The sleek contours of a sporty two-door Honda Civic slipped quietly into our driveway. The engine purred silently for a few seconds and became silent as the key was removed from the ignition. The silver paint of the door glimmered against the moonlight as my daughter stepped out. The grin on her face was as captivating as her newly purchased Honda. She travels six to eight hours several weekends a month as well as long distance daily travel to work. We researched several vehicles helping her to become knowledgeable about the important aspects of various cars, as well as searching for trustworthy dealers. Her Grandfather had owned many Honda Accords and Civics during his life and had a lot of wisdom to share with her as she made an informed decision on the car of her choice. She learned to drive in the Honda Accord that we owned and so she had practical experience with this vehicle. She combined research, advice, and personal experience in the purchase her own 2003 Honda Civic EX, spending about $17,000 including taxes and licensing. Because it was used, there was not a warranty included. I have driven her car many times and want to share with you what I have learned, and how I feel about her car.

The two-door Civic is an attractive little car.
The seamless front bumper curves smoothly around the sides of the car, flowing into the side panels. The gently sloping front hood and windshield aerodynamically move air currents over and around the car to decrease wind resistance. On top is a moon-roof that electronically slides back into the roof allowing air to flow into the car if desired. The strong, durable window of the moon-roof is securely sealed to keep water out of the vehicle, while allowing light inside when the interior section of the roof is manually opened. The elongated side doors allow more room for passengers to get into the back seat. Each door also houses side mirrors allowing better vision of traffic behind the vehicle. The doors and the rear side panel have streamlined moldings leading from the upper edge of the wheel wells in front, passing through the door handles guiding the eye to the rear tail lights. There are also streamlined moldings along the bottom of the doors that are visually aligned with the molding lines of both front and rear bumpers. This gives a sleek-looking impression of speed. The back window is slopes gradually toward the trunk. It forms an almost 30-35 degree angle between the roof and the trunk. The trunk lid is nearly squared-off at the rear edge of the car. Because of the way it is formed, water runs off of the car and not into the trunk when it is opened after being washed or being in the rain. The rear bumper is straighter than the front bumper and smoothly blends into the rear side panel. The entire car is painted a soft silver color that is coated with a clear, durable finish. The final visual impression of this car is sleek and sporty. It looks like it wants to race with the wind.

The Interior:
The interior of this particular Honda Civic is black. The front and rear dash boards, the arm rests and most of the door panels are made of a textured flat-black colored vinyl. There is black fabric on sections of the door panels and the roof, and the seats are made of thick, textured velour. These bucket seats shaped to more comfortably accommodate most people. Heavy, grooved black-plastic mats are specially made to be anchored underneath the front seats, which keeps them from interfering with the foot pedals. They are not very attractive, or comfortable on bare feet of passengers, but they don’t twist or crumple or slide forward like most store-bought mats. Despite the lack of comfort, or visual appeal, they provide safety underfoot, (and under the pedals) which I feel is important.

Seat Belts
The seat belts are located on the door frame behind the front seats. Both the driver and front passenger need to twist and reach behind them to grab the seat belts. They are not easy to reach because the door is necessarily longer to allow passenger access into the back seat. Even though they do not have a height adjustment on the door frame to accommodate the size of different people, they seem to fit comfortably without riding on my neck. There are two shoulder seat belts and one lap seat belt in the back seat. It is easy to attach infant, toddler, and older child car seats to the back seat. There are three tether anchor points behind the head rests under the rear window. The covers pivot open to allow access to the sturdy metal tethers. There are also, four anchors tucked between the back and the seat. They are easy to find because there is a small button just above the anchors. These latches are to be used in car seats that are specifically designed for this purpose. Instructions on how to install infant and toddler car seats are included with each car seat purchase, and can be found in the instruction manual for the Honda Civic. Passengers getting in and out of the back seat need to hold the seat belts next to the frame of the car to keep from tripping over, or getting caught, on them. The passenger seat slides forward to allow for easy access, whereas the driver seat tilts forward unless the release lever is pulled.

