Discussion
So after a few too many years pouring money into running older Euro sports cars, decided it was time to be sensible and use some creative man maths to justify a new ‘practical family’ sports car.
As much as I tried to ‘justify’ the running and depreication costs of a M5 or similar, I just couldn’t be bothered with the potential costs in running one how I would like to, so back the JDM side of the automotive I started looking.
Originally looked at buying one of these on initial release, but same story as rest of the world, limited stock, and here in NZ you had to enter a ballot to be able to purchase, a few other things in life took priority so forgot about it for the time being. Fast forward to January this year while on xmas holidays and kicking tyres round dealerships looking at various hot hatches like the GR Corollas which I was underwhelmed by, I made the mistake of walking into the Honda shop across the road and asked about delivery times, after hearing about UK/USA/AUS waiting list stories, was shocked with the answer of depending on colour, its 2-3 weeks. Certainly got me thinking maybe I should?
Thought the biggest hurdle would be the wife, who when she saw the previous generation threatened me with divorce (not really, but effectively the temperature of the response given) if I bought something that looks so ridiculous. To my surprise the answer was, if she can pick the colour go for it. So, here we are one month into ownership.
Picked it up from the dealership on a stunning day and took it straight out to the harbour roads for a gentle break in, not thrashing but putting it through its paces in the twisties and getting a feel for it, everything just felt confidence inspiring and over the moon at this stage. After that was a couple of weeks of blue balling myself and doing break in miles until it was at the recommended 1000km distance range before finally getting right up it a few times, smiles ensued!
Lyttelton Harbour
We always were heading away for the long Easter weekend on a trip down to Queenstown for the Warbirds over Wanaka airshow (great event by the way if your ever nearby when its on), on initial pickup wasn’t sure if it would really be that suitable to take the car that far, worrying it was perhaps too stiff/uncomfortable for a long distance trip with wife and kids on New Zealands coarse chip roads. After fiddling with the setting in individual mode, found a pretty good compromise I think, and decided it was the weapon of choice for the long weekend. The 5-5.5hr drive from Christchurch is a mix of long straights, with some amazing mountain passes thrown in for good measure. The boot swallowed everything up with ease for a family of 4, so off we set. Car ate this all up with ease, absolutely loved the drive. More than enough power to quickly overtake while delivering pretty decent fuel economy, fuel tank though is pathetic to be honest, and feels like you are constantly on the fuel light, certainly have to plan a bit on some of these more back roads in NZ as can be long gaps between stations.
Photo op in front of Mount Cook
While down in Queenstown we went across to Wanaka for the airshow, anyone who has been on the crown range road will know it’s a great piece of tarmac if you get a clear run, and luckily on the two days going back and forth had some clear air to light the wick a bit, amazing how quick this car can dispatch a twisty road, still have not got anywhere near the limit of the tyres that’s for sure, and not sure I really even want to push it that hard for the time being!
Top of the Crown Range looking towards Queenstown
So currently 1 month and 2500km into ownership, enjoying the experience overall, list of pros and cons below:
Pros:
Gearbox – Possibly the star of the show, just so very very good, not sure how you could get a better shift feeling? Porsche GT’s perhaps?
Seats – so supportive, but also so comfy, 5.5hr with minial stopping and felt great getting out at the end
Attention- Turns heads everywhere, never had so many conversations with strangers about a car I have owned, everywhere from 8 yr old kids to 70+ yr old men that want to look a bit closer and talk about it
Fuel economy – average 8.5l/100km on the recent long trip, wasn’t mucking around either so pretty pleased with that for a performance car
Looks – subjective I know, but the pumped guards, bonnet vent all just give it such a presence, possibly indifferent to the wing myself, but no desire to change it
Handling – still just blows my mind when I tip it into a corner and it just sticks like glue and eggs you on to add more throttle, then you feel the LSD working its magic and it just blows the mind even further that the car can steer and put all that power down through the front
Practicality – fits a 4 with comfort, im 6ft3 and can sit behind my own seating position. Large boot for everything I have thrown at it so far including the golf bag without removing clubs
Brakes – no complaints, haul the car up very quickly combined with the Piot sport tyres
Neutral:
Suede steering wheel – can see this getting manky pretty quickly. Have noticed after a few spirited minutes my hand get a bit clammy, and then the wheel just feels damp for some time after it (probably more a me problem, so your milage may vary)
Engine – Fast, effective, good economy when you want it, but overall maybe the weakest part of the car, just doesn’t feel that special. It is just a 4 cylinder, so probably being a bit picky but lacks a bit of character?
