Honda cutting corners, but still a good car
Written: Mar 15 '01
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Pros: Handling, surprisingly roomy, many-speed ventilation fan controls
Cons: Engine feels more sluggish than earlier models
The Bottom Line: Disappointing compared to its predecessors, but still a good, solid car.
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| CozzifanTutti's Full Review: 2001 Honda Civic 4 door |
This is my third Honda Civic, purchased 12/00 after my 1990 Civic sedan sprung a head gasket leak and a radiator leak after only 107,000 miles.
The 1990 Civic was a great little car, with excellent handling on snow and ice and a comfortable, down-sloped dash and hood for smaller drivers. Only bum brakes were a negative. The 1994 (and I have a 1994 hatch) is even better.
The 2001, however, is just a bit of a disappointment in some ways. Honda has begun to cut corners a bit and implemented some "features" that make me scratch my head in bafflement. The main corner-cutting is in combining controls. The odometer and two "trip" counters are combined in one control. The bass, treble, and station seek on the radio are combined. And for some bizarre reason, the air conditioning is always on when you have either defrost or defrost/head selected. If you are driving in winter, and you don't switch to heat-only, you will get about 20 mpg with the defroster running (if your area uses oxygenated gasoline in winter). The manual states this is a "feature", but after 25+ years of driving without anything to "dry the air out" while defrosting, this seems just silly.
The radio controls are difficult and counterintuitive to reach while driving. Another "feature", which sets your radio buttons to high-signal local stations, can wipe out your existing settings. The heat vents are located above the radio, which means that if you have a cassette player, your cassettes can get very hot.
The 2001 Civic has been completely redesigned, and is a much taller car than before. This makes it easier to get in and out of for older drivers, and the fact that it's higher off the ground may mitigate the infamous Civic undercarriage problems in areas where a lot of road salt is used; perhaps brake and muffler replacements will be less frequent. It's a comfortable car for both tall and short drivers.
However, that said, the Civic's higher profile makes it somewhat less stable on snow and icy roads than its predecessor, and its sluggish, slow-accelerating engine and less-than-wonderful gasoline mileage (with the LX package, including automatic transmission, a/c, power windows, power door looks, and cassette deck) make it somewhat of a disappointment compared to its predecessors. The Civic has always been a zippy little car for its size, but in an effort to make it more of a "family" car, Honda has created a rather lugubrious driving experience.
However, if reliability remains as good as with prior models, I'll be perfectly happy with this car, flaws and all.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 14,700
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: LX, with automatic trans., a/c, power windows, power locks, cassette
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Epinions.com ID:
CozzifanTutti
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Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 24 members
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