BUSA's Review : Civic AT(Paddle) and MT Test Driven

[BUSA]

This is a BUSA exclusive. Despite all the rain falls and all i had to get my hands on the Civic. Here is a brief report. All opinions are my own and may differ from you at any point or the other.



Looks - Need i say any more it look stunnig to say the least but the back could/should have been much better.

Interiors - They are quite good but the dashboard looks huge. The car is said to be the widest in the segment but comfort levels are no way near the Optra but only as good as the Corolla. Lack of lumbar support is a very sad thing. Seating three behind is quite tough, but in the Optra its easy. Audio Controls in arm rest quite good, flat floor doesnot do much. Ambience is quite good. There are Two interiors lights on top of the doors which is quite good.

Some features as in brochures : -

Digital Speedometer is a good feature and probably the best thing of the car.

Opposite wipers are just crap. They clean less area then normal ones and leave too much water at the top. Its just a marketting gimmick.

Features Mising which come in Optra 1.8: -
Lumbar Support, Sun Roof, Audio Conrols on Steering, Leather Seats (Cost 1 Lakh to put) and Fog Lights ( They are asking 18k for it) and that sounds dumb and cooled glove compartment, remote boot release.

Handling was ok and you can feel that this car has been detuned a Optra/Octavia are much better. The car didnot have road presence like the above mentioned car and also the stabilty was not as good as the above mentioned car, there was a sense of lift off.

Ride is pathetic. Very bumpy i dont know why honda is using double wishbone? Comparing it with the optra i was suprised that the honda could not take the bumps in its stride unlike the Chevy.

Braking - Sad. Running on 195/65/15 with ABS, EBD, BAS it really was dissapointing. Full braking with the above mentioned system led to a slight skid and braking was not sure footed. There was a tendency to lock and the ABS screached badly showing its working over time.

Engine - Its a master peace. thought sluggish at lower speeds it gets in its stride after 3500 RPM, 1st saw 60 2nd 100 and third went all the way to 140 and out of road. Engine cut off at 7100RPM. There is lack of low end torque and you have to pull the car to really accelerate. However the engine got noisy when above 4000RPM but really went like crazy. Full marks here.

Auto Version - The Auto version has normal D mode for Auto shifting and S mode for paddle shifting. The Paddle shift is good if you want to show every one i have a car which has gear like Micheal Schumacher but if you wanna race then you are better of with the manual. There is a brisk jerk while shifting and if you are on low speeds the car will refuse to shift up unless you are on the right RPM for a p shift. I felt it was down shifting when i was braking but not too sure about that. Brakes felt better then the manual but thats just my psychological feeling. For a week you will be exicted about the paddles but then you will get bored because its not as much fun as it seems to be and not value for money at Rs. 77,000 /- more then the manual.

Manual Gearbox was not as slick as i expected a Japanese gearbox to be.

Overall i will give it a 6/10 and would prefer a Optra/Octavia RS over it anyday. They have stripped the car and it shows in the built quality after doing only 139kms and 2kms on the testdrive the exhaust feel of, both of them and pics to follow soon.

Features Missing that Corolla has : -
Audio Controls on steering, Auto Headlamps, Leather Seats (h5), Lumbar Support, Fog lights.

Features Misssing that Elantra has: -
Traction Control, Lumbar Support, Foglights, Trip Computer.

Features Missing from Octavia 1.8 Rider:-
Trip Computer, Foglights, Lumbar Support.


Verdict - The car is not as good as its made to be. Even if it was with 140 bhp it wont be as good as a Accord since thats a different segment. Civic is a very overhyped car and i know still its going to sell well. It has dissapointed me a lot. I had so much more hope from it. But still i am sure Indian buyers how they are will buy them in huge numbers and the thing i dread it will be the car of the year 2006

More pics to follow. Anyone wants higher quality pics can PM me.

[Shan2nu]

What have they done to the Indian version?? Coz Topgear has reviewed the ones sold in other asian counries and their views were very positive.

