Topic: Calling all Honda Civic people

[JacobBlack]

Someone close to me has a reason to want to speak to

- a current Civic owner -- car age doesn't matter, but it should be his/her daily -- who is wondering whether to trade it in for the new model

- a one-time Civic owner who strayed, perhaps disenchanted, and is wondering whether to come back after hearing good things about the new one

- a consumer currently shopping for a new car who has never owned a Civic but has it on his/her list.

Any of you, or your friends, fit the bill?

[rrocket]

Someone close to me has a reason to want to speak to

- a current Civic owner -- car age doesn't matter, but it should be his/her daily -- who is wondering whether to trade it in for the new model

- a one-time Civic owner who strayed, perhaps disenchanted, and is wondering whether to come back after hearing good things about the new one

- a consumer currently shopping for a new car who has never owned a Civic but has it on his/her list.

Any of you, or your friends, fit the bill?

Contact Canuck.  He had a recent one.

[Hammy]

Someone close to me has a reason to want to speak to

- a current Civic owner -- car age doesn't matter, but it should be his/her daily -- who is wondering whether to trade it in for the new model

- a one-time Civic owner who strayed, perhaps disenchanted, and is wondering whether to come back after hearing good things about the new one

- a consumer currently shopping for a new car who has never owned a Civic but has it on his/her list.

Any of you, or your friends, fit the bill?

I test drove a turbo last week.  It looks great and has a ton of interior room.  The turbo gives it a good kick in the pants but man that cvt is hard to get past if you care about how your car sounds. Everything else is great, of course the steering is loose and whatnot but it is an affordable compact sedan. If you don't care about the cvt sound I think the turbo civic is a great package.

[kings10]

Someone close to me has a reason to want to speak to

- a current Civic owner -- car age doesn't matter, but it should be his/her daily -- who is wondering whether to trade it in for the new model

- a one-time Civic owner who strayed, perhaps disenchanted, and is wondering whether to come back after hearing good things about the new one

- a consumer currently shopping for a new car who has never owned a Civic but has it on his/her list.

Any of you, or your friends, fit the bill?

Owned a 1996 Civic Si that I bought new.  Drove it for eight years, 200k kms.  Overall, I thought it was a nice, reliable car, but the one lasting impression that stands out most with me was the lack of torque.  I had come from a Toyota MR2 Supercharged that was modded to "Stage 2" (an exhaust and pulley), but even after eight years, the Civic still felt gutless.  But I remember my boss at the time mentioning it was a "quick, little car" after I had to drive him somewhere.    Perhaps it was the constant high revs and manual transmission that made it feel that way to him.  I know a lack of grunt was only natural for a 127hp car, but somehow it felt like a 90hp car under 4000rpm (i.e. most of the time) and a 140hp car over 5000rpm, if that makes any sense.

Cut to present day and I'm really liking the styling of the new Civic sedan.  My winter car will probably only last another year and two of my sons will be driving age within a few years, so I will be looking for something inexpensive and small to buy in a year.   A Civic (DX or LX) is  high on my very preliminary list.  (If I'm pushing for "Dad of the Year", maybe a Civic Coupe.  Or R. )  I don't like the looks of the new Elantra, but I'll have to see how it drives.  Also looking at the Kia Forte.  I consider myself, if anything, a Toyota guy but the Corolla doesn't do anything for me. 

[BritWRX]

I've had a 2013 EX manual for about a year now.  I mostly like it.  As others have said, it lacks power and torque compared to some but the engine loves to be revved and is really sweet at high revs.  Sounds like an engine not an appliance too (unlike my wife's Corolla).  The manual transmission is also probably one of the best that I have used.  It's great on gas and cheap to run thanks to the service intervals being dictated by the oil life monitor (14000km and still going)!  When the industry average seems to be about 8000km and some (Hyundai) as low as 6000km, this makes a huge difference!

I don't plan to change imminently but when I do the new Civic, along with the Mazda 3, VW Golf and Ford Focus will be on the list.  Having had multi-link rear suspension on the Civic, I wouldn't go back to non-independent like on my wife's Corolla as the ride is noticeably harder and the suspension more noisy.  I test drove the Mazda 3 recently and the ride was excellent and even the smaller 2.0 engine had more low down urge than the Civic but it did have a very small trunk!  I didn't realise that the new Civic was in the showrooms yet.  The jury is still out with me on the looks and I'm concerned that being bigger and more refined, it may have lost some of its agility and fun factor.  My main criticism of my Civic is the lack of interior space compared to the Corolla for example i.e. with my 1-year old in his rear-facing child seat, despite only being 5'8", I can't comfortably fit in the passenger seat in the Civic, whereas I can in the Corolla.  A slightly bigger trunk would be welcome too!

I didn't like the CVT transmission on the 2014 Civic that I drove, so although the power of the new turbo appeals, the 2.0 manual (slightly more power than the 1. with the 6-speed manual transmission would be the one that I would be most interested to try.  That being said, if I could swap mine for a 2014/2015 Si for a similar payment, that would probably be my choice! 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I owned a 2008 Civic SI for a couple of years.  I loved it.  I almost considered picking up a used one very recently when I was looking at a new job. 

I'm not sure I'd consider a new one though.  As a single car family, the new Civic, although larger than in the past, might be just a little small for us.  A wagon or hatchback version might sway me though.

[Arthur Dent]

I bought 1998 Civic hatchback in 2000. It was fun to drive but hopelessly unreliable and a gas guzzler.

Bought another 1998 Civic this time a sedan about a year ago. Had a vented block. Parted it out for a modest profit.



I currently own this Civic. Best one yet!

