought one. The Honda 'man maximum - machine minimum' design brief was never as pronounced as it is in the Jazz, especially when you consider the number of larger (exterior size) cars that have far less available space inside, and the rear seats are only suitable for small children.