Rear seats luxury’s – pretty basic back there, no air vents, cup holders are good though
Cons:
Fuel tank – while the economy is good, the fuel tank is a joke, first car I have ever owned that cant make the CHCH to Queenstown run on a single tank, have to plan fuel stops in advance, not end of the world but I prefer being able to fill up once and get 90% of the south island covered, but 450km range seems to be about the most it will get.
Road Noise – to be expected with a stripped out car I guess, but is certainly borderline, hard to talk the passengers in the back seat without raising voice quite a bit
Attention – while I had this as a positive, it also generates some bad attention, police pay far too much attention when the see it coming, also certain subsets of NZ motoring public decide they need to sit 1m off you back end in there ratty old bogan mobiles.
Safety Warning system – I know all modern cars have to have all these, just they seem very aggressive in this car, the amount of beeps and warning that come up get frustrating at times, you can turn most off though which is okay
Dash rattle – seems to be common in these, but a few rattles from the dash I need to investigate
Rear camera – again common complaint, in short, it works but is sub standard
Other than that, will post any updates along the way, no plans to modify the car, just keep it as is, and enjoy the heck out of it.
As much as I tried to ‘justify’ the running and depreication costs of a M5 or similar, I just couldn’t be bothered with the potential costs in running one how I would like to, so back the JDM side of the automotive I started looking.
Originally looked at buying one of these on initial release, but same story as rest of the world, limited stock, and here in NZ you had to enter a ballot to be able to purchase, a few other things in life took priority so forgot about it for the time being. Fast forward to January this year while on xmas holidays and kicking tyres round dealerships looking at various hot hatches like the GR Corollas which I was underwhelmed by, I made the mistake of walking into the Honda shop across the road and asked about delivery times, after hearing about UK/USA/AUS waiting list stories, was shocked with the answer of depending on colour, its 2-3 weeks. Certainly got me thinking maybe I should?
Thought the biggest hurdle would be the wife, who when she saw the previous generation threatened me with divorce (not really, but effectively the temperature of the response given) if I bought something that looks so ridiculous. To my surprise the answer was, if she can pick the colour go for it. So, here we are one month into ownership.
Picked it up from the dealership on a stunning day and took it straight out to the harbour roads for a gentle break in, not thrashing but putting it through its paces in the twisties and getting a feel for it, everything just felt confidence inspiring and over the moon at this stage. After that was a couple of weeks of blue balling myself and doing break in miles until it was at the recommended 1000km distance range before finally getting right up it a few times, smiles ensued!
Lyttelton Harbour
We always were heading away for the long Easter weekend on a trip down to Queenstown for the Warbirds over Wanaka airshow (great event by the way if your ever nearby when its on), on initial pickup wasn’t sure if it would really be that suitable to take the car that far, worrying it was perhaps too stiff/uncomfortable for a long distance trip with wife and kids on New Zealands coarse chip roads. After fiddling with the setting in individual mode, found a pretty good compromise I think, and decided it was the weapon of choice for the long weekend. The 5-5.5hr drive from Christchurch is a mix of long straights, with some amazing mountain passes thrown in for good measure. The boot swallowed everything up with ease for a family of 4, so off we set. Car ate this all up with ease, absolutely loved the drive. More than enough power to quickly overtake while delivering pretty decent fuel economy, fuel tank though is pathetic to be honest, and feels like you are constantly on the fuel light, certainly have to plan a bit on some of these more back roads in NZ as can be long gaps between stations.
Photo op in front of Mount Cook
While down in Queenstown we went across to Wanaka for the airshow, anyone who has been on the crown range road will know it’s a great piece of tarmac if you get a clear run, and luckily on the two days going back and forth had some clear air to light the wick a bit, amazing how quick this car can dispatch a twisty road, still have not got anywhere near the limit of the tyres that’s for sure, and not sure I really even want to push it that hard for the time being!
Top of the Crown Range looking towards Queenstown
So currently 1 month and 2500km into ownership, enjoying the experience overall, list of pros and cons below:
Pros:
Gearbox – Possibly the star of the show, just so very very good, not sure how you could get a better shift feeling? Porsche GT’s perhaps?
