Which car? Civic 1.8 VTi or Prelude 2.2 VTi?

[xxlukexx]

Hi,

I'm thinking of selling my rev2 MR2 turbo and buying either a late 90s five door Civic 1.8VTi or a similar age Prelude 2.2VTi.

I need to keep the car for about two years and I'm going to be a student, so running costs are an issue, and I'll be doing 40 miles up to London and back every day. Can anyone give me some advice on which one you think I should get?

Cheers,

Luke

[Riknos]

Don't bother. Keep your car, its better than the others. Just have a fatter student loan, and learn to cook so you don't eat out so many times. Also go on a diet to pay for fuel bills, loosing weight will also increase your MPG. Learn also to drive at about 1200 rpm and forget what boost is 30 days a month, only using it the day your loan comes through, then back to snailing about

[Andeh]

Doing the sort of mileage you're going to be doing. Your smiles per gallon are likely to be best found in the Civic. IMO.

[xxlukexx]

It was my student loan that got me through my undergrad degree in the MR2, but now I'd going to be doing a postgrad course there are no loans available!

I've tried driving in high gear at low revs and I just don't have it in me. Somehow I only ever manage to get about 25mpg which in today's prices is too much...

Luke

[EvoBarry]

You won't get much better than 25mpg average from these two imo, certainly not enough to be worth the hassle of changing cars. And I say that as a self confessed Honda fan. For boring commuting the Civic probably makes more sense, but the Prelude is a comfy car too. Of the two the Civic is probably the one most capable of cracking 30mpg, the Preludes 2.2Vtec is just too addictive imo

[minimatt1967]

My Mc2 aerodeck civic Vti will average 30 mpg on super unleaded, with an lsd and an 8300 rev limiter its great fun

[Fabric 2.2]

EvoBarry said:

You won't get much better than 25mpg average from these two imo

I get a whopping 26mpg from my 97 'lude if im lucky! :P

Edited by Fabric 2.2 on Tuesday 8th July 23:39

[VtecLover]

Why not an Ek frog eye 4 door 1.6 vti?
Just as much fun as the 1.8 and slightly better on the fuel.

[GravelBen]

You could always swap the MR2 for one without a turbo, I've heard very good things about their fuel economy and it will still be a much better drive than a Civic or Poolude.

Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 9th July 03:53

[RobCrezz]

Prelude 2.2 vtecs are great, and mine used to do 30mpg no problem.

[Eddh]

Prelude IMO, get a 4th Gen though not a 5th Gen

[Andeh]

Eddh said:

Prelude IMO, get a 4th Gen though not a 5th Gen

What he said.

[joropug]

Why a 4th gen over a 5th???? the 5th gen is gorgeous, especially in the Motegi guise.

I have an Accord Type-R with a 2.2 vtec engine, similar to the lude. I get 23-24mpg with mixed driving....mostly fairly enthusiastic.

If you want a fast car then buy a fast car, if you want an economical car, then buy an economical car, when you start trying to get something halfway you will end up with a car that wont entirely satisfy you.

Also, the 5 door civics are without a doubt one of the ugliest cars going, Prelude 100% imo

[xxlukexx]

joropug said:

If you want a fast car then buy a fast car, if you want an economical car, then buy an economical car, when you start trying to get something halfway you will end up with a car that wont entirely satisfy you.

I hadn't really thought about it like this. The thing is I already have a fast car - the MR2 is quicker, better looking and better to drive than a Prelude of any age, but 25mpg is too low for my financial situation.

So actually I guess what I want is an economical car. I just couldn't go from a 220bhp MR2 to a 90bhp 1.4 civic so I'm trying to find something inbetween.

I've also been looking at early 90s BMW 3 series - but then I'm not sure about running costs, and how well looked after they are.

By the sounds of people's comments on here, I reckon a prelude is going to be too juicy, so maybe a 1.8 civic is the best compromise in terms of not being slow, being fairly new, and being reliable.

Please keep the comments coming...this is all good info!

Cheers,

Luke

[xxlukexx]

GravelBen said:

You could always swap the MR2 for one without a turbo, I've heard very good things about their fuel economy and it will still be a much better drive than a Civic or Poolude.

Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 9th July 03:53

Hadn't considered this, but I don't know - going from a turbo to an NA would feel too similar I think, just without the power!

[xxlukexx]

VtecLover said:

Why not an Ek frog eye 4 door 1.6 vti?
Just as much fun as the 1.8 and slightly better on the fuel.

Don't know much about these - but aren't the 1.6s 130bhp vs. 175bhp from the 1.8s? Has anyone driven both?

I quite like the peaky Honda power delivery, and don't mind revving my car and changing gear a lot. But coming from a turbo car, I wonder whether the 1.6 would just be a bit too gutless at the bottom end? As I say, I don't really know what they're like...?

[EvoBarry]

Regarding Beemers, they do tend to do decent mpg for their size, if driven half sensibly.

I still think its a bit pointless, if you like the MR2 keep it and just try to cut down on any unnecessary journeys instead?

[xxlukexx]

Problem is I drive 40 miles to London and back each weekday, for work and uni. Even if I drive sensibly the constant stop/start of traffic kills fuel economy.

If I thought I could get a beemer for whatever I can sell the MR2 for (2000-2500) that would be reliable then it'd be a great car, but I'm not so sure. What do you think?

[VtecLover]

The 1.6 are 158bhp, slightly shorter ratios then the 1.8 4 door which ia 167bhp. Torque wise, there isnt alot of difference.

the 1.6 manages 30mpg very easily, closer to 40 i'd say.

[joropug]

If you could squeeze into a clio 172, would definitely recommend if its within budget, my mates 182 gets 33mpg with mixed driving, mostly town, its actually better around town than on a run for some reason. And that is a quick car, that handles incredibly.

But its a clio...so long as you can look past that, definitely worth considering, the Phase1 172 has come down in price massively.

With regards to that 3.0TT getting 23mpg your not driving it right!!