2003 Honda Civic EX -- My neverending search for a good deal...
Written: Apr 12 '03 (Updated May 06 '03)
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Pros: Gas mileage, nice interior, reliable, sporty exterior, lots of options
Cons: Companies are starting to offer better warranties, kinda pricey
The Bottom Line: Quiet ride, good gas mileage, decent acceleration, reliability, safety all in one.. It truly is the perfect compact car!
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| gatorgirlie's Full Review: 2003 Honda Civic 2 door |
I'll start my review off by stating a few things. I'm the person that a salesman hates -- when they see me walking in, they run in the other direction. I hate the thought of paying too much for anything, and so I do a lot of homework on car buying. The last car we bought was a Nissan Maxima (you can read that review Here) , and though I love the car, the salespeople made buying the car a hassle. They kept us there for 5 hours, and by the time we left.. my husband and I were tired, hungry, and not a little bit irritated.. But we had gotten a good deal.
So, when my 95 Sunfire (you can read the review Here)decided to die for the last time.. we went in search of another car. We had a few requirements: quiet, safe, reliable, good gas mileage since my husband drives 130 miles every day, and sporty looking (mine). After a few days of looking and researching, we narrowed it down to a Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Honda Civic EX (the fully loaded model). If you are interested in a few good research websites check out cars.com or edmunds.com -- they give you the latest incentive offers and invoice pricing as well as some great reviews.. essentially they equip you with everything you need to buy a car.
We test drove all three cars, and each had their positives and negatives.. I'll review mostly the Honda Civic, and I'll throw in some comparisons to the other cars we looked at as well so people can have a frame of reference while reading this review. At the end I'll sum up why we decided to go with a Honda Civic EX over the competition.
Basics
The EX model is the fully equipped overachiever of the Civic Line. It comes with a 1.7L SOHC inline 4 -cylinder engine in both manual and automatic. 127 hp and 114 ft-lbs of torque. It has 15 in rims and four wheel independent suspension. It comes standard with ABS (a BIG BIG selling point for us). If you don't know what Anti-Lock Braking Systems are, let me fill you in. It essentially is a system that does not allow your brakes to lock in hard braking situations, which means you will not lose control of steering. When brakes lock, the whole system locks.. which means that you cannot steer while you are skidding forward. A dangerous situation. If a dealer tells you it's only good for up north in snow.. don't listen to him. He's just trying to sell you his car that doesn't come with ABS. It works very well during rain (and Florida gets a lot of that), and even during dry conditions. To me, that's a must. It comes with Remote Keyless Entry, power locks, mirrors and windows. It also comes with a power moonroof, air conditioning, rear defogger, and a 13.2 gallon gas tank. Also comes with an in-dash CD player and cruise control I believe.
The Corolla LE (the better version) comes with a 1.8L DOHC inline 4-cylinder engine in both auto and manual. It has 130 HP and 125 ft-lbs of torque. Front independent suspension. It comes with daytime running lamps, remote power door locks, power mirrors and windows, air conditioning and a in-dash CD player. The Hyundai Elantra comes with a 2.0L DOHC inline 4-cylinder in both auto and manual. With 132 HP and 135 ft-lbs of torque. Power door locks, mirrors and windows along with a heated mirror. Air conditioning and AM/FM cassette are also standard.
Looks
I have always liked the way the Civic looked on the outside. Shiny, clearcoated paint and sharp features. We bought the Coupe model because it looks 100 times better than the four door. The rims are of excellent quality for standard rims, and the whole package looks sharp. Our car is the silver with the black interior. The inside looks equally sharp. They have revamped the instrument panel (I think that's what it's called) to a nicer black dial. When driving at night, everything is bright and clear. The interior also looks like it flows together -- it's not boxy or choppy like the Corolla or the Elantra. The seats are comfortable -- bucket seats in the front. There are ample storage areas and cup holders in the front seats (and I believe some in the back). It says it can seat 5, but I think it would more comfortably seat 4. All in all, the Civic is the nicest looking of the bunch. Sharp, clean lines and elegant styling.
The Elantra comes in second place here. It's ordinary. There is nothing special about it. The outside is contoured like every other 4 door sedan out there, and the inside is just as plain. The dashboard and panels flow together pretty seamlessly, but the interior can be ackward.
The Corolla comes in dead last. Ew, I hate the way Corolla's look. The outside is bland and boring, and they don't clearcoat their cars -- which means the paint is going to fade and discolor easier (especially in Florida where love bugs rapidly destroy car's paint). The interior is just flat out ugly. The white tachometer and speedometer dials just look out of place on a black background. It is choppy and definitely not elegant or refined at all.
