Honda vs. Mercury

[mbhenry1955]

OK guys, I'm looking for experienced advise and reviews.
We have decided to order a 2016 Bennington G22 with the ESP 3 tube set up.
We are putting a 150 HP engine on it.
Now the question to all of you!
Honda 150 or Mercury 150?
What are your reviews?

Thanks Mike

[garygve]

I have the 150 Mercury 4 stroke and really like it but never had a Honda so I can't compare. I heard the Honda's are a good outboard too so I don't think you can go wrong with either one. I know the Mercury is user friendly for changing your own oil and you never need to adjust the valves so you may want to check if the Honda needs maintenance by a dealer.

[zoom650]

I have a Verado 150 and like it. I'd probably be happy with either engine.

When I priced engines, I think Honda cost more than the Mercury. If you're willing to shell out the bucks for the pricier engine, I'd take that same money, and buy a Mercury with more horsepower. I'm seeing a lot of boat coming rigged with a 175.

When spending the bucks for a performance hull, and I'm not dissing a 150, take advantage of being able to run more ponies if your budget allows.

[rancherlee]

Honestly I'm not a Mercury fan but the newer lightweight, large displacement, keep it simple, 150 4 strokes are the ones to beat in the 150 class if you ask me. The new 75/90/115 are also built with the same ideas. The Honda 150 is a bit undersized and uses "Vtec" variable valve timing magic to compensate for lack of displacement, also still on the heavy side. Honda wins in the resale catagory though.

[ron nh]

Honda's just don't die. Part of the reason is they don't push the limit to the braking point. unless there built for racing even there cars are under powered if you compare displacement to horsepower. if you look at boat tests from the recent past there 150s are a few mph slower than others. that being said, I would prefer the reliability, But then the cost comes into play. I bet you could get a Mercury 175 for the price of the Honda 150. Also if you do have issues that might be the only marina around you that services Honda. I know there aren't many up here.

[Soonertoon]

And now from the cheap seats....neither one. Repeat after me.. Y A M A H A...

[rancherlee]

Cheap seats and Yamaha don't go hand in hand! I like Yamaha and Suzuki outboards myself but it's really hard to go wrong with any of the 150's but he asked about 2 specific ones. I'm assuming that his dealer must only carry Merc and Honda and it's wise to buy a complete package at one dealer.

[OldePharte]

I have a Honda 150 and so far so good. It is extremely quiet, so much so that at idle, I have to look at the tach just so see if it is still running. And at speed, the wind noise is higher than the exhaust noise.

Oil change? Well, I don't do my own, but it is extremely easy. A built-in port on the side with a drain thingy.

I don't care which one has the higher top-end speed.

[mbhenry1955]

There is about a 3200.00 difference overall between the Mercury and the Honda with the Honda of course being the more expensive.

I did look into going with a Mercury 175.

To do the Mercury 175 upgrade it is a up charge of about 5000.00.

I'm leaning toward the Honda as I have many friends with both but the friends with the Honda's have less maintenance issues or service issues than the friends with Mercury.

Everything I can find give the Honda the highest marks for, quietness, resale value and over all less maintenance issues.

And I used to work for a Mercury dealer.

Mike

[ron nh]

Wow, both of those numbers are higher than I thought they'd be.

[Bamaman]

The Mercury 150 FourStoke is a fine engine, and parts and service are universally available. Mercury also has their fine Enertia propeller available to fine tune the boat's performance.

Nothing wrong with Honda outboards, but dealers are few and far between. Propellers are also not so easily available. They've done such a bad job in marketing--letting Yamaha run away with the 4 stroke retail market.

Go with the Mercury.

[TDJ2591]

Love my Honda for the same reasons mentioned above. I was at a crowded dock recently and overheard someone on the dock questioning how my pontoon was moving away from the dock. He said he was standing next to it and never heard the engine start or run. It made me smile! I understand that the 135/150 Hondas are essentially the European Accord 4 cyl. In cars, those engines seem to last forever with very little maintenance. Mine always starts fast and runs smoothly.

I agree with Bamaman that Honda has done a miserable job marketing and promoting their outstanding engines. They have not established the large dealer network like Yamaha and Mercury but any part you might need is available on line. They just don't seem to break down. Yes, there are fewer prop choices.

My wife summed it up. She said if we ever replace our boat, she wants another Honda.

[rancherlee]

One thing I've noticed is Honda is very slow to react and overly cautious with changing market conditions. Smaller simple product lines work for them. They just keep tweaking old designs and perfecting them instead of putting the "latest and greatest" out every few years. Very appearant in the ATV division along with Automobiles. On the opposite end BRP, Evinrude in this case, cranks out tons of slightly different variations of products trying to grab every little niche in the market they can.

[sunedog]

Yes, there are fewer prop choices.

15 spline props designed for Mercury fit the Honda. Just put a new one on my BF115 a few days ago.

[TDJ2591]

Yes, there are fewer prop choices.

15 spline props designed for Mercury fit the Honda. Just put a new one on my BF115 a few days ago.

That's good to know. I wasn't aware that they were interchangeable.