I really didn't expect problems from Honda, they've always been so reliable for me. But this new Civic has had a bit more than its fair share. The first thing to go was a rear reverse light a few weeks in. Then other problems started, which I think may be some sort of more general electrical problem.
The locks often didn't want to co-operate, the boot latch sometimes just refused to open entirely. And meanwhile the battery frequently went completely flat for no reason. I took to carrying one of those battery recovery units. Anyway FINALLY Honda did sort the problem out, whatever it was, and I got my car back. Since then it's been fantastic. I should say it was all done under warranty, but that doesn't undo the inconvenience of a misbehaving car, and having to return it to the garage so often.
It's possible that mine was just put together by a work experience bod! I can only imagine that others are faring better out there as Honda do have such a good reputation for this sort of thing.
Driving wise I've also been sort of underwhelmed. I'm getting on a bit and my back isn't quite what it was. I don't do long drives often but when we go and visit the kids, we do have to stop every 100 miles or so just to get out of the seats, they are so firm.
Another problem is that some of the dash button lights tend to be a bit dazzling at night, making it difficult to see out properly. Reversing in the dark is tricky too as the rear pillars are quite chunky, and the spoiler (which I always thought was a bit silly anyway but looked fun) does really get into your eye line. I never really got used to the parking sensors, they just drove me mad with confusion. I'm sure that's just the fault of my old age though.
I'll end on some good points. The automatic wipers work really well, very impressed there. The boot is a very useful size, and the fuel economy is very reasonable. All that said though, I don't think I'd buy it again.
We got this when we had our little girl on the way. I wasn't too impressed by the stylings really but we were after something a bit more reliable than our old Saxo. I'm certainly converted to Honda now, but the Civic has got some pretty annoying things that have bothered me.
First of all, we got it for reliability mainly. We got it second hand but still I think only just a year old. It's been completely trouble free in terms of reliability, and it's nearly five now. Far as I'm concerned that alone really is a reason to be completely happy with the car, and it's why I haven't even begun to consider getting rid of it.
However.... there are some problems that annoy me day to day. The biggest one is visibility. I wasn't impressed by the look of the Honda Civic initially cos of the odd angled windows, it just looks sort of suspicious almost. Anyway inside the car that means really a restricted view out the back. Try parking it in the dark before you decide on it. That trick is almost impossible, I tend to end up going in head first and hoping I don't have to move it again until it's light.
The other thing about the sloping angles is that there's very little head room in the back, which I stupidly didn't even think of when we first got it, but now I literally have to warn everyone who gets in the back not to whack their head on the pillar, and not to lean their head back. That actually worries me a bit if we ever got rear ended, I mean what would happen to their head.
Apart from this stuff, the Honda Civic is nice enough to drive. The reliability frankly makes me smile, having come from what we had. It just doesn't cause a fuss ever. Everything works really smoothly. It can be a bit sort of dull sometimes, but I'm hardly a boy racer anymore.
Having said that about the back seats, the boot is really quite big. It all depends on what you expect to be doing with it I suppose. The Honda Civic is totally fine for our needs just for now, but I'll be more careful with some of these points when we get our next car.
The only warning is not to expect it to behave off road. It's obvious really, and fair enough, it's just a coupe not designed for that sort of thing, but my partner got stuck once and it was no fun.
Anyway, that aside, our Honda Civic has been a charm. It's nice and cheap to run day to day, and other running costs are low. Services as well. And our Honda dealer is excellent really, we'd thought of going independent before but they really do treat us well.
When my son drives it, he says it's not quite what you might expect from a v-tec, in terms of acceleration, but that just couldn't be further from being a problem for us. It gets up to speed just fine, never feels out of breath on the motorways, and stays comfy throughout. I suppose you could describe it as being a bit 'firm' on rougher roads, but that just goes back to what I was saying about not bothering off road. It's a road car, and is excellent in those conditions.
There's plenty of space inside for all the passengers. We often take adult friends out walking with us, and they're happy in the back. The boot also happily takes our four walking backpacks, and boots and things. Our typical rear passengers are quite small though, and it is only a coupe so bigger people may well struggle back there. I imagine the saloon version of the Civic is roomier back there.
The ONLY thing I would change about the Honda Civic is the rear window. It's just a little bit too pokey to get a useful look at where you're reversing, and to make sure you're not going to clonk something. Thankfully we've never done that, but it wouldn't be hard.
I know Honda have got a reputation for reliability (we had an old Accord before this Civic) but seriously, the Civic is amazing even for Honda. We bought our Honda Accord new in 2003 when there was all the hype about it being part petrol car, and part electric, where it sends a lot of the petrol power back into a bank of batteries.
We were so impressed with that at the time, and we might not have bothered with it if it was another manufacturer. We might have just dismissed it as marketing fluff and just bound to go wrong. But anyway we were interested because it was Honda, and it won us over that they gave the battery bank in the car an 8 year guarantee.
But as it turns out they might as well have given the whole car an eight year guarantee, it's just been totally flawless this whole time. All it's needed is filters and things at service time, nothing else at all. The exhaust is looking a bit shaky these days but fair enough really after so long.
