new civic

[JOHNSTON]

hi there,

currently looking at buying a new civic se, the 2.2 tdi

has anyone had or has one of these?

whats the fuel economy like? what are the like to drive? and is there any common problems which could occur?

any help much appreciated

[se9boy]

I've got an 06 plate 2.2 ES Civic as my company car, had it from new and it now has 43k. My opinion is;

Good bits:
140bhp & great torque; turbo comes it around 1,750rpm (but it's pretty much all over by 4,000rpm!).
Good fuel economy - I average around 54mpg on a long run and around 49mpg hacking about.
Very reliable; I've had no mechanical problems whatsoever with mine.
Good specification.
Good boot size, plus the rear seats fold almost flat
I'm getting 20k on a set of front tyres; rears still have 4mm tread after 43k.
Low emissions makes it very economic on company car tax (much better than most of it's rivals)

Not so good bits:
Rear vision is not great (but wing mirrors are quite big which does make up for it a bit).
It used a fair bit of oil during the first 15k - I guess that's not uncommon for a diesel.
The radio sometimes hunts around for reception.
A spare wheel is an optional extra (at least it was when I got mine) and although this gives great boot space it's a pain in the neck if you have a sidewall puncture as I recently did - and after waiting over 5 hours to get home I wished I'd bought a bloody spare!
Front bumper / spoiler grounds out quite easily over humps.
Road noise is often criticised - I don't find it a problem.

Overall, I'm not disappointed with mine.

[JOHNSTON]

thanks for the reply, collecting my 2.2 sport in black next week heard stories about the oil during the first 15k or so but apparently after that it doesn't burn a bit.

[dino ferrana]

I drove a colleagues and I was impressed by it. The engine seemed to have a broad spread of torque, much better than the various Volkswagen/Audi TD units I have tried over the years. Rear visibility isn't brilliant, but you can get parking sensors and a rear camera to help this, plus my colleague said it annoyed him for a couple of days but he doesn't even notice it now. He said that he actually find the middle bar across the rear window helps because it hides the car followings lights! Interior was nicely equipped and the seats semmed comfortable and I am a fan of the styling. Boot was massive and the seats that fold in two different ways feel high quality and could prove useful.

I am thinking about one to replace my Focus, afterall its a Honda so it won't break and it is made in the UK!