New civic, anyone tried one??
Discussion
Had the Civic 2.2 diesel on loan for a few weeks.
Appalling rear visibility what with the split rear screen and no wiper. Not good when pressing on and needing to keep an eye on what vehicle is following.
Gearchange action is precise but has quite a long throw.
Nice creamy surge of torque when accelerating hard, but it does suffer from turbo lag and the power band seems quite narrow (although the long gearing mitigates this somewhat). MPG drops rapidly with sustained high speed driving.
The interior is very modern and 'space age' but the quality of the plastics is rather disappointing. I personally feel the overall fit and finish of UK-built Honda's is not to the same standard as their Japanese cousins. Horrible digital speedometer.
Bags of space for passengers and a generous boot. Good storage space in the cabin.
Slightly quicker and more accurate steering compared with outgoing model but still with little real feel or feedback.
Overall grip levels are high but the chassis is not particularly involving. The damping is nice and firm but I reckon Honda have trodden a retrograde step with regards to the rear suspension. The back end feels odd when braking very hard from high speed. Not in a playful way, but in a nervous one.
Justin
Appalling rear visibility what with the split rear screen and no wiper. Not good when pressing on and needing to keep an eye on what vehicle is following.
Gearchange action is precise but has quite a long throw.
Nice creamy surge of torque when accelerating hard, but it does suffer from turbo lag and the power band seems quite narrow (although the long gearing mitigates this somewhat). MPG drops rapidly with sustained high speed driving.
The interior is very modern and 'space age' but the quality of the plastics is rather disappointing. I personally feel the overall fit and finish of UK-built Honda's is not to the same standard as their Japanese cousins. Horrible digital speedometer.
Bags of space for passengers and a generous boot. Good storage space in the cabin.
Slightly quicker and more accurate steering compared with outgoing model but still with little real feel or feedback.
Overall grip levels are high but the chassis is not particularly involving. The damping is nice and firm but I reckon Honda have trodden a retrograde step with regards to the rear suspension. The back end feels odd when braking very hard from high speed. Not in a playful way, but in a nervous one.
Justin
I've got an '06 2.2ES diesel as my current company car, done approx 15,000 miles so far.
Good points;
Economy - I have averaged around 50mpg so far with mixed driving. The best I've averaged on a 360 mile round trip to London is 56mpg. It does drop a bit if you cane it everywhere but what car doesn't?
Torque is great - the engine can easily handle 2nd to 4th to 6th gear changes.
Gadgets - auto wipers / auto headlights/ cruise / dual climate / computer / chilled glove box
Comfortable seats
Good interior space
Good boot space
Panoramic roof lets a lot of light into the cabin
Road tax (if you have to buy it) is only £113 per year
It has a low emissions rating for the company car tax.
Not so good points;
Rear vision (as mentioned) - the 'bar' on the boot lid is right in the line of sight and it can be quite annoying - although the wing mirrors are quite large and do compensate a little
No rear wiper (as mentioned)
No spare wheel - you get a can of gunk and a compressor as a 'get you home' fix - not tried this out as yet. A spare wheel is on the options list though.
I didn't like the handling first of all and I felt nervous when 'pressing on' on A & B roads. I have no problem now though.
Radio reception can occasionally be poor - the aerial is built into the rear screen.
Shame the ES does not get the xenon headlights offered on the sport model - really liked them on my last car.
Overall, I'm pleased with it.
Good luck
Good points;
Economy - I have averaged around 50mpg so far with mixed driving. The best I've averaged on a 360 mile round trip to London is 56mpg. It does drop a bit if you cane it everywhere but what car doesn't?
Torque is great - the engine can easily handle 2nd to 4th to 6th gear changes.
Gadgets - auto wipers / auto headlights/ cruise / dual climate / computer / chilled glove box
Comfortable seats
Good interior space
Good boot space
Panoramic roof lets a lot of light into the cabin
Road tax (if you have to buy it) is only £113 per year
It has a low emissions rating for the company car tax.
Not so good points;
Rear vision (as mentioned) - the 'bar' on the boot lid is right in the line of sight and it can be quite annoying - although the wing mirrors are quite large and do compensate a little
No rear wiper (as mentioned)
No spare wheel - you get a can of gunk and a compressor as a 'get you home' fix - not tried this out as yet. A spare wheel is on the options list though.
I didn't like the handling first of all and I felt nervous when 'pressing on' on A & B roads. I have no problem now though.
Radio reception can occasionally be poor - the aerial is built into the rear screen.
Shame the ES does not get the xenon headlights offered on the sport model - really liked them on my last car.
Overall, I'm pleased with it.
Good luck
The performance of the 2.2 is amasing, bags of torque.
The split dash takes a while to get used to but works very well.
The rear door apertures are a bit restrictive when trying to get kids in the back (the rear windows cit fwd at quite an angle). Also makes it a little claustrophobic in the rear as you can't see out easily.
The split dash takes a while to get used to but works very well.
The rear door apertures are a bit restrictive when trying to get kids in the back (the rear windows cit fwd at quite an angle). Also makes it a little claustrophobic in the rear as you can't see out easily.
Had a go in one - love the dash and wheel, but as mentioned above, the handling whilst firm, felt uninspiring on a good B road. Skittish, nervous spring to mind.
Much different to the Accord, which I now have (2.4 petrol Exec) - with all the toys.
