It Drives Me: Oct 2009 Silver Honda Civic 1.8 S

[vishalrao]

The gist:

* Test driven Sunday October 4th.
* Driven home from the dealer's Saturday October 17th.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The dealer actually only promised delivery late next week but gave a call this morning out of the blue with a very pleasant surprise indeed!

Didn't even plan/have time to go out and buy a digicam for this so posting low-res phone-cam pics for now.

Will post more about the car, test drive and dealer experience as I play around with this over the weekend.

And yes, It Drives Me!

[maxbhp]

Originally Posted by vishalrao

The gist:

* Test driven Sunday October 4th.
* Driven home from the dealer's Saturday October 17th.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The dealer actually only promised delivery late next week but gave a call this morning out of the blue with a very pleasant surprise indeed!

Didn't even plan/have time to go out and buy a digicam for this so posting low-res phone-cam pics for now.

Will post more about the car, test drive and dealer experience as I play around with this over the weekend.

And yes, It Drives Me!

Hi Vishal , That must have been one of the sweetest calls you must have attended lately. I mean I know personally how it felt from my own experience. Enjoy the day and do post a detailed review and probably a comparison between new and old.

[karthik247]

Congrats on the new car! What better day than to take deliver than today. Now you'll have two reasons to celebrate!!

[vishalrao]

thanks guys.

i guess i was grinning like a nut from ear to ear when i got that call. cant compare with the old one since i havent driven it.

even the leisurely drive home from the dealership (was following my dad who was driving our palio back) was fun even though i didnt rev the engine above 3000 rpm.

planning to spend a few hours on the road tomorrow, will start before 8 AM so there's less traffic and i can experiment a little...

just checked out the music system this evening, very clear music and deep-enough bass even though there is no subwoofer. my ipod touch (2G) worked with the USB input and so did a usb pen drive.

there isnt that kind of "ambient blue light" as in the pic (not mine) below, just a small pinhole "courtesy light" (yes, blue) located near the center mirror between the indoor lights which throws a dim glow down to the gear area and looks very nice.

will post more (and better) pics this weekend itself...

[JackSparrow]

Congratulations on your new Honda Civic. Could you post some better quality pictures. Any modifications planned in the near future?

[MAS]

Vishalrao, great choice of car and colour. Wish you good luck, happy and safe driving. What better day to take the car home on a Diwali!!!

Keep this thread alive with useful information on the new modified Civic. I suggest you should drive an old Civic (back to back), if possible (your friend's, Neighbour's, etc) and check out the difference.

Kudos once again!!!

[vishalrao]

thanks folks!

Went out for a quick spin early this morning (730am) when there's little traffic. From the KROME mall on Sholapur Rd. to the Empress Garden road (War Memorial) on to the bridge approaching Taj Blue Diamond then on to cross Yerwada bridge for a short stretch of Nagar Rd (where I touched 80 kmph on the way out and 100 on the way back) then turning into Kalyani Nagar past Mariplex/GoldAdLabs finally taking a U-turn at the end of the Kalyani bridge and all the way back.

Since I don't have too many other cars to compare against except a Palio the ride is very poised. Can't say about handling really coz I was mostly driving in straight lines. Short sweeping turns at mid/low speed causes very little roll. Steering feedback is great (sure lets you feel unevenness/levelling/slope on the roads) yet does not vibrate on rough roads. Ride is quite smooth and the car is composed (passengers comfortable) at low and high speeds on bad roads.

Suspension/wheels make a dull thudding sound (like mkc15 pointed out in his thread) if you go quickly over bumps or small potholes but I like the audible feedback which alerts/reminds me to slow down. Dealer said tyre pressure was set to 30 psi but I have to check it out myself - probably next weekend when I top up and start recording actual mileage.

The music system has a "SVC" speed sensitive volume control option set to MID by default. I set it to HIGH and got good response from it at higher speed when the tyre/road/engine noise is up.

Once again (like during the test drive) faced trouble with the short-spaced gears when trying to quickly shift up from 2nd to 3rd but ended up missing 3rd and going to 5th. So I need to change carefully (pause momentarily in neutral) or just get a hang of the thing. Other gear changes in any direction is excellent.

