[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by motorworks

One of my friends bought an Octavia L&K variant for about 24 lakhs on road in Bangalore and it was loaded to the hilt, 6 airbags, DSG and the works. And the car felt super premium and special. I do not know about the new Civic though.

My guess is that people who have owned the Civic and have driven the City will find the Civic as a good upgrade.

The Octavia is still the king in this segment. The 1.8 TSi style is 26 lakhs on road in Karnataka with the 6year extended warranty. The top end civic ZX is also 26 lakhs on road.

The Octavia has more power/torque and DSG box and lot more features than the civic zx. If not for the Skoda reputation, it is the car to go for in this segment.

If your friend got an L&K at 24 lakhs, that is a super deal. Tafe access in Mangalore refuses to budge on Octavia pricing.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by motorworks

My guess is that people who have owned the Civic and have driven the City will find the Civic as a good upgrade.

Well the Civic does feel a step up but as far as the build goes I found the current City and Civic pretty much similar. Some hard plastics in the new Civic were a put off (because you pay almost 25 big ones), so were the some blank button spaces on the centre console near the gear stick above the 'ECO' button.

The earlier Civic had a WOW factor over the City then in those years as far as the interiors went. This one not quite.

The WOW factor for me on this Civic is more the exterior than the interior but that's just my opinion.

Just like the others on this thread, my pick would be the VX petrol. And its shocking that rain sensing wipers come only in the top end ZX. Heck even hatches have those now. And I wont miss that sunroof, the lane camera or those all LED headlamps. They will cost a bomb to replace in the event of a shunt.

[laluks]

Well, being a 8th gen civic owner for 11 years and clocking over 1.6lakhs on the odo, civic never failed to put that smile on my face. Now with the same R18 engine, with a higher state of tune for 8 odd horses, I would not bite the bait. Plus I am a manual guy.

Now the one on offer, has a lot of electronics and I am not a fan of it either. The looks are subjective, and to me it looks too funky compared to the ever appealing looks of the outgoing one. My family and my girls who literally lived a decade of their growing years in the earlier gen Civic, refused to acknowledge this one

My decision was to give this iteration a miss, ever since it came up globally. I saw it in flesh some years back. In India I do not get anything as a previous owner, but I am happy to note, the support for the previous R18 engine is enhanced as long as the 10th gen civic will be on production. That makes some good old examples of maintained Civics a point to consider and have that smile on your face than 20 big ones on this. Good examples are available for a song as I see from bangalore market.

Well, that's my opinion, views differ. And if some one just said sunroof, look for the ones sold in 2012/13. They had it!

All I missed in the earlier one was traction control, but when the fun starts who needed it!!

[shobhit.shri]

Originally Posted by Pancham

I feel the petrol Civic is very aggressively priced by Honda. Not sure how everyone is still finding the Octavia VFM considering the poor resale value and ASS woes. I have a few questions for people here who think this car is overpriced:

1. Do you have an overall better package in this segment which sells somewhere around 200 cars a month. Don't get me wrong but Octavia is my pick and I would still buy it. However, the DSG horror stories will still linger in my mind while paying the booking amount

2. 5 years down the line when it comes to resale, would you rather buy a 5 year old automatic Skoda or a Civic?

3. Majority of the Indian car market are not car enthusiasts so they don't really care about extra power of the Octavia. So I feel Civic will be the go-to car in this segment. And considering the price is lower than the Octavia do you still think the normal Indian will go for a Skoda ?

The quintessential dilemma! Choose a good one or the fun one

Perhaps it depends on the person's financial position, but I don't get the point of spending big money and still settling for a "sensible" choice. If I really want to be "sensible", I would buy a City - that is 90% of the civic - and save 50% of the money. I have driven this Civic abroad and I don't think it was much better than my Skoda Rapid. Spending 25L on this civic will only make sense if you are planning to own it for 10 years.

By the way, I bought newly launched Skoda Rapid in 2012 and driving a used Honda city these days. I agree with you on the points above. .

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by laluks

Now with the same R18 engine, with a higher state of tune for 8 odd horses, I would not bite the bait. Plus I am a manual guy. Now the one on offer, has a lot of electronics and I am not a fan of it either.

Yeah, I don't think old gen Civic owner who paid Rs. 15 Lakhs 7 or 8 years back will be too eager to plonk Rs. 24 Lakhs on the latest iteration. The old Civic is still better than 2018 Civic in:

- Steering weight & feel
- Ride quality
- Looks (subjective, I know)
- Positioning of digital speedometer (nitpicking, I know)
- Ingress & Egress (new gen seating position is a bit too low)

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

Perhaps it depends on the person's financial position, but I don't get the point of spending big money and still settling for a "sensible" choice. If I really want to be "sensible", I would buy a City - that is 90% of the civic - and save 50% of the money.

I don't think City is 90% Civic. Only in terms of performance, maybe. But for Civic, you are paying extra money for:

- Interior quality
- Build quality
- Features (not just gadgets, but also things like bigger alloys & tyres)
- Looks (compared to City)
- Handling & steering

[Aaron:)]

I think the City vs Civic argument applies to every car in this segment.

Why not get a Verna instead of an Elantra? A Rapid instead of an Octavia? A Yaris instead of a Corolla? Or why not get a Creta? Or an Innova/XUV500?