[Blueprint]

1st new car was a 1995 LX "Special Edition" sedan, Milano Red with stick. Fantastic ownership experience, kept it 6 years / 125k, 2.50$ plastic clip for hood prop rod broke and that's it. Drove like a go-kart, never went above 7.5 l/100km.

Had the intention of getting a 2015, but...

- felt "tinny", not as tight as that '95 was;
- CVT not as well-behaved as Accord's;
- integrated audio is an insult to music - how can you build something worse than a 10$ alarm-clock-radio in 2015?
- suspension noises over what passes for pavement in QC;
- serious lack of travel in front struts.

The good (2015):

- sleek interior design (in all-black upper trims);
- good room;
- nice engine still there if you go for a stick;
- value.

[JacobBlack]

Thanks guys!
Hoping to find someone in Toronto, too. Any TO Civic people around?

[dkaz]

I've owned three Civic wagons -- an 86 Civic Wagovan (work oriented with more cargo room and a terrible back seat), an 85 Civic Wagon DX (comfort oriented with a better reclinable back seat, more legroom at the expense of cargo room), and an 88 Civic Wagon 4WD (real time 4WD aka Slip and Grip, predecessor of what would become the CRV 10 years later).

[erich]

I owned a 2004 Civic SE from 2004 to 2012, drove it as far as Vancouver.
Sorry (not really ) I am in Calgary, not TO

[Noto]

I've got lots of friends with Civics ranging from 1997 to 2013.

All would tell you that it's a very easy car to live with.  Any more specific questions?

[onearmed]

I've got lots of friends with Civics ranging from 1997 to 2013.

All would tell you that it's a very easy car to live with.  Any more specific questions?

Currently have a 2003 Civic LX @193k. Love what they've done with the 2016. I think eventually in a couple of years I may want to switch. Already have an itch to ditch. Current 115hp in the 2003 is gutless. It just doesn't make financial sense to sell the car right now. I've had maybe 5 issues over 13 years. Repair bill probably doesn't total more than 1k. Compared to my 2003 VW GTI 1.8T which I've since sold, repairs on that over the life easily totalled more than 7k.



Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

[Sir Osis of Liver]

We're not starting this up again are we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irTEq9Uf4OY

[Ron]

I was a Honda fanboy over the span of many years before switching to Mazda and don't think I will be switching back any time soon. It seemed when I was looking at a replacement in the 2000's the Honda Civic had lost that intangible something. It also didn't help that the cars felt cheap.

1988 CRX - bought used and owned for about 2 years. Great car, fun to drive but not very reliable. Recall niggling issues, CELs and rust.

1992 Civic Si - bought slightly used and owned for 6-7 years, ~180K kms. Probably the best car I ever owned, reliable, fun to drive, really good on gas even when driven hard, under steered terribly though. It lived above 5K rpm which I never seemed to get tired of. Many great memories of road trips through the US and Mexico.

1991 Civic - bought for a song with 250K kms and drove until it was written off in an accident at 406K kms. Minimal maintenance and similar experiences as the Si though not as peppy. An example of how great Honda was at that time at making cars.

[Flinter]

My first new car was a 89 Civic SI Hatchback. We had it inthe family for over 17 years and 330,000 km. We finally let it go as a trade for Ms Flinter's SX4 in 2006.






These last 2 pics were taken the day we took it to the dealer for trade. I thought it still looked pretty good for a 17 year old car with 330,000+ km.






Pros
- Even the more basic D16A6 engine offered here in NA was impressive with an all aluminum design, 4 values per cylinder with all 16 valves operated by a single cam shaft. Power : 108 hp @ 5600 rpm,Torque : 100 ft·lbs @ 4,800 rpm, Redline : 6500 rpm and believe me when I say that this engine would happy all day reving at 5000+ rpm.
- Multi-port Electronic fuel injection.
- 4 Wheel fully independent suspension with upper camber controlling links.
- Great thickly bolstered sport seats.
- Electric sunroof.
- A fairly slick shifting 5 speed manual.
- Light weight of 2300 lbs.
- Fuel economy in the 6/8 L/100km (city/higway)
- Great utility with the hatchback and flat folding seats. I would pack pretty much everything I owned in this thing every September when I shipped off to university.
- All this at a price of ~$15k on the road.

Cons
- Fighting rust was a continous battle after about the 7 year mark.
- Manual steering made parking tedious at times.
- No A/C and a black interior really sucked in the summer.
- Not a very refined car by today's standards.
- With no airbags, a lightweight chassis, and no other modern safety equipment, this thing probably would be a death trap if you ever had an accident.

In later years I replaced the stock shocks and springs with a set of H&R OE sport springs and KYB AGX adjustable gas shocks. With those changes, the car was an absolute riot to drive and with the progressive rate springs the ride actually felt better to me.

I replaced this Civic with an Acura Integra that I owned for 9-10 years and after that I have never seriously considered another Honda. Sad because it wasn't me outgrowing Honda products but a case of Honda going a different direction with their cars and leaving me as a customer. However, it looks like the new Civic is a step in the right direction. However, the lack on a manual option with the new top dog 1.5L turbo is concerning.

[dkaz]

Pros
- Even the more basic D16A6 engine offered here in NA was impressive with an all aluminum design, 4 values per cylinder with all 16 valves operated by a single cam shaft. Power : 108 hp @ 5600 rpm,Torque : 100 ft·lbs @ 4,800 rpm, Redline : 6500 rpm and believe me when I say that this engine would happy all day reving at 5000+ rpm.
- Multi-port Electronic fuel injection.

Nice car! I had that engine in my 88 Civic Wagon 4WD, what a fantastic engine. I miss that car dearly.