Seats – so supportive, but also so comfy, 5.5hr with minial stopping and felt great getting out at the end
Attention- Turns heads everywhere, never had so many conversations with strangers about a car I have owned, everywhere from 8 yr old kids to 70+ yr old men that want to look a bit closer and talk about it
Fuel economy – average 8.5l/100km on the recent long trip, wasn’t mucking around either so pretty pleased with that for a performance car
Looks – subjective I know, but the pumped guards, bonnet vent all just give it such a presence, possibly indifferent to the wing myself, but no desire to change it
Handling – still just blows my mind when I tip it into a corner and it just sticks like glue and eggs you on to add more throttle, then you feel the LSD working its magic and it just blows the mind even further that the car can steer and put all that power down through the front
Practicality – fits a 4 with comfort, im 6ft3 and can sit behind my own seating position. Large boot for everything I have thrown at it so far including the golf bag without removing clubs
Brakes – no complaints, haul the car up very quickly combined with the Piot sport tyres
Neutral:
Suede steering wheel – can see this getting manky pretty quickly. Have noticed after a few spirited minutes my hand get a bit clammy, and then the wheel just feels damp for some time after it (probably more a me problem, so your milage may vary)
Engine – Fast, effective, good economy when you want it, but overall maybe the weakest part of the car, just doesn’t feel that special. It is just a 4 cylinder, so probably being a bit picky but lacks a bit of character?
Rear seats luxury’s – pretty basic back there, no air vents, cup holders are good though
Cons:
Fuel tank – while the economy is good, the fuel tank is a joke, first car I have ever owned that cant make the CHCH to Queenstown run on a single tank, have to plan fuel stops in advance, not end of the world but I prefer being able to fill up once and get 90% of the south island covered, but 450km range seems to be about the most it will get.
Road Noise – to be expected with a stripped out car I guess, but is certainly borderline, hard to talk the passengers in the back seat without raising voice quite a bit
Attention – while I had this as a positive, it also generates some bad attention, police pay far too much attention when the see it coming, also certain subsets of NZ motoring public decide they need to sit 1m off you back end in there ratty old bogan mobiles.
Safety Warning system – I know all modern cars have to have all these, just they seem very aggressive in this car, the amount of beeps and warning that come up get frustrating at times, you can turn most off though which is okay
Dash rattle – seems to be common in these, but a few rattles from the dash I need to investigate
Rear camera – again common complaint, in short, it works but is sub standard
Other than that, will post any updates along the way, no plans to modify the car, just keep it as is, and enjoy the heck out of it.
Lovely motor Premixer, thanks for sharing.
Mine is Rallye Red, I've had it for 5 months / 5,000 miles, and it has brought fun back into everyday driving.
With respect to road noise I find the car is very sensitive to road surface - mostly noise levels are fine and on new, smooth surfaces the car is very refined, but on a coarse surface the noise can be a pain!
First thing I do on start up is turn off the lane assist - way too annoying - and I've set the blind spot monitors to visual warning only. Before I did this there were far too many warning beeps as you say!
Mine is Rallye Red, I've had it for 5 months / 5,000 miles, and it has brought fun back into everyday driving.
With respect to road noise I find the car is very sensitive to road surface - mostly noise levels are fine and on new, smooth surfaces the car is very refined, but on a coarse surface the noise can be a pain!
First thing I do on start up is turn off the lane assist - way too annoying - and I've set the blind spot monitors to visual warning only. Before I did this there were far too many warning beeps as you say!
You live in a great place to exploit the FL5. I spent my honeymoon exploring those roads for a few weeks in 2019.
Enjoyed my 12 months of FL5 ownership, although mine suffered from sticky steering that Honda refused to acknowledge.
I think the low fuel light comes on very early, so in combination with the small tank it feels like you’re filling up every 5 minutes.
Enjoyed my 12 months of FL5 ownership, although mine suffered from sticky steering that Honda refused to acknowledge.
I think the low fuel light comes on very early, so in combination with the small tank it feels like you’re filling up every 5 minutes.
Thanks all for the comments.
@blueJ - Yes certainly the minute you hit a smooth patch of road you breathe a sigh of relief as the ears get a nice break. Also have settled into the routine of as soon as I start it I cycle through the safety systems turning a few off, shame it doesnt save those in individual mode.