If you're new to the Honda Civic, it's worth pointing out that when you stop at a traffic light, it hasn't stalled! It just turns off to save fuel and then on again when you put it back in gear. Clever system, and saves masses on petrol.
The other fab thing which won us over even further was that the Honda Civic is exempt from the London congestion charge, because of the low emissions. It's also dead cheap to tax, and the insurance isn't bad.
Probably the only down side is that the value has gone down quite a bit over the years, so we might not get a great return on selling it - but then we may well not sell it. Also the turning circle is quite wide, probably because of the system in the brakes that returns energy to the battery bank.
I bought my honda civic 1.4 at the beginning of this year. At first, I like it because of its charming lookings, i believe that most of us will be attracted by the looking of this car. After using for a period, I found that the acceloration of this car is excellent even it only has a 1.4 engine size. Choose the civic, you won't regret it.
Hi, I own a CW Civic FN2. I bought this car because it's one of a few hot hatches that still comes with a 2.0-litre N/A engine. I'm not a massive fan of turbos and superchargers, so the FN2 Civic was the perfect choice.
The engine revs to 8,200rpm and is just brutal. The second it hits v-tec, you're in automotive heaven. Even if you don't like cars, you can't help but be amazed with the performance of the K20 engine.
Inside, it's typical 8th gen Civic: futuristic. It's like being in a spaceship and it has to be one of the best things about the car. If you don't ;like the interior, then you're a bit weird.
It handles beautifully, too; despite what Clarkson said. Sure, it has torsion beam suspension, but it really isn't as bad as everyone makes out.
Test drive one, and I promise you, the second you hit 5,000rpm, you'll be happy.
In the last 7 years I haven't been without a hot hatch; my last two cars being a Honda Civic Type-R [197bhp] and a Toyota Corolla T-Sport TTE Compressor [213bhp]. The diesel Honda Civic [140bhp] was my attempt at reining in the spending and cutting down on the running costs of a car.
Surprisingly, the diesel Civic hasn't been the compromise I thought it would be. It's responsive, quick off the mark and the power is very usable. Effortless driving on motorways, the 2.2l engine pulls like a train, although equally at home in inner city traffic jams. 0-62 is around 8.6 and top speed is 127, which is more than usable on our roads, especially amongst the lunatics of Manchester.
I would say that the Civic is good looking, although I've never been a big fan of the back end. Despite this, I wouldn't change a thing; the space in the back of the car is amazing. I managed to fit an entire double divan and mattress in my car. When I need to take the dogs anywhere, the back seats fold up revealing the floor underneath, where they can comfortably stand or lie down, which I feel is a much safer option in the event of an accident.
The interior is very well laid out and there are plenty of gadgets to keep oneself occupied. Climate control and the trip computer being my fav bits, as well as the digital speedometer. The digital read out takes some getting used to, however, and forgetting to switch on the headlights seems to be a common issue among new owners or temporary drivers. I have the leather option and of course the added luxury of bum warmers. I've always hated leather in cars, but soon changed my mind after owning these for a little while. Heated seats or not, they still don't save you in summer, although the climate control sees to it that you don't die of heat exhaustion.
Running-cost-wise, it's obviously going to be a lot less expensive than the Type-R, or TTE Compressor. To offer a real-world comparison, for £60 I would get 340 miles from the Type-R, 300 miles from the Corolla and now around 500 miles from the diesel Civic. Road tax is reasonable (£110), my insurance has halved, services are roughly the same, and I get my MOTs free with Honda (a perk when you buy an Approved Honda).
To summarise; I don't miss my hot hatches. I never thought I'd be able to say that about a diesel.
This was my first car given to me by a friend. It was a good first car regarding ease of driving and and insurance prices.
The honda is very advanced, mine had electric windows throughout and even an electric sun roof. It also had air conditioning which was surprisingly affective considering the cars age.
The handling was poor, suspension was bouncy and steering felt very assisted, great for parking but un-nerving when driving relatively quickly on country roads.
Very bad on petrol, i got around 20mpg around town which stretched to 35mpg on the motorways. Not exactly great by todays standards.
Anyone who has ever driven a Honda Civic Type R knows of the power that the car has. Anyone who thinks the 2.0-litre 200bhp engine doesn't have enough torque is wrong, you just need to use the gears more. It's probably one of the most rewarding drives I've ever had.
The power is brutal and if you're not quick enough, it will bite you back. When V-tech kicks in, just make sure know one is infront of you because there will be a crash - that's how quick this thing is.
6.6 seconds to 60 and a superb way of going round bends, the EP3 is just an incredible hot hatch.
Bought the Honda Civic new and did 100,000 pleasurable miles in it. Never went wrong, only thing replaced other than normal service items were the disks. The engine honestly drove better than new at 100,000 miles just a brilliant engine. The car I would say was average apart from reliability which was faultless, not even a dashboard rattle. The b16A2 engine is a legend and deserves to be.
Rust spots to watch for are on rear wheel arches and front sills just behind front wheels.