Handbrake touches my leg near the knee as I like to rest legs on either side for support and that might be a problem for long drives. Steering is decent but after a couple of hours of driving my hands got a little sore so some thicker wrapping seems like a good idea for long trips.

Aircon is very nice - just left it on "auto" (climate control) and set to 25 degrees C for cooling or 22 for chilling effect. Min is 20 or 18 I think.

Speeds/revs (approx) during the drive:

3rd gear - 2000 rpm - 45 kmph
4th gear - 2000 rpm - 60 kmph
5th gear - 2000 rpm - 80 kmph
5th gear - 2500 rpm - 100 kmph!

I didn't rev beyond 3000 rpm (touched top speed 100 kmph today) and mostly hovered around 2000. Can't wait for the 1000 km break-in to be done with so I can start pushing beyond 4000 rpm and jabbing the throttle a little more urgently

Stopped by Nucleus Mall along the way back and picked up some KFC and a Sony Cybershot DSC-WX1 digicam so expect some pics and HD video later tonight!

[oops]

Congrats and Welcome to Big [H] family

[StarVegabond]

COngratulations on your new Civic
drive safe, have fun
keep updating your ownership thread

[vishalrao]

A quick note to acknowledge the dealer experience during the test drive, booking, inspections and delivery. The Deccan Honda guy handled everything with aplomb. He managed expectations well and succeeded in not pissing off my dad who is a strict, no-nonsense and finicky "tough customer" in the true sense of the phrase. If anything was amiss this deal would have been off (and my heart broken) no matter how good the car. The sales guy was prompt, always in touch, patient with our queries - not to mention the surprise early delivery BTW they put in Rs 1000 worth of regular fuel (about 20 lt) which I plan to finish before topping up with "HP Speed" next weekend to start recording actual mileage. After being paranoid reading all the bad dealer reports for many companies including Honda it was a relief. Now I just hope the smooth experience continues during the servicings and car itself does not pose too many quality problems.

Now, some pics and a youtube HD video! Will post more night pics later on...

ASIMO's spirit haunts it:

YouTube - Wannabe AutoBot Transformer

Owner's manual and marketing brochure:


10% Ethanol ready:


Blue ambient courtesy light:


Ubuntu Linux will not boot! (USB pen drive/iPod audio input):

[mkc15]

Hey Vishal, CONGRATS on the new H. I can understand how you must have felt when the dealer called you, I had the same experience! Njoy and don't rev her up in excitement

Originally Posted by vishalrao

Handbrake touches my leg near the knee as I like to rest legs on either side for support and that might be a problem for long drives. Steering is decent but after a couple of hours of driving my hands got a little sore so some thicker wrapping seems like a good idea for long trips.

IMO, you just need to adjust the seat and steering reach. It'll be fine. About the audio, yes it feels quite nice for a stock system. The treble is a bit harsh though (Treble >4) and bass is quite decent but a bit muddy. The rear tray being plastic adds to it (as it reflects the sound, whereas a fabric/leather one would damp it)

[mkc15]

BTW forgot to say 'nice color'. I had a tough time deciding between Silver and Polished-metal. Silver looks damn good IMO, it contrasts well with smoked headlights and deep red periphery of tail-lights.

[iTNerd]

Hey Vishal, congratulation!

Love the images and freshness of the new facelift... After Mkc15 and you, I am desparetely waiting for my white Civic S! Unfortunately, I am off to abroad for 2 weeks, and would be taking delivery then only.. .. the wait is long and the I am in no mood to work!!!!!!!!!!! Do keep updated your initial ownership. A mileage run for the first tank full would be great!

[nandans2005]

Hey Vishal,

Congrats on your new Civic !!!

Just going thru the pictures, The rear windshield has a sticker saying E 10, the same is there on my ANHC too. I enquired whats it in the showroom, the sales guys gave an vague reply.I was not satisfied with it though..

Would you or anybody else come out with the details please ?

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by nandans2005

Hey Vishal,

Congrats on your new Civic !!!

Just going thru the pictures, The rear windshield has a sticker saying E 10, the same is there on my ANHC too. I enquired whats it in the showroom, the sales guys gave an vague reply.I was not satisfied with it though..

Would you or anybody else come out with the details please ?

E10 - 10% bioethanol and 90% gasoline (Eco-friendly tag??)