[tomythomas]

Civic 1.8VMT First 1700KM experience

Within 15 days of purchasing the CIVIC I had to go for a Wedding in Kerala and I decided to drive. Round trip is around 1300+ KM to Bangalore - Kottyam via Kumily. Bangalore - Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakal, Karur, Dindigul, Teni, Kambum, Kumily, Mundakayam, Kanjirapally, Pampadi, Kottayam. Condition of the road is not very good between Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri, Salem to Namakkal, Kumili to Vandiperiyar. Rest of the road is good, especially between Namakal to Kottayam.

+ves ..
1. Driving experience was fantastic. It is a very smooth engine and delivered power in a graceful manner.
2. I never had the issue of rear bottoming. To my surprise Civic managed to glide over all the humps and most of the potholes on the way. Civic was almost fully loaded for the local trips in Kerala with 3 passengers in the rear. So this issue may be over hyped!
3. I have filled 20 litrs of Speed 97, 5 ltrs of speed (87 Octance) and the rest
Shell premium. It is not a magic mix. I wanted to fill just 15 ltrs of Speed 97 and the rest Shell premium and the petrol pump guys goofed it up.

Next I filled 29 ltrs from one of Reliance Petrol pump on the way to Kerala to make it full after Dindigul which means I got around 14KMpl with AC on full time which is a pleasant surprise. Not driven hard but reached 153kmph peak and mostly above 100 all the time. Ghat section mileage is around 11kmpl and while coming back I was forced to fill Reliance and got little less mileage, approximately 13+ Kmph in the same route excluding Ghat section.

So it is proved that there is no issue with Speed 97.
4. I got used to less torque at the low end rpm, so it is not bothering me much..

- ves
1. Wiper action is like a sword fight in western movies or "Kalari payattu" in

Kerala. In fast mode the fight becomes so intense that and it is certainly distracting and annoying. Conventional wipers are better!
2. Boot lid feels so flimsy and I feel scared what will be its fate if somebody hits from behind.
3. I certainly miss the simple feature of Autocop - auto locking of all doors when ignition is on.
4. A- pillar is obstructing the view especially when you take a right turn.
5. Lots of intelligence is built into AC controls so that it takes decision of
itsown which sometimes not giving comfort feeling.

After driving 1700+ KMs in 10 days I am very happy that I decided to go for Honda Civic. Now I am very comfortable with the car and to my surprise even the gear shift becomes very smooth. May be we (Civic & I) needed some time to know each other.