One of the best 4 door Sedans on the road
Written: Oct 24 '06
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Pros: Good gas mileage, reliability, peppy and stable on the highway
Cons: Reduced rear visibility due to elevated rear, whine from air vent at highway speeds.
The Bottom Line: One of the best choices for a compact 4 door sedan. Great in all respects barring a couple of minor flaws.
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| jesterrace's Full Review: 2001 Honda Civic 4 door |
The Honda Civic has long been known for it's reliability and fuel efficiency but as others have mentioned on here the 2001 4 door model has a little more pep to it than previous models.
My parents purchased a 2001 Honda Civic LX during the summer of 2001. Originally there had been a tug of war over this vehicle as my father wanted a reliable and fuel efficient 4-door sedan and my mom wanted to get a mini van for the extra seating capacity. Ultimately my father's reasoning won out on this. I have driven this thing numerous times when helping them out with errands and more importantly this car was often my backup vehicle when my own cars were in the shop.
Right now let's cover the features of this particular Civic LX:
1.7L 4 cyliner MPFI (Multi-Port Fuel Injected) engine with 117HP and 111lbs of torque
4 speed automatic with OD
Front Wheel Drive
Power Windows, door locks and mirrors
Power Steering
Rear Defroster
Cruise Control
Variable speed front wipers
A/C
dual airbags
5 seat belts (2 shoulder belts in the front, 2 in back and one lap belt for the middle seat in the back)
Spacious trunk (12.9 cubic feet)
Tape Deck with 4 speakers
INTERIOR: Okay probably the first thing that people notice in the 2001 Civic is the noticeable increase in headroom both in the front and the back. I'm not going to lie and tell you that an NBA player would be perfectly comfortable but it definitely has a noticeable improvement over previous models. A six foot person or someone with long legs would be comfortable driving this vehicle as would those who are very short (under 5 feet tall). The seats as with previous years are of average comfort. Not nearly as comfortable as the ones in my Saturn but adequate for around town driving and they are tolerable for long trips. The rear seats would be comfortable for average sized adults and children to go long distances. That being said the rear middle seat with the lap belt would only be good for short distances with a smaller sized adult or up to long distances with a child. The heat and the A/C are both quick to respond as is the front and rear defroster. As mentioned above the trunk is quite spacious and for what it is, it is both tall and deep. No problems putting the family groceries in here (Not unless you have a family of 6 or more). The visibility all around is good except for the rear. Honda raised the rear of the vehicle up to give more vertical space in the trunk but it can be somewhat of an obstruction for rear viewing. That being said it isn't anything serious, you just have to learn to adapt a little bit.
DRIVING: By and large this vehicle is a joy to drive. The thing that really impressed me was how quick it was to respond when you give the accelerator a push. It has no qualms about dropping gears to give it the extra power necessary. This comes in really handy when getting on the freeway. A chronic problem of the sub 2.0L 4 cylinder engines is that you have to constantly worry about getting plowed over by a semi as you try to build up speed on the on-ramp. I'm happy to say that isn't an issue with this vehicle, unlike my Saturn (which has a larger engine and more HP I might add) if you give a little nudge to the gas pedal this thing will build up speed quite quickly. It also does pretty well with hills. Keep in mind that this is even with an automatic transmission. The point is that for what it is the car is quite peppy. Unlike the '95 Civic CX that I reviewed, high speed highway driving is no problem. I've had this thing up to 80MPH and the drive is solid, no weird shakes or anything like that. The one flaw that you do experience on the highway with this thing is that there is a whistle or whine that develops at higher speeds. It is apparently some sort of design flaw with the 2001 Civics in general as other people have noted it. It has something to do with the air vent system. This is easily solved by listening to the stereo at moderate volume though. The power steering is most welcome in this vehicle and turns easily. The automatic shifts pretty smoothly. Unlike my Saturn there is no gear-slam that is produced when you put the car in reverse. The vehicle handles quite well for a sedan but that being said it isn't a sports car so don't be taking corners at crazy speeds with this thing.
GAS MILEAGE: As with previous and other model Hondas this thing is very easy on gas, even with the automatic. About 30MPG around town and 38MPG on the Highway. As always though how you drive the thing affects those figures and higher highway speeds/RPMs will easily reduce the Highway figure. Either way though not bad for 4 door sedan with an automatic transmission.
SOUNDSYSTEM: It certainly isn't a premium system, that being said those who listen to music at background or even moderate levels will be content with the sound setup in this car. It is one of the few that I have seen that can handle moderate volumes on a regular basis without blowing the speakers. That being said if you really love your music you will definitely want an aftermarket system as no stock system can handle the kind of music or format options that a good aftermarket setup can handle. The really nice thing about this car for you sub-woofer nuts, is that you can easily put a couple of 12" (or smaller) subs in the trunk while still having a decent amount of space for groceries. So unlike most compact sedans it's not like you have to choose to either have a soundsystem or a trunk, you can have both with this car.
As for the bad, I am happy to say that the two minor design flaws that I listed above are the only two things that I could really find wrong with this car:
1. The somewhat reduced visibility due to the rear trunk being raised. Once you get used to it though it really isn't a major issue.
2. The high-pitched whine through the air-vent at highway speeds. Easily drowned out by music played at a moderate volume and if you put in a nice soundsystem you will never even notice it.
Beyond that there is nothing to note. My parents haven't had to do anything but regular maintenance on this thing.
In conclusion this is a very well put together compact sedan and unlike the cheaply made Civic CX that I reviewed, the LX seems to have more quality put into it's build as the two cars are world's apart in every respect (barring the gas mileage). I really recommend that people who are looking at the civic spend the extra cash and get the LX model as it will be cheaper in the long run and they have better resale value. Originally my Mom agreed to purchase this car with the understanding that she could trade it in after a couple of years and have a mini-van. Well, 5 years later and they simply can't get rid of it due to it's superb gas mileage and reliability.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 17500
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: 1.7L 4 cylinder, Automatic, LX
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Epinions.com ID:
jesterrace
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Reviews written: 92
Trusted by: 3 members
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