The Instrument Panel:
The instrument panel has a clean, uncluttered look. There are three circular areas containing various gauges. The circle at the far left contains the tachometer along the left side of the curve and the shift-lever position along a parallel line on the right side of this circle. The tachometer lets the driver know how many rotations per minute the engine is running at, and the shift-lever position has a solid orange circle to indicate what position the shift lever is in. I like this feature because I immediately know what gear I am in. The positions are the same as the shift lever on the middle console: park, reverse, neutral, drive, drive 3, and drive 2. This car does not have a drive 1 gear. The center circle of the instrument panel contains the speedometer. It is marked off in two-mile-per-hour increments. The larger numbers are marked off in 20 mph increments: 0, 20,40,60,80,100,120, and 140; with medium sized lines half way between each of these. I feel that this is inconvenient. I have to estimate what speed I am actually driving at. For example, I can not just glance at the panel and know I am going 30 mph because the way the speedometer is marked it looks like I should be going only 25 mph. This poorly marked panel could easily get me a speeding ticket until I was more acquainted with how it was marked. I do not want to have to figure out my speed. I want to know it exactly—right now. The lowest section of this circle contains odometer/trip meter which records both the total mileage driven, but also how many miles traveled between one destination and another—if you chose to know. I used this feature when were first driving this car to find our gas mileage. As soon as I filled the tank up, I would clear the trip meter. When the low fuel indicator light came on I would fill the tank and record the total miles traveled. This helped me estimate the cost of gas per trip as well as how far I could travel on a tank full of gas. It also helped me to save money, because I could plan in advance which gas stations to stop at that had reasonably inexpensive, quality gasoline. The circle at the far right of the instrument panel contains the temperature gauge and the fuel gauge. Below the fuel gauge is a gas-tank-shaped area that lights up when the tank is almost empty. So I could estimate how much fuel, or the distance I could travel, between the time the light came on and when I absolutely had to fill my tank I kept my travels close to home and to a gas station, in case the tank became too empty. I can drive about 30 miles, a little less than a gallon of gas after the low fuel light comes on.

The Location of Various Controls and Switches:
Beginning on the driver side door, nearest the driver’s left elbow is a manual door lock that is smooth and follows the contour of the inside door panel. Its shape helps prevent car theft. It is in an awkward position and cannot easily be unlocked with the left hand. The driver needs to reach across with their right hand to unlock the door. Within an easier reach, next to the door handle, is master control lock that unlocks/locks both doors. When the doors are unlocked, the lock lever nearest the driver, or passenger’s elbow, will show a bright orange circle. This helps remind the driver to lock the doors. These locks do not automatically lock when the engine engages. They must be manually locked. The door arm rest is at a comfortable height for me. Near my fingertips are the power switches for the windows. The driver’s side has a switch for both windows, whereas the passenger has control of only their window. Below the vents on the driver’s side, between the door and the steering wheel, are three power control switches. The first one is the master control switch for the cruise control. The center switch opens and closes the moon roof, and the third one is the control switch for both door mirrors. The mirror control switches are extremely difficult to use. I have to lean toward the door and reach forward to both see and reach these controls. I preset them before I drive, but if I need to adjust them during traffic to get a better view of traffic behind me I am in trouble. Because of the awkward angle, and poor visibility of this switch, it would be easy to swerve the car out of the lane and into another vehicle while trying to adjust the mirrors. Rather than use the mirrors, my daughter and I lean forward and try to see past the seat to view traffic to our left. I feel that this switch should be placed where it can be more safely used.

There are three main switches on the steering wheel. The first switch is located on the left side of the steering column and controls the headlights and the turn signals. Click the switch down for left turns and up for right turns. By partially twisting the end of this switch the driver can turn on the following types of lights: parking lights, taillights, instrument panel lights, side-marker lights, and the rear license plate lights. When this switch is turned to the second position the low-beam headlights will also come on. To engage the high-beam lights simply pull this lever forward until it makes a light click sound. A blue indicator light will appear on the instrument panel when the bright lights are on. If there is a need to flash the head lights, simply push the lever forward and release it. While the lever is held forward the high-beam lights will remain on. When the switch is released the lights will return to low-beam driving lights. On the opposite side of the steering column is the windshield wiper/washer fluid switch. It has five positions along with extra intermittent speeds to accommodate most weather conditions. To select the position you need, push the lever up, or pull it back down. The mist speed will wet the windshield when it needs to be cleaned. The wipers come on immediately, at high speed, and continue to wipe as long as the lever is held at the mist position. Also, if the lever is pulled forward, wiper fluid will be sprayed on the windshield and the wipers will run at low speed while the lever is held, and then complete one more wipe when the lever is released. This car has the best mist and clean wiper system of all the cars I have driven. The wiper fluid evenly covers the windshield and is cleanly removed by the wiper blades. When the wipers are on intermittent speed they operate about once every few seconds. The timing between the swipes of the blades can be increased, or decreased, by using the intermittent time ring located near the center of this switch. The final switch on the steering column is the cruise control switch. It is located on the lower right hand side of the steering wheel. Once the master cruise control switch has been engaged, the controls on the steering wheel are activated. NOTE: The cruise control will only work above 25 mph. It has a tendency to turn off going up or down hills, and should not be used during heavy traffic, or when road conditions are not safe. When the desired speed is reached, press the SET/decel button and the set speed will be maintained until either the SET/decelerate button is pressed to lower speed, or the brake is pushed to deactivate the cruise control. The decelerate button will slow down the vehicle by about 1 mph each time it is tapped. When a higher speed is wanted, push, and hold, the RESUME/accel button. This will accelerate the car to the desired speed. By pushing this button after applying the brake, the car will increase the speed until it has regained the original SET speed. If the cruise control is no longer needed, press on the CANCEL button located in the center of the cruise control switch found on the steering wheel, press on the master cruise control switch, or quickly press the brake.

