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.