Speed and Acceleration
The Honda Civic gets only decent acceleration (it does have the smallest engine out of the three we tested). With the air conditioner off its acceleration is perky and quick. It isn't jerky or hesitant. But once you put that air conditioner on, especially at the full blast level (which is mandatory in Florida in the summer), it's a whole nother ballgame. It becomes a tad sluggish and hesitant and doesn't really get up and go like it should. But I've experienced that with the other cars we've owned (a Neon and the Sunfire).
The Corolla has decent acceleration for a four cylinder. With the air conditioner on or off, it really wasn't hesitant or jerky except in certain situations (such as slamming on the gas from a dead stop).
The Elantra has the best acceleration out of the three -- but that just means for a 4-cylinder. Any V6 would kick these cars to the curb.. But then again, the Elantra has the biggest engine.. So.. it just goes to say!
Roominess, Quiet and Ride Quality
As I've said before, we got the Coupe because it looks awesome.. but because it only has two doors, it has dropped the roominess quotient. But that was our choice, and we're happy with it. Let me put in some statistics about room: Front Head Room: 36.9 in, Front Hip Room: 50.2 in, Front Shoulder Room: 52.8 in, Rear Head Room: 35 in, Rear Shoulder Room: 52.6 in, Rear Hip Room: 46.7 in,
Front Leg Room: 42.5 in, Rear Leg Room: 32.8 in,
Luggage Capacity: 12.9 cu. ft and maximum seating is 5. I feel like it has ample room for both the driver and the front seat passenger. By the way, I'm 5'4'' and my husband is 5'11''.. We're comfortable in the Civic, whether someone who is 6'3'' will be is another question. Ride quality. By far, the best ride out of the three. The ride was smooth and graceful, and the only bounciness exhibited was over some fairly rough pot holes. Now, onto the quiet issue. Dear, sweet quiet. I hate hearing the engine inside the cabin (unless you have a V8 with dual chrome eghaust systems and you want to hear that baby purr), and wind noise is equally irritating. Let me tell you, even while revving the engine as much as we could.. the interior was pretty quiet. As far as wind noise, there is relatively little even up to 55 mph.
The Toyota Corolla. The front and back were roomy, I guess. The seats weren't as comfortable as the Civics and the interior isn't as ergonomically designed either. Some stats: Front Head Room: 39.1 in, Front Hip Room: 51.9 in, Front Shoulder Room: 53.1 in, Rear Head Room: 37.1 in, Rear Shoulder Room: 53.5 in, Rear Hip Room: 46.2 in,
Front Leg Room: 41.3 in, Rear Leg Room: 35.4 in,
Luggage Capacity: 13.6 cu. ft, Maximum Cargo Capacity: 14 cu. ft and the maximum seating is 5. The only real advantage to space that Corolla gave us was the trunk space. It's much larger than the Civic and the Elantra. The ride was pretty good, again not quite as good as the Civic's. It had a tendency to be a bit rough over some roads, but altogether it was a decent ride. As far as the quiet factor goes, it was pretty good. Not as quiet as the Civic, but not that noisy either. There was a bit of wind noise around 55 mph, and the engine noise was only truly noticeable when you were working the engine hard.
The Hyundai Elantra. I really didn't like sitting in this car. It was uncomfortable. The seats just couldn't adjust to where I wanted it to, and it just didn't feel right. Some stats: Front Head Room: 39.6 in, Front Hip Room: 53 in, Front Shoulder Room: 54.7 in, Rear Head Room: 38 in, Rear Shoulder Room: 53.5 in, Rear Hip Room: 55.6 in, Front Leg Room: 43.2 in, Rear Leg Room: 35 in,
Luggage Capacity: 12 cu. ft. and maximum seating capacity is 5. As far as the ride went, it was bumpy. Even over fairly decent terrain we could feel every little groove in the road. And quiet, I was horrified. The second we drove off the lot the salesman kept trying to turn the radio on, and I kept turning it off. I see now why he was trying to do that, to try and obscure the loud engine noise in the cabin. From the noise, I thought the engine was going to appear in my lap! Wind noise was pretty low, but I don't know how anyone could tell over that engine roar.
Fuel Economy
Smaller the engine, better the gas mileage. The Civic gets 30/38 with an automatic transmission, the best out of the three. One of the best in its class outside of the CVT HX and the Hybrid models. The Corolla comes in a close second with 29/38 with their automatic transmission. There really isn't any difference between the two. Coming in dead last is the Elantra, which gets a paltry 24/33. My V6 Maxima is averaging 28 mpg with a mix of city and highway miles, and the Elantra has a 4 cylinder!
Safety, Warranty, Reliability and Options
One big, big selling point for me is that the Civic EX comes equipped with ABS standard. For both the Corolla and the Elantra, it's an option. We searched the entire state of Florida to find a Corolla with ABS and without a bunch of other crap. There was one. In Miami. No thank you. If you want a Corolla with ABS be prepared to pay for a sunroof, Toyoguard, and a ton of other stuff you may not want that will bump the price up close to a Camry model. Same with the Elantra, they had a few on the lot but they had options we didn't really want. The Civic also has the lowest warranty out of the three. A standard 3/36000 mile on both basic and powertrain, their rust protection is 5/unlimited. The Civic is also one of the most reliable in the car business. They have consistently ranked near the top (Number 2 behind Toyota) in reliability, both long term and under warranty. They rank excellent, good and average in crash test ratings.
The Civic EX doesn't offer any manufacturer options.. but dealer installed options are things like the floormats, wheel locks, mud guards, and a moonroof visor. The Corolla's manufacturer's options are: leather packages, sunroofs, cruise control, ABS, side impact airbags, floormats, Toyoguard, Aluminum wheels, and a security system. The Elantra's options are packeged in a couple different accessory packages: Package 2 is cruise control and keyless entry, Pck 3 is Pck 2 + ABS, Pck 4 is Pck 2 + power moonroof with shade and a AM/FM CD radio upgrade, Pck 5 is all of the above. You can also add on floormats, spoiler, woodgrain trim, mud guards, a moonroof wind deflector and a trunk cargo net.
The Corolla's warranty is in the middle: 3/36000 basic, 5/60000 powertrain and 5/unlimited rust. They rank excellent and good in crash test ratings. Both their long term and short term reliability is terrific.
The Elantra's warranty is the best in the business. Basic: 5 yr. / 60,000 mi.
Drivetrain: 10 yr. / 100,000 mi.
Roadside: 5 yr. / Unlimited mi.
Rust: 5 yr. / 100,000 mi.
And even though they have become improved with their short term reliability, the vehicle's long term reliablity is unsure of right now. They rank good during crash tests, with a poor rating in crash offset.
Price
You could look at the comparison in a few different ways. First of all, if you compare the Honda Civic EX to the base model Corolla LE and the base model Hyundai Elantra, the civic will come out as more expensive. The Civic EX's price tag of $18,070 for MSRP and $16,642 for Invoice is the highest of the three (compared with Elantra's $14,444 MSRP and $13,272 Invoice and Corolla's $15,965 MSRP and $14,700 Invoice). BUT, the Civic EX comes equipped with more options as STANDARD than the other models. So if you choose to add cruise control, ABS or a moonroof, your price quickly escalates... Especially on the Corolla, since most Toyota dealerships include Toyoguard as standard (I believe that's a waste of $600 if you ask me).
So, overall why did you buy the Civic
It was simply the best car out of the three. It fit all our criteria. The Civic's have long term reliability that Hyundai's haven't proven to have yet. They are relatively maintenance free and have excellent resale values. After five years the resale value for a Civic EX is expected to be $8,500, while a Corolla is $6,000 and an Elantra is $4,000 -- so you make up for what you pay when you go to trade the car in. They are quiet and speedy with an elegant design and ergonomics perfectly suited to the driver. They have excellent gas mileage and come with so many options equipped standard. While it may not be as roomy as the other two options, we felt that it was the best car for the money we were spending. After all, when you factor in the differences in the resale values.. the purchase price is about the same.
So the Civic EX offers you the best bang for your buck. They are consistently Editor's Most Wanted in the compact car category.
NOTE 4/13 -- I totally forgot to put this into my review of the Civic. I had mentioned that the Nissan dealership had made buying the Maxima such a hassle -- they made the price such a huge issue, they harassed us on buying their car guard, gap insurance (which I always get anyway), and extended warranties, and they just simply did not contribute to a good experience. We went through the internet department of Coggin Honda in Orlando and had an easy, wonderful car buying experience. I asked them point blank if they would beat another quote from a dealer and give me invoice, which they did. When they didn't have the car in stock that I wanted, they gave us a couple of options free and we were in and out of the dealer in an hour and a half. The sales manager didn't hassle us about any extended warranties or extra fru fru crud. All in all it was a pleasant experience, and from what I understand.. all Honda dealerships are that way. The headquarters calls you in a few days to verify everything went well, and if it didn't.. the salesperson could lose their job.. so that's a nice safeguard on irritating salespeople. A++ to Coggin Honda in Orlando.
ANOTHER NOTE: The price I paid (listed below) is including tax, tag and title. For the car I paid about $16,500. That includes wheel locks and floor mats (MSRP on those options are $400, and invoice you're looking at $150). Looking at Edmunds TMV, the car is listed at $16,642 without those other two dealer options. So we got a fairly good deal, you always aim to hit the TMV (true market value) and I managed to get below it (this is not counting our trade, which was only worth about $200 since we had to tow it in, there was no a/c and it just generally sucked). The MSRP on the car I paid was $18,470 -- so it truly does pay to do your homework.. unless you LIKE paying $2000 more than other people for the same car!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 17500
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: EX - comes with everything
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Epinions.com ID:
gatorgirlie
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Location: Orlando, FL
Reviews written: 248
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