The Center Console:
The shift lever is located within an easy right hand reach on the center console. The top of this lever is rounded on the side facing the seats and curves inward on the side facing the instrument panel. The rounded section fits comfortably under my hand and the inner area contains a lever that is similar to a trigger. It is easy to squeeze, and while it is held in place the lever can shift to any gear position. When it is in the park position, the tires are locked from moving and the engine can run without engaging the gears. The reverse position moves the car backward, and the drive position, which is used most often, allows the engine gears to engage and move the car. Drive 3 and 2 are slower speeds used for hills, rough roads and inclement weather. Neutral is found between reverse and drive. It allows for a smooth passage between these gears. Also found on the console is a small arm rest/ storage container. It is located at about the same height as the arm rest located on the door. It is long enough to comfortably rest my arm on. Even though it is very narrow near the front and a little wider near the back, it is difficult to open because it is wedged tightly between the seats. It can be partially opened with one hand, and then worked open with the right elbow to finish moving it backward. Because the compartment is small, it is handy for small items like sunglasses, chapstick, hand sanitizer, etc.

The Heating/Cooling System:
This system consists of three parallel switches along the left side of the control panel located on the right of the steering wheel the dashboard, and three horizontal switches found along the bottom of this panel. The top left switch is the Mode Control Dial which controls the vents air is flowing from, as well as the windshield defroster. The second switch controls the temperature of the air, and the third controls the speed of the air fan. The lower left switch controls the recirculation of interior air, while the center switch controls the air conditioning (A/C), and the switch to the far right controls the rear defogger—which will remain on for 15 minutes if it is not turned off. Because of the placement of the vents along the windshield, the side panels, and under the dashboard this ventilation system works very well. It is easy to control the temperature and air speed, without it becoming too hot or too cold. There is a set-back to using the A/C. When it is on, the engine seems to lug down a little bit during regular driving, and is noticeably slower going up hills. I turn the A/C off while driving up hills to keep my momentum going and to save gas. I found the heater works better when the A/C is on. It dehumidifies the air and keeps the air warm when used simultaneously with the heater, and also keeps the windows from fogging up so quickly in cooler weather. I use the heater in combination with the A/C most of the time, even in the summer because I can have greater control of the internal temperature by doing so.

The Audio System:
While test driving the car, and after it was purchased, the radio stayed off so we could listen to all the various car noises to discern what was normal and what was not. When we did attempt to listen to the radio we rapidly found out that we had terrible reception on the few channels we actually found. After reading the owners manual we found out that Honda openly states that unless there is a radio tower nearby, the reception will be poor. So, we rarely listen to the radio. The CD player works okay. The only button that is within reach of the driver, without stretching far, is the skip button and the PWR/VOL knob—which is located just to the right of the heater Mode Control Dial. Near the top of the center panel, just above the slot where the CD is inserted, are six rectangular switches in two rows of three. The top left is the rewind button, the center one is the play button, and the far right is the fast forward button. These are hard to reach and because of the small print, they are hard to find. The sound and volume is okay. We are going to replace this system in the future.

Interior Lighting:
There is a light on the ceiling , as well as one between the visors, that can be set to come on automatically when the doors are opened and when the key is removed from the ignition. This switch also turns the light on when extra light is wanted, and turns it off. There are also two spotlights on the light between the visors that are activated by their own buttons. There is also a courtesy light on the ignition that comes on when the doors are opened and stay on for a few seconds after the door is closed.

Final Thoughts
The engine of this car is exceptionally quiet, and the road noise is less than some vehicles I have driven. It purrs at 25 mph in the city, as well as at 75 mph on the Freeway; and accelerates smoothly and rapidly, without any rough engine noise. This car is fun to drive because it maneuvers so easily; and the ride is almost as smooth as glass because of an exceptional suspension system. It also comes with an ABS (anti-locking brake system). It averages about 38-40 mpg. And has a higher resale/trade-in value than many other cars.

I have not experienced driving this car in heavy winter weather yet. I do know that I have read that because it is lightweight that it might have the tendency to be moved by the wind or slide on snow-covered or slippery roads. Since winter weather has begun in our area, we will soon find out how this little Civic responds to winter driving. We have a shovel, emergency kit, flash light, batteries, sleeping bag, blanket, pillow, coat, hat, gloves, tools, bottles of water, and bags of water softener salt in the trunk waiting for winter, and hoping they will not be needed for an emergency.

Amount Paid (US$): 17,014.00
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: EX, automatic, ABS brakes, power locks and windows, moon roof