@Terminator X - have thought about that also, but think they would be hidden in the car and only used when it was only me in the car, think the wife and kids would have a field day if I pulled on special driving gloves lol
@JAMSXR - have been wary to the sticky steering, havent noticed it yet but it does seem to be a pretty common issue popping up, be interesting to see if I experience it in my ownership. Already planning the next road trip round the south island, a few roads I have not been down to explore as well that are nice and twisty for hours straight.
@blueJ - Yes certainly the minute you hit a smooth patch of road you breathe a sigh of relief as the ears get a nice break. Also have settled into the routine of as soon as I start it I cycle through the safety systems turning a few off, shame it doesnt save those in individual mode.
@Terminator X - have thought about that also, but think they would be hidden in the car and only used when it was only me in the car, think the wife and kids would have a field day if I pulled on special driving gloves lol
@JAMSXR - have been wary to the sticky steering, havent noticed it yet but it does seem to be a pretty common issue popping up, be interesting to see if I experience it in my ownership. Already planning the next road trip round the south island, a few roads I have not been down to explore as well that are nice and twisty for hours straight.
One year anniversary of owning this car today, interesting looking back at the original post about the car and in particular the pros/cons list, most of them still pretty much how I feel still.
Biggest gripe with the car is definitely the road noise, its actually almost got sold 3-4 months ago when I had just had enough of it. Kids are at the point where they hate riding in the back of it as you cant actually talk or converse with them at open road speeds on NZ coarse chip roads without yelling. Seriously toyed with swapping it in for a nice 5 series so that I could have a fast road car that the kids would actually enjoy riding in as well.
Luckily for the car it won me back over after a long drive down the south island without wife/kids, just me flying solo down some great roads, really reignited the love for the car and just how stupidly capable the thing is. The purpose of that drive was to attend a track day at Highlands motorsport park hosted by Toyota/GR, this was a driver training and then circuit lapping day getting to try all the GR models (86/Yaris/Corolla/Supra). Amazing day getting to thrash all those cars and able to directly compare to the Honda, needless to say I left that day pretty happy with my decision to buy the Civic over the corolla and Yaris, just an overall higher quality feeling car. The car that most impressed me was the one I had little interest in, the GR86, that thing was incredible, certainly lives up to the reviews of it. Supra was the biggest let down for me, was the car I was most excited about, but other than the brilliant motor, the rest of the car was a bit underwhelming?
The downside of the day is I have certainly been bitten by the track bug, so the Civic is going to see some track time in the next month or so, so this could get expensive rather quickly.
So other than the road noise (new tyres brand maybe might help?), the car really is a fantastic machine and glad to have ticked this off the list with it possibly being the last and greatest FWD petrol hot hatch. Think its certainly earned another year on the stable before I move on to something else, only problem is I genuinley struggle to find anything that would match this in the simialr price range and running costs.
Biggest gripe with the car is definitely the road noise, its actually almost got sold 3-4 months ago when I had just had enough of it. Kids are at the point where they hate riding in the back of it as you cant actually talk or converse with them at open road speeds on NZ coarse chip roads without yelling. Seriously toyed with swapping it in for a nice 5 series so that I could have a fast road car that the kids would actually enjoy riding in as well.
Luckily for the car it won me back over after a long drive down the south island without wife/kids, just me flying solo down some great roads, really reignited the love for the car and just how stupidly capable the thing is. The purpose of that drive was to attend a track day at Highlands motorsport park hosted by Toyota/GR, this was a driver training and then circuit lapping day getting to try all the GR models (86/Yaris/Corolla/Supra). Amazing day getting to thrash all those cars and able to directly compare to the Honda, needless to say I left that day pretty happy with my decision to buy the Civic over the corolla and Yaris, just an overall higher quality feeling car. The car that most impressed me was the one I had little interest in, the GR86, that thing was incredible, certainly lives up to the reviews of it. Supra was the biggest let down for me, was the car I was most excited about, but other than the brilliant motor, the rest of the car was a bit underwhelming?
The downside of the day is I have certainly been bitten by the track bug, so the Civic is going to see some track time in the next month or so, so this could get expensive rather quickly.
So other than the road noise (new tyres brand maybe might help?), the car really is a fantastic machine and glad to have ticked this off the list with it possibly being the last and greatest FWD petrol hot hatch. Think its certainly earned another year on the stable before I move on to something else, only problem is I genuinley struggle to find anything that would match this in the simialr price range and running costs.