This segment is hammered from all sides. However, there’s just something about these cars that’s hard to ignore. On paper, a City may be 90% of a Civic but the entire feel, experience of a D segment sedan is something different.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Yeah, I don't think old gen Civic owner who paid Rs. 15 Lakhs 7 or 8 years back will be too eager to plonk Rs. 24 Lakhs on the latest iteration. The old Civic is still better than 2018 Civic in:

- Steering weight & feel
- Ride quality
- Looks (subjective, I know)
- Positioning of digital speedometer (nitpicking, I know)
- Ingress & Egress (new gen seating position is a bit too low)



I don't think City is 90% Civic. Only in terms of performance, maybe. But for Civic, you are paying extra money for:

- Interior quality
- Build quality
- Features (not just gadgets, but also things like bigger alloys & tyres)
- Looks (compared to City)
- Handling & steering

A couple of points I forgot to mention earlier. The new Civic doesnt have audio controls in the rear armrest like my car does. Also, the location of the power socket and USB HDMI ports hidden behind the centre console is ergonomically pathetic and very difficult to reach.

[aniketi]

Definitely a great car launched by Honda. Looks nice, sporty and has elegance for sure. Only bad part is price

I know there is no comparison here but still after seeing pricing of new Civic, cars like Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass start looking reasonably priced, in fact cheap to some extent. I know it’s not apple to apple comparison, still one can’t ignore it if someone is in market and looking to buy a car by spending 20-25 Lakhs. In Harrier, Compass what you get is much bigger, spacious car with great road presence, better build quality, more safety, powerful 2.0 liter diesel engine & somewhat off roading capabilities. Just my thoughts.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by aniketi

I know there is no comparison here but still after seeing pricing of new Civic, cars like Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass start looking reasonably priced, in fact cheap to some extent.

True. Usually SUVs are more expensive than the sedans of their respective segments - but somehow it is the opposite when it comes to this particular price range.

No wonder D segment sedan sales have plummeted and will most likely continue to do so - unless Maruti Suzuki has something to say about this.

[aravind.anand]

Well, one of the most important contributing factors for the City vs. Civic equation has to be 'prestige' and exclusivity that comes attached with a D-segment executive sedan. Park a Civic next to a City, and the larger size, the oomph in the design and the aura around it would definitely turn heads away from the City and towards the Civic. And the Civic owner will definitely get his ego inflated while walking out of his car after parking it next to a City.

OT: In that sense, no one can justify what a Mercedes A-class offers to justify its price premium over a humble i20!

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by aniketi

Definitely a great car launched by Honda. Looks nice, sporty and has elegance for sure. Only bad part is price

I know there is no comparison here but still after seeing pricing of new Civic, cars like Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass start looking reasonably priced, in fact cheap to some extent. I know it’s not apple to apple comparison, still one can’t ignore it if someone is in market and looking to buy a car by spending 20-25 Lakhs. In Harrier, Compass what you get is much bigger, spacious car with great road presence, better build quality, more safety, powerful 2.0 liter diesel engine & somewhat off roading capabilities. Just my thoughts.

Tata and Mahindra cars for whatever reason are always cheaper by a significant margin than the competitors. Compass on the other hand is neither in C segment nor in D segment types. So if you actually want to compare a D segment car against SUV, you will have to consider Tuscon, Civic, Tiguan, which of course are way too pricey. Another car you can compare is Innova, which from its launch days has been priced similarly to D segment sedans. This holds true even now.

[sarathlal]

Had been to the launch at Peninsular Honda, Tvm. Going by the looks of it and the OTR pricing, I have a feeling that it wont make a buzz at the sales market.

Did anyone else felt the interior height to be too less? Am just of normal built, but my head was touching the roof even with the slightest of movement :(
The seat was positioned for a higher stance, but still. Also felt the back seat space to be at par or below the 8th Gen.

Major positive noticed is the better road visibility from driver side. The sides are much more easy to view compared to the current one.
The tires are wider this time, so should be better at handling.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Ingress & Egress (new gen seating position is a bit too low)

I'm a 6 footer. Test drove the new civic yesterday. Just couldn't find a comfortable driving position even after spending a lot of time fiddling with the 8 way adjustable power seats.

The seats are placed way too low and that definitely gonna be a problem is you are a 6 footer or you have old people who will be using the car.

I personally felt that the center console could have been a lot more sleeker. It occupies a lot of space and makes things very difficult if you are made of a bigger frame. For instance, I couldn't access my pant pockets/ seat belt release button with ease.

The interior fit and finish is at par with the segment. I would still say that the rival SKODA is definitely class leading is this aspect.

And the full digital cockpit is definitely not to my liking. I still prefer the age old Semi digital consoles.

Driving my Creta after the test drive made me feel a lot more liberated.

[superbad]

Two words - Big fail. Two reasons :-
1) Engine+ gearbox combo -
(a) Petrol - Free revving, creamy engine yet saddled with only a rubber-bandy CVT, cue for enthusiasts to look elsewhere. While it may be smooth, it definitely can't match a fast DCT.
(b) Diesel - Big mile munchers wanting a smooth auto are saddled with only a manual.
Irony, thy name is Honda.
2) Pricing - Need to shave at least 1.5 L from all variants for it to be competitive.

Damage control :-
1) Give a petrol+ manual combo, at least till mid variant -> give the engine the gearbox it deserves AND lower price. Two birds in one stone.
2) Diesel+auto - Price will rocket further but hey, you gotta at least give it a try.

[vipul_singh]

So many posts regarding the 'rubber band effect'. Isn't the rubber band effect due to the engine being able to switch to the most suitable power band based on the power demanded by the driver, regardless of the road speed?

I would think it is great that the engine can instantly hit, say, 4500 rpm when you mash the throttle while cruising at 40kph, and make the most power to get you to 80. That is the beauty of a CVT, is it not?

Or do we prefer the following scenarios:
- just lug the engine from 2000 rpm in 3rd till you reach 80 (MT, as is typically used by non-enthusiasts)
- the fixed-ratio AT box has to choose between running the engine at 4000 RPM or 4800 rpm, but it has no ratio to get the engine to the most suitable 4500 rpm

I would imagine that CVTs are the greatest idea since sliced bread!