MY car is a LX 2 door. I got it used at the end of 2003 and have had it since then. It was my first car and I did all the usual mistakes that new drivers do. I tried to turn the engine on when it was already on, put it into neutral instead of drive, accidently set the alarm off, turn the headlights on instead of the windshield wipers. After having this thing for four years (my entire college career) I can honestly say it is a perfect car for new drivers. I usually get somewhere around 33 miles to the gallon (in So. California driving conditions) and I have never had any serious problems with it. It just goes in for regular maintenance, that's it. I haven't even replaced the original battery yet nor even changed a light-bulb. I would drive this car from So. Cal to college in No. Cal and make it on one tank of gas and usually would have about a quarter tank left when I got there. When moving apartments, this car impressed me with how much trunk space it offers, and the accessibility of the rear seat, esp. with a coupe, is pretty decent. The handling on this car is really sporty, it does tight turns real well and is awesome in tight parking spots. Now, for my gripes about this little car (and none are major)> 1. It's handling can be twitchy at freeway speeds, it feels like the wheel is being tugged to the side. 2. The road noise is really loud and not at all muffled. 3. It creaks and rattles, more so as the years have gone on. First it sounded like I had a cricket in the glove compartment, it turned out that it was the door even though is was closed correctly. It is really loud. It is worse when the weather is hot for some reason. And then a creaking from the center dashboard, like from the CD or A/C control area. Now, the plastic panel on the driver's side column (where the seat belt is attached to the wall) is creaking too. This is really annoying since it's right by my ear when I'm driving. 4. This is not a sports car, it is slow when merging with freeway traffic but does great on surface streets. Freeway use is the weak point with this car. 5. Due to road noise and cheapish seating materials, this car is not comfortable for long road trips. 6. I'd only owned the car a few months when the center dashboard-mounted AC vents began to swivel up towards the windshield and refuse to stay in any other position during hot weather. Once again, this seems to happen only when it is warm outside, so I guess the plastic is being affected by the temperatures. However, those hot days are when I need all the AC I can get, and having the vents refuse to point at anything other than the windshield is very annoying. Once again, this only affects the center AC vents. 7. I've owned this car for four years and still have trouble judging the nose, other people have driven it and noticed this as well. I think it's the angle Honda made the hood. By the way, the new 2006
Civic is even worse for this. Overall, though, I can't think of a better car for a first-time/ young driver. This car happily got me through college, never gave me a worry at all and I appreciate this little car for that. I plan on looking at Hondas, esp. the new Civic, for my next car because this one has so impressed me.
Amount Paid (US$): 11500
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: LX, coupe, automatic