New Honda Civic 1.8 ES i-VTEC Review

Overall Rating

Styling, Equipment, Engine, Comfort

Also found gas struts don't open boot to full extent, spare (spacesaver) wheel an 'optional extra'

Had my 1.8EX Petrol Honda Civic for a fortnight now and really enjoying driving it. Had a couple of niggles to begin with (but could be dealer issues??) i.e. discovered two door 'dings' when I got the car home (and I had driven straight home from the dealer) and the steering wheel had a slight left hand bias when driving straight. Got on to the dealer who had a specialist dent repairer sort the dents the following day, and had the steering sorted the following week (needed a tracking adjustment). The level of equipment on the EX is awesome, comfort is excellent and the engine has a great combination of performance / economy and keeps within a low emissions category for tax (£125 a year at time of writing). I found it a bit weird that a spacesaver spare wheel is a (£100!!) option as according to Honda drivers only have a flat tyre once every 7 years on average, so it makes more sense to give more boot space and provide a can of Tyre Weld instead. The instrumentation is like something from the space shuttle and is great for gadget fans (like me!!). The voice activation takes some getting used to, and using the sat nav I found that asking it to "find the nearest pub" (for testing purposes I might add!!) suggested the nearest being a hotel in Wales as first choice, and several bars in Belgium or France as the other choices - a bit of trek when you live in the Midlands!! I assume this is due to only certain establishments registering with the provider of the sat nav system? I'd be interested to hear from other owners in case it's just an issue with my vehicle.
That 'niggle' aside, it is very clear to follow, and is pretty comprehensive. You do feel a bit of weirdo talking to your car, but I expect once you're used to it, it will be less distracting to "say" your required function than to fiddle with switches. At the moment I haven't seen another new shape Civic on my local roads, and it's quite amazing how many people stare at the car when I'm driving it about - there isn't really anything that looks quite like it on the road at the moment.
I expect it'll take me quite a few more weeks before I absorb everything in the manual, but so far I'm enjoying the car immensely.

Members' Comments onKillingJoker's Review

• bearnfridge on 5th Apr 2006

  I've just bought a 1.8ex as well and it is amazing - but I've got the same problems with the satnav. It seems there are no 'pubs' (surely a category which primarily applies to the UK?) or fastfood restaurants (and maybe some other categories) in England. Anyone know who the satnav vendor is?

• spannersuk on 10th Apr 2006

  I was wondering the same thing - for a slightly different reasons. I'm thinking of adding the rear-view parking camera to my EX (using the Sat Nav as a TV screen) and as I can get a colour rear view camera for about £100, the £650 the Honda dealer wants to charge does seem a bit excessive. However to get the right camera I need to know who makes the Sat Nav? Anyone know.... any info would be much appreciated.

• bearnfridge on 18th Apr 2006

  The satnav is by Navteq.
  
  Also a cool thing about Honda is that you don't have to decide you want the option when you buy the car - you can buy the camera later for the same price as in the brochure. I think that is pretty unique. I was going to go for the camera but thought it was too much money in the end, but I might well go for one later on.

• KillingJoker on 18th Apr 2006

  Hi Both,
  
  Thanks for both replies and feedback. I'm not sure who manufactures/provides the software for the SatNav either, I'll have to do some digging and find out. My car needs to go back to the dealer shortly too - problem with the tracking (pulls to the left) and I was told by the technician who test drove it that my rear shocks need replacing too!! Apparently some of the early new shape Civics were fitted with some dodgy ones - at least he spotted it, I thought any rattling I'd encountered was from the bits and pieces stowed in compartments in the boot (tyre weld, jack etc.)
  
  Cheers,
  KJ