2006 Honda Civic - Driven, and its good
Discussion
Thanks to Honda and my nearest dealer I actually got hold of the keys to a 2006 Civic yesterday for 30/40mins for a test drive.
Very impressed.
In the metal I found the car has quite a purposefull stance, Its sleeker than the pictures show. They had 3 cars where I went (1 registered for driving, 2 unregistered) and 2 of them were parked either side of a 2005 car (Type R). The new car actually managed to look sportier than the Type-R when parked alongside.
Inside..... wow, what a dash board. I actually had to sit and take in the visuals a bit before even figuring out what everything did, I've heard some magazines describing the interior as "space age" and let me tell you, they aint wrong.
The split level dash is incredible to sit behind and very very easy to get used to. The car I drove was an Es so no DVD sat nav or bluetooth phone, but it was fitted with dual zone climate control and the panoramic roof. The climate control was very easy to use and when in "dual zone" setting the passenger can control their side of the car from a control on the passenger door (far enough from the window control not to be an issue). The roof is pretty natty and the interior blinds for each glass panel, one for the front seats & 1 for the back, work quickly and silently from a 1 touch button by the central rear view mirror sliding into the center of the roof T-piece totally out of sight.
The seating position is very good with great front and side visability. Rear visibility is slightly compromised by the split rear window but I honestly didnt find this a problem while I was driving as combined with the large and clear side mirrors you soon forget about the claimed (by some mags) blind spot and dont find it to be a problem. The level of adjustment on the seat and steering wheel meant that getting a comfortable driving position was very easy to do and coupled with the clear dash layout even before setting off you find yourself feeling quite at ease.
On the move I found the car very quiet compared to what I am used to (mind you, my smart Roadster likes to sing about its intentions all the bleeding time
) and very smooth. The 6 speed manual box was a joy, it is soooooo smooth and precice. Clutch control is very easy ont he car as the clutch has just the right amount of feel. I found the brakes a bit snatchy at first but I'm told that Honda's brakes always appear to over servoed to "noobies". I didnt really get to test the performance of the car (not my car, dark, very wet, with loads of traffic about) but the few times I pulled away from roundabouts and the like it seemed very smooth with the power delivery.
Can't comment if it felt quick or not as I'm used to the Roadster which as said previously, likes to shout about everything it does, off the line that car feels like a sling shot.
All in all very very impressed with the car, feels very different to the current Civic when on the move. Far more grown up and classy (even though the Es is the base model) with a drivers view to die for. I wonder how many people will decide to buy after just sitting in a car and observing the dash layout, quite a few I reckon.
Obviously being a Civic this car will sell loads, but frankly I think it really deserves to.. driven a new focus and had a play in the current golf (its main rivals for price, class and size), and this Civic impressed my far more the whole time I had the keys in my hand than both of them put together.
In fact, I might just buy one after all (pending a deal
)
>> Edited by s2gonzo on Saturday 3rd December 14:24
Very impressed.
In the metal I found the car has quite a purposefull stance, Its sleeker than the pictures show. They had 3 cars where I went (1 registered for driving, 2 unregistered) and 2 of them were parked either side of a 2005 car (Type R). The new car actually managed to look sportier than the Type-R when parked alongside.
Inside..... wow, what a dash board. I actually had to sit and take in the visuals a bit before even figuring out what everything did, I've heard some magazines describing the interior as "space age" and let me tell you, they aint wrong.
The split level dash is incredible to sit behind and very very easy to get used to. The car I drove was an Es so no DVD sat nav or bluetooth phone, but it was fitted with dual zone climate control and the panoramic roof. The climate control was very easy to use and when in "dual zone" setting the passenger can control their side of the car from a control on the passenger door (far enough from the window control not to be an issue). The roof is pretty natty and the interior blinds for each glass panel, one for the front seats & 1 for the back, work quickly and silently from a 1 touch button by the central rear view mirror sliding into the center of the roof T-piece totally out of sight.
The seating position is very good with great front and side visability. Rear visibility is slightly compromised by the split rear window but I honestly didnt find this a problem while I was driving as combined with the large and clear side mirrors you soon forget about the claimed (by some mags) blind spot and dont find it to be a problem. The level of adjustment on the seat and steering wheel meant that getting a comfortable driving position was very easy to do and coupled with the clear dash layout even before setting off you find yourself feeling quite at ease.
On the move I found the car very quiet compared to what I am used to (mind you, my smart Roadster likes to sing about its intentions all the bleeding time
) and very smooth. The 6 speed manual box was a joy, it is soooooo smooth and precice. Clutch control is very easy ont he car as the clutch has just the right amount of feel. I found the brakes a bit snatchy at first but I'm told that Honda's brakes always appear to over servoed to "noobies". I didnt really get to test the performance of the car (not my car, dark, very wet, with loads of traffic about) but the few times I pulled away from roundabouts and the like it seemed very smooth with the power delivery. Can't comment if it felt quick or not as I'm used to the Roadster which as said previously, likes to shout about everything it does, off the line that car feels like a sling shot.
All in all very very impressed with the car, feels very different to the current Civic when on the move. Far more grown up and classy (even though the Es is the base model) with a drivers view to die for. I wonder how many people will decide to buy after just sitting in a car and observing the dash layout, quite a few I reckon.
Obviously being a Civic this car will sell loads, but frankly I think it really deserves to.. driven a new focus and had a play in the current golf (its main rivals for price, class and size), and this Civic impressed my far more the whole time I had the keys in my hand than both of them put together.
In fact, I might just buy one after all (pending a deal
) >> Edited by s2gonzo on Saturday 3rd December 14:24
bootsy said:
i had a look round one today very nice . dont know about the front lights meeting in the middle but very cool looking .anyone seen what the new type r looks like
Asked the dealer if they had any info on that but to be honest they are still learning about the new car as it is. They did say that they assumed one would be coming, but rumoured to be not until '07. They also assumed that a 3 door version of the Civic would be launched either just before or at the same time (although this was just an unofficial assumption by one of the peopole there).
One interesting bit of news I did find out was about delivery times.... apparently if you order a car and it has already been built (they have been building for a while) then it is possible to take delivery before Christmas. This is only availablein those dealers with permission to register the cars now (some dealers still have to keep their cars under cover until Jan 1st). So expect to see a very small handfull of cars on the road by about 18th/19th of this month I reckon.
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