If you’re looking for quieter tyres don’t be fooled by the noise rating. That’s about drive-by noise, not the noise transferred into the car itself. You might buy what you think are going to be quieter tyres only to find out that the design of the carcass actually transmits more noise into the her than less.
Good to hear you’re still enjoying the car despite the road noise. It’s not a great daily driver in my opinion but makes up for it with some open road and track time. Worth having some lessons if you’ve not spent much time on track, something I wish I had done at the start.
I went from the FL5 to an B9.5 RS4, which unfortunately was totally underwhelming after the Honda. Now I’m in an F80 M3 which is much closer to the FL5 in terms of the driver engagement. Next on the list is a 911 but with a young family and zero free time it might be some time before that happens.
I went from the FL5 to an B9.5 RS4, which unfortunately was totally underwhelming after the Honda. Now I’m in an F80 M3 which is much closer to the FL5 in terms of the driver engagement. Next on the list is a 911 but with a young family and zero free time it might be some time before that happens.
Luckily have a company car so not my daily driver, would certainly grow tired of it doing the daily commute I agree.
I seem to be on a similar trajectory and life spot as you, 911 is on the cards just doesnt quite fit the life at the moment similar to you with young family. Good thing is the wife is 100% behind getting a nice 911 at some stage, so thats a small win.
M3/M4 are certainly on the shortlist for the future as what I imagine in my head a good balance, just dialed down enough from the Type R to provide a bit more luxury in life when needed, and still with the usable back seats when needed with growing kids.
I seem to be on a similar trajectory and life spot as you, 911 is on the cards just doesnt quite fit the life at the moment similar to you with young family. Good thing is the wife is 100% behind getting a nice 911 at some stage, so thats a small win.
M3/M4 are certainly on the shortlist for the future as what I imagine in my head a good balance, just dialed down enough from the Type R to provide a bit more luxury in life when needed, and still with the usable back seats when needed with growing kids.
Nice one Op, you certainly have some more scenic roads than me over here!
Interesting on the MPG, I had an 400bhp Fk8 and the fuel economy was noticeably better than my FL5
On the dash rattles check out HATTRK youtube channel, he has a cure for many of them which really do work
Here is mine after I added spacers which is needed in my view bring them wheels out. I also think it needs an exhaust and thats next week.....and then a remap to around 390/400 as your right the engine needs just a little 'massage' - there is a good scene over here with exellent oem+ support - not sure your options?
Interesting on the MPG, I had an 400bhp Fk8 and the fuel economy was noticeably better than my FL5
On the dash rattles check out HATTRK youtube channel, he has a cure for many of them which really do work
Here is mine after I added spacers which is needed in my view bring them wheels out. I also think it needs an exhaust and thats next week.....and then a remap to around 390/400 as your right the engine needs just a little 'massage' - there is a good scene over here with exellent oem+ support - not sure your options?
fantheman80 said:
Nice one Op, you certainly have some more scenic roads than me over here!
Interesting on the MPG, I had an 400bhp Fk8 and the fuel economy was noticeably better than my FL5
On the dash rattles check out HATTRK youtube channel, he has a cure for many of them which really do work
Here is mine after I added spacers which is needed in my view bring them wheels out. I also think it needs an exhaust and thats next week.....and then a remap to around 390/400 as your right the engine needs just a little 'massage' - there is a good scene over here with exellent oem+ support - not sure your options?
NIce looking car, the grey colour was my first choice but my wife got first say.Interesting on the MPG, I had an 400bhp Fk8 and the fuel economy was noticeably better than my FL5
On the dash rattles check out HATTRK youtube channel, he has a cure for many of them which really do work
Here is mine after I added spacers which is needed in my view bring them wheels out. I also think it needs an exhaust and thats next week.....and then a remap to around 390/400 as your right the engine needs just a little 'massage' - there is a good scene over here with exellent oem+ support - not sure your options?
Have toyed with the idea of modding it, but when I was flip flopping between keeping or selling it I put the idea of any mods to one side as no point spending money on it if I was going to part company with the car. Bit of a modding scene locally, although no one has jail broken the ECU yet, which from my understanding makes majority of power mods pointless other than a bit more noise and emptier wallet.
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