They said it handled very well and that the car didn't feel light at speeds.

Is there a diff in GC between the Indian and the other versions?

Shan2nu

[2L8uLoose]

Here we go again.. a company that wants to "INDIANISE" a car and they mess up Royally( that is if BUSA's report is accurate)... Congratulations Honda

[condor]

BUSA, surprised reading your review. Had not expected any of these points, esp after having done Hondas long enough.

[himanshugoswami]

hey this is real sad man

I was hoping for the civic to set a new benchmark in its category, but going by this initial impression, i am not so sure. this would only make things easier for teh new elantra which looks as good as the civic and is sure to be more VFM

lets wait and watch!

[suman]

Hey, I'd thought it would be a winner all the way. Now reading Busa's review makes me feel like its the worst new car launch of the decade......what gives, guys?????

[shuvc]

@Busa, what were the road conditions for your test drive ? Am curious since it seems to have been pouring in Mumbai.

[BUSA]

Audio Controls in rear armrest. Where is the space for cupholders.



Side reading lamps Nice.



15 inchers Dont we deservee 16 -



Steering wheel nice to hold but horn is bad, unlike Optra/Octavia.



Dashview:-



Rear View : -



Front Views:-



The best thing about the car after the engine.



In your line of vision. Looks cool.



Stupid Wipers just a marketting gimmick and to make sure you buy the blades from Honda only.



Dashboard : -



Quite a short gear lever with short throws unlike Innova : -



The paddles, sorry it aint that clear : -



The Tachometer : -



The Best thing about the car The Revcounter : -

[BUSA]

Built Quality is poor as you can see that the exhausts falling off only after 139kms.







Trying to fix it the Honda Crew : -



The Rescue Car : -





Indian Civic has a GC of 170mm as told by Honda staff.

* Posting small pics as its faster to upload however if anyone wants bigger ones i will give you.

** I am not removing the number plates since thats the test drive and display cars.

[BUSA]

Firstly i was so dissapointed i was also so excited and i had told many people that this is the Car to watch out for. I was so excited but totally amazed later.

The steering is quite light i guess because it has ESP, just like the City makes it not so sure footed on high speeds.

Originally Posted by shuvc

@Busa, what were the road conditions for your test drive ? Am curious since it seems to have been pouring in Mumbai.

Mumbai Pune highway/Palm Beach. Not much water logging out there, but had to go for team-bhp as this is the most overhyped, overrated, most waited car of 2006.

[suman]

I'm not sure you can generalize that build quality is poor - it could be that these two particular cars scraped their rear ends pretty bad going over something, I mean, if you could go up to 7100 rpm and cut the engine off, who knows who else had some fun at the cars expense

[200mph]

read your review busa , sounds sad... my frend and me are planning to go have a test dirve soon, but now after reading your review the excitement seems to have vanished. anyways will check it out some time ..

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by suman

I'm not sure you can generalize that build quality is poor - it could be that these two particular cars scraped their rear ends pretty bad going over something, I mean, if you could go up to 7100 rpm and cut the engine off, who knows who else had some fun at the cars expense

I agree to that but at 139kms?? Having driven 30,000kms done Optra, 65,000kms Octavia, 10,000kms Elantra Test drive cars, all were excellent in their built quality. Thought the 12,000kms done Corolla was not in such a good shape. The fact of the matter is that Civic has been highly localised hence the extremely delayed launch and thats why its cheaper then a Corolla/Optra but the down side is that materials arenot that good and the build quality is quite poor, sit in one and i am sure you will feel the same.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by BUSA

The fact of the matter is that Civic has been highly localised hence the extremely delayed launch and thats why its cheaper then a Corolla/Optra

News releases mentioned 60/65% localisation .. to move up to 80% in the next few years. Will they reduce prices then ?

[ankit.agl]

i thought civic to be gr8 but it doesnot seem to be as test drive report by busa...