If I could transplant the dash in the Accord, I'd be completely satisfied.
So, what about an Accord instead then?
Best thing you can do is test both and then see for yourself if the "flaws" we've mentioned are off-putting or liveable with. As for looking out the back window - never noticed to be honest how good or bad the Civic was. That'll probably depend on your height, the seat height, and how far back the other cars are. Only one way to know for sure........
Much different to the Accord, which I now have (2.4 petrol Exec) - with all the toys.
If I could transplant the dash in the Accord, I'd be completely satisfied.
So, what about an Accord instead then?
Best thing you can do is test both and then see for yourself if the "flaws" we've mentioned are off-putting or liveable with. As for looking out the back window - never noticed to be honest how good or bad the Civic was. That'll probably depend on your height, the seat height, and how far back the other cars are. Only one way to know for sure........
Thanks guys, I've got to say that it was the dash that I fell for! also in my line of work, you soon find out which cars are prone to breakdown, and Honda's don't! so a Honda is going to be my next car, I've considered the accord, but it's similar to other cars, it doesn't have that "differentness" about it.
just need to pop the old dear off now, and retrieve the inheritence................
just need to pop the old dear off now, and retrieve the inheritence................
Had a 2-hour test drive, by myself, in a 1.8ES. As others have said, very poor rear vision and rear door aperture very narrow at top. Hated the idea of no spare and optional (space saver) spare seemed expensive.
I bought a 10-moth old Civic Type-S instead. Better performance from the 160bhp 2-litre engine and rear doors a decent size. Came with a space saver spare but I removed that and replaced it with a full-sized 3rd party alloy wheel - only raised boot floor by 3".
Have since driven a new Civic 1.8 for 200 miles and don't regret my decision, at all - and I saved more than £4K+. Hate digital speedo in latest Civic, prefer the backlight 'conventional' instruments in my car. Headlights in mine seem better as well.
I think that the new Civic is form over function - not a comment I ever thought I would use regarding a Honda.
I bought a 10-moth old Civic Type-S instead. Better performance from the 160bhp 2-litre engine and rear doors a decent size. Came with a space saver spare but I removed that and replaced it with a full-sized 3rd party alloy wheel - only raised boot floor by 3".
Have since driven a new Civic 1.8 for 200 miles and don't regret my decision, at all - and I saved more than £4K+. Hate digital speedo in latest Civic, prefer the backlight 'conventional' instruments in my car. Headlights in mine seem better as well.
I think that the new Civic is form over function - not a comment I ever thought I would use regarding a Honda.
OK these is really sad, but this has just reminded me that the other day I actually had a dream I was driving the new Civic type-R. 
It was in light blue and I was really loving it.
I'd always told myself I hated CTRs but think this might be my subconscious telling me something.....
Even the basic models look really something. Has instantly made the old model look incredibly dated.
It was in light blue and I was really loving it.
I'd always told myself I hated CTRs but think this might be my subconscious telling me something.....
Even the basic models look really something. Has instantly made the old model look incredibly dated.
Well guys, I took everything that you all said on board, then booked myself a test drive in one.
The rear view isn't the best, but I could have got used to that, the dash is great! the ride was........Firm! but again, I could get used to it. The engine and 6 speed box was also good, all the toys were nice to play with as well, but now we come to the bits that I wasn't too happy with.
The seats aren't very comfy at all, and will be a bugger to keep clean, the plastics seem a bit "tacky" as has been said. I had to "limbo dance" to get into the thing due to the rake of the windscreen, but what really put me right off, was the noise! no not engine noise, but wind noise & road noise from the rear. At motorway speeds it was uncomfortable, lots of wind noise, possibly from the glass type roof, but also if it'd been an old car (it had only 2k miles) I'd have said that the r/o/s wheel bearings were shot. It was like a knackered tumble dryer running in the back seat.
I had the car booked for 2 hours, but took it back after 1½ hours, it just wasn't for me!
There was however a very nice 16 month old 2.2 diesel Accord Sport in the showroom, so I decided to have that instead......now if I could just transplant the dash out of the Civic.........!!
ADDED;
Thanks to Phil for pointing me to the Accord owners forum.
The rear view isn't the best, but I could have got used to that, the dash is great! the ride was........Firm! but again, I could get used to it. The engine and 6 speed box was also good, all the toys were nice to play with as well, but now we come to the bits that I wasn't too happy with.
The seats aren't very comfy at all, and will be a bugger to keep clean, the plastics seem a bit "tacky" as has been said. I had to "limbo dance" to get into the thing due to the rake of the windscreen, but what really put me right off, was the noise! no not engine noise, but wind noise & road noise from the rear. At motorway speeds it was uncomfortable, lots of wind noise, possibly from the glass type roof, but also if it'd been an old car (it had only 2k miles) I'd have said that the r/o/s wheel bearings were shot. It was like a knackered tumble dryer running in the back seat.
I had the car booked for 2 hours, but took it back after 1½ hours, it just wasn't for me!
There was however a very nice 16 month old 2.2 diesel Accord Sport in the showroom, so I decided to have that instead......now if I could just transplant the dash out of the Civic.........!!
ADDED;
Thanks to Phil for pointing me to the Accord owners forum.
Edited by gafferjim on Friday 19th January 08:33
Edited by gafferjim on Saturday 20th January 22:57
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