[ST7677]

Originally Posted by busa

So what does Civic have over the rest, just digital speedo and rear audio controls, wheras missing out on Leather, Lumbar Support, Audio Controls on Steering, Fogs which are the norm of the segment, i am not talking about Civic V here, but Civic S, the Civic V comes at a premium of its own

You may continue debating on and on but it's not for no reason that Civic has won over 46 international awards and 9 Indian awards (as of Feb'07).

And Civic in India sells about twice as much as it's nearest competitor.

All I can say is Civic is owner's Pride and other car owner's Envy


*(You would agree with me that today Indian consumer is aware of market and is value conscious)

[csentil]

Looks like the Civic owners have all ganged up. :0

Well, what are the choices in hand when you want to buy a car at that level? When I was on the lookout for a car (last year Apr) I had my sites on the Honda City, but the safety features were missing and had artifical steering so I waited for something new. Along came the Fiesta & Aveo. I mistrust Ford to a large extent and it was way too ordinary and cramped.

Aveo looked good but what a horrible gearbox it had. I'm a big fan of Daewoo cars but this was too much. There wasn't any other choice in this segment with regards to safety, handling, comfort. Basically an overall package.

The higher segment cars like the Skoda Octavia was too old, too cramped at the back and I didn't like the new Octavia being sold as the Laura at a far higher premium. The Corolla was like 5 years old and was nearing end of life. The AT was only a 4 speed box. I liked that car a lot but didn't excite me enough to think about that segment.

Then along came the Civic. It had everything I was looking for Safety, Comfort, handling, looks. It was the only car that I could take with the least amount of compromises to what I wanted. Believe me I still waited till Dec 06 to book it just to make sure I knew what I was getting into. Low GC, stiff ride were known issues. Still I could live with it as it gave me what I needed most.

If there was a premium to pay for it, thats ok. I had something which was pretty much similar to what was launched all over the world (albeit the side airbags, fogs, cruise control and ORVM indicators were missing). Leather seats didn't interest me much at that time, adjustable lumbar support was a joke in Indian cars.

So the Civic was the best of the lot according to me. I had to jump one segment to buy it and strain my budget limit to buy it. But its been worth it according to me. I'm happy I didn't compromise too much and buy a City/Fiesta/Aveo/Skoda.

I'm not a diehard Honda fan. I was sorely disappointed with the City. But Honda atleast delivered better than most other car companies in India.

Both Honda & Toyota have been largely successful in India and for that matter the world over compared to Ford/Chevrolet/Mitsubushi/Suzuki in the segments they compete for. Ever wondered why?

[anandpadhye]

Yes, the one most important thing I like about Civic (apart from the amazing looks) is that it's the same model launched in India as the one internaltionally and at the same time.


My only problem is lumbar support - and if I remember correctly I saw a real adjustable one in Corolla and Octavia...but I may be wrong...whatever it is, having it is a real plus for long drives.

[thefreak]

No teaming up guys!! I don't even own a Civic! Thinking of owning a bigger car than the zen I have now.. lets see how things (and pockets) pan out.

[ST7677]

Honda Civic scores highest
A total of 6000 people participated in the poll to decide which car in India has the sexiest behind and the results threw a clear winner. It seems like Indians find the pert Japanese behinds hotter than the European ones.

The fresh as tomorrow Honda Civic bagged 25 per cent of the votes and is the runaway winner.

The 1799cc, 132bhp car is refinement personified and carries all the trademark of Honda. Not for nothing has the Civic been declared the winner. The car has a distinct rear.

There are many who will vouch that the Civic glides like an aircraft and aircraft is exactly what the designers had in mind. The twin tail lamps resemble the flaming red exhausts of a jet fighter and a Civic speeding away into the night only the flaming tail lamps visible sure makes for a very sexy sight.

The tail lamps are not the wrap around types but are somewhat hooded and they gel perfectly with the boot and the highly aerodynamic design of the car.

source: Indiatimes Wheels

[BUSA]

It is these companies which are taking Indian customers for a ride. For none of them come with real lumbar support. All these companies offer a lumbar support built (molded) in the seat backrest, which is standard practice even in a maruti.

ST1677 All the cars i mentioned come with adjustable lumbar support, wherein the driver can adjust the lumbar support manually for his/her liking. High end cars come with electric lumbar support.

My only problem is lumbar support - and if I remember correctly I saw a real adjustable one in Corolla and Octavia...but I may be wrong...whatever it is, having it is a real plus for long drives.

Yes, its there in Corolla, Octavia, Optra & Elantra.

If I change it to 16 inch wheel(it comes with 15inch I think), does it solve the GC issue

Depending on what tyres you opt for.

Sweeping statements like "All cars in this segment .... " may not hold.

When i said all cars i never said all models of the cars, look at the Corolla the one you are talking about costs around 8.5L, atleast 3 lakhs difference wrt to the cheapest Civic. Corolla H2 doesnot have leather, but the H5 has it. Lumbar Support is not available even as a option on any of the Civics.

Chevrolet gives us a pretty powerless and dying holden engine in the Optra, which is not even worth competing with 1.5 ltr modern engines.

Could not agree with you more on this, Chevrolet even gives us a 2.0L TCDi engine producing 314NM of torque

Civic main problem is low end torque, its not the best car to drive the Civic in the City as there is lack of low end torque, when it comes to high revvs, then the Civic is indeed a marvel.

Toyota doesn't follow the same build standard for their Corolla as in rest of the world.

If Toyota doesnot then surely Honda doesnot as well. Case in point is interior plastic wearing out in NHC's, Civic/OHC exhaust following, Accord Fuel Pump problems. Its not only Toyota or Honda, its all manufacturers which dont follow the same build standards as they do world wide so we cant just catch Honda or Toyota for it.

Skoda positions their (otherwise cheap around the world) cars as luxury in India and on top of that they place their upgrade version (Laura) at a huge premium. Again suck the people in parts.

I agree, Skoda should have positioned the Laura as the replacement for the Octy, