Up until the last few years the Civic had a certain notoriety associated with it as being something that only young people drove, often receiving the “Fast and the Furious” treatment. Honda’s changed that image for the 21st century making the Civic more family-friendly with its outstanding safety features, state-of-the-art accessories and higher fuel efficiency.
PERFORMANCE
If you’re looking for a fast, powerful ride you absolutely must go with the Civic SI, otherwise you’re going to be very disappointed. The SI edition has 197 horses whereas the standard trims have only 140 over a 1.8-litre engine. There is a hybrid version too which has even less power, but the savings on gas has to be amazing.
My last car was a stick so I was hoping to get the Civic as a manual transmission as well, but according to my dealer, they are nearly impossible to find. With such low power a stick would really come in handy when you might need a little extra power and you could downshift the gears yourself. For example, there have been many times I’ve tried to pull out into traffic while flooring the accelerator only to nearly miss causing an accident. There have also been times while driving on the highway when I finally got around a bunch of slow-moving cars and wanted to leave them in my dust only to be unsatisfied with the slow gain.
The owner’s manual actually states that the combined weight of all the cargo and passengers should not exceed 800 pounds! Not that 4 or 5 linebackers are going to comfortably fit in the Civic, but that shows you how weak the engine is.
Maybe weak is the wrong word because my Civic has a lot of endurance and can reach speeds in triple digits no problem. Not that I’m a metal thrashing mad by any means, but if you have the opportunity to drive in an HOV lane that runs between the two sides of the highway with concrete dividers on either side you can go as fast as you want since there’s no areas on the side of the road for police to set up speed traps. I’ve gotten my car up to 112 and that was pretty exciting. I’m sure I could probably go even faster but why would I want to? (Why was I going that fast to begin with?)
At least the good thing about a weak, or “economy” engine as it’s commonly referred to, is that it receives excellent gas mileage. According to Honda, the 㤎 Civic gets 30 city and 40 highway MPG. For a non-hybrid this is outstanding, although I’ve found these numbers to be theoretical, not practical. If you did nothing but city driving on a single tank you’d probably get about 25 MPG and about 37 MPG on nothing by highway driving.
I’ve noticed, on average, I fill up my tank with 10.6 to 10.8 gallons after 320 to 380 miles between fueling, yet the owner’s manual claims it has a 13.2 gallon tank. Mathematically speaking, I should been able to go at least another 60 to 80 miles or more before the tank is completely exhausted and I’m stranded on the side of the highway. I’d really like to test this theory someday but I just don’t have the time or courage to do so. Chalk it up to Honda’s awkward digital gas gauge… or maybe it’s just a typo in the manual (see “Display Panels” section below).
How does the Civic handle? Well, it’s a fairly lightweight car so just a flick of the wheel and it’ll scoot over no problem. It’s very good at turns, as you’re able to take those 270-degree off-ramps at 35mph or higher no problem.
It’s also a very quiet ride as well depending on the surface you’re traveling over. A newly-paved road is essentially silence while concrete highway is about average noise level. I suppose you could opt for the “under coating” which supposedly reduces noise but it’s fine the way it is. After long trips your head might hurt from hours and hours of music, not from noise pollution.
MAINTENANCE
What maintenance? The Civic can go 7,500 miles between oil changes so your trips to the dealer might come only twice a year and in my experience are quite quick. After almost two years with my car I’ve never had anything go wrong with it aside from a slight problem with the radio. No leaks, no weird noises, no funny smells, etc. Honda is known as a reliable car company so if you loathe the mechanic shops as much as I do you’re wise to chose the Civic over a comparable car of its class such as the Mazda 3, Ford Focus, or the Chevy Cobalt. A Nissan Sentra and the Mini Cooper might be as reliable but you’re sure to get a higher re-sale value with the Civic just from the name alone.
EXTERIOR
From the outside the Civic has a very modern, aerodynamic look to it. It isn’t flashy, ridiculously over-designed to make it scream “look at me!” Frankly, I wouldn’t want a car that looks like that (except a Ferrari, maybe). It’s extremely curvy, with nary a pointed edge anywhere on the chassis. The best way to describe it would be a cross between a Ford Focus and a BMW. This car looks much better in a darker color, as lighter ones make it seem like a rental or business car.
I also like how the front end is very short, maybe a little over a yard between the grill and the windshield. It’s odd when you open the hood and see how small the engine space is, even stranger when you consider a car with so relatively little in front of the driver is a 5-star safety award-winner.
The EX, hybrid and SI trims are equipped with sunroof and alloy wheels, but this should be standard with the two lower trims, LX and DX. This car doesn’t really lend itself to after-market rims and my LX wheels look just fine, but having seen the upgraded wheels on EX models I sometimes wish I had upgraded.
SEATING
Since I don’t have kids and very rarely have more than one passenger I’m much more concerned with leg and head room in the front rather than the back. My last car, a Mitsubishi Mirage, was probably about the same overall size as my Civic, yet it seemed to have much less leg room. I have taken my car on several long road trips and it’s been pretty comfortable for the most part. I can stretch my legs while driving, and the seats are nice and comfortable after several hours of driving. The passenger seat is even more relaxed, since they can move their seat back as far as they want and lower it down so it’s nearly flat – which is great for snoozing on those major mileage destinations. I have gotten cramps in my thighs after many hours of driving but I think this is common no matter how comfy your seats are. At least it doesn’t feel like you’re sitting on a rock after a few hours, so the seats are definitely supportive.
As for the back, well, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a car this size. Yes, it’s comfortable for short commutes but I wouldn’t expect an adult or large child to be very relaxed back there for a long road trip. There is an average amount of leg room, although Honda did throw in a nice amenity of individual head rests for all three rear passengers. The problem is these create a hazard because it’s difficult to see when backing up. That’s something that is still an annoyance and makes me nervous after all this time.
TRUNK
I have a subwoofer in my car which takes up about a third of the trunk, yet there’s still plenty of room for trips to the supermarket or vacations. You can store a road safety kit in there plus your luggage. The back seat folds down if you need to transport something long and thin. The trunk is also lighted which I have found to be a great convenience, you never realize how often you need light in your trunk until you have this feature.
DISPLAY PANELS
When I test drove this car I was immediately impressed by the look of the dash and control panels. The design and color scheme have a futuristic look to them, a cool lighting combination of dark blue, red and a hint of violet over ALL digital displays (except for the tachometer).
The speedometer is set above and forward of all the other panels so you can see your speed in your peripheral vision without having to look away from the road. At first I was a little distracted by the ever-changing speed but I got used to it quickly. If I drive someone else’s car now I’m actually a little annoyed having to look, literally, down at the speedometer. A digital speedometer is a great way to keep yourself out of tickets since you know for sure how fast you’re going, whereas an analog gauge might only put you in the ballpark of your speed (of course you can’t use the old “that’s because you’re looking at it from an angle” argument – LOL!).
Below the speedometer, right behind the steering wheel, is the main display panel which includes the odometer, a tachometer, engine temperature, digital gas gauge; fault indicators and a gear display. I never understood the point of having a tachometer on an automatic transmission or why it has to be so large. A small gauge on the side would suffice. I’m also not too crazy about the digital gas meter and the fact the warning light comes on when you still have plenty of time until you REALLY need to re-fuel. A lot of new cars’ fuel gauges will tell you how many miles you can drive until you’re empty but this is just a series of blocks that disappear as you use up gas and the less you have the quicker they go out. This is frustrating when you do a lot of city driving like me since sometimes you can get another 20 or 30 miles after the warning light comes on. During highway driving you might get upwards of 50 miles or more before you’re completely empty.
ENVIRONMENTALS
The Civic is my best friend in the merciless summer heat, never before have I experienced a car cool down quicker than mine does with its air conditioning. When I come out to the car after a long day at work I can crank the AC up to full blast and be nice and chilly within a few minutes. It’s not quite as powerful when it comes to heating up in the winter, though. I don’t use the AC for heat because that uses up extra gas, so I just use, what would be called the “vent” feature on pretty much any other car. There’s no name for it on the 㤎 Civic, it’s just not AC I guess. Either way it takes at least 5 to 10 minutes to heat the cabin up to a nice, toasty temperature. I rarely wear a coat in the winter so for all you coat-wearers the slow-to-heat time might be negligible.
STEREO/ACOUSTICS
When I was researching cars one of the features my new car absolutely HAD to have was some kind of iPod hook-up which the Civic does feature, but in kind of a backwards way. I should have paid closer attention than I did because I’m not at all happy with the stereo system in this car. In order to use your iPod through the stereo you have to have an official Honda part installed whereby you plug in your iPod through an outlet in the glove box. You can then use your stereo interface to skip to the next song and whatnot. The problem is the stereo doesn’t actually tell you the title of the song, only “Track ##”. What is the point of using such an interface if you can’t scroll through your library and select the song or artist or genre you want to hear?
I decided to go for a third party peripheral where I play my iPod through a blank radio station. The device plugs into the cigarette lighter and charges the iPod and allows you the opportunity to scroll through your library and select whatever you want to listen to. There’s two major problems with this: 1) It’s nearly impossible to find a truly “blank” channel on the radio anymore! Maybe if I lived in a very rural area this wouldn’t be a problem but I’ve always lived in fairly big cities and I always will. If the Civic had an actual antenna that you could raise and lower this might help since a lowered antenna might only pick up the iPod broadcast, but that’s not an option with this car since the antenna is built into the windshield. 2) It’s dangerous to take your eyes off the road to look at your iPod screen and scroll to the song or artist you want to hear. If you have a passenger, obviously that’s a big help, but that’s not always going to be an option.
When it comes to sound and acoustics the Civic is awesome. It has four speakers up front and two in the rear which produce a very loud, clear sound. I also have a 12-inch sub in the trunk with dyna-matting so the bass hits hard without being distorted. A nice option this car features is the ability to automatically turn up and down the volume as the car speeds up and slows down.
The stereo controls allow you to fade the sound forward and to the sides which is nice for when people are sleeping in the back. The CD player will play MP3 CD’s but really, even those are a bit out-dated now. I am surprised that even a 2006 model didn’t have a better iPod interface, hopefully that’s something they will improve upon over the next model year.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Civic is a winner all around for many reasons: reliability, fuel economy, comfort, style and name recognition. I’d recommend it for singles and couples with two small children or less. For larger people and larger families you’re better off upgrading to the Accord or the CR-V, but for those looking for a nice car for daily commuting and the occasional road trip for two or three the Civic is a good choice.
SEE ALSO:
1987 Plymouth Horizon
1991 Pontiac Sunbird
1997 Mitsubishi Mirage
2006 Honda Civic
2008 Toyota Yaris
Amount Paid (US$): 17,000.00
Condition: New
Model Year: 2006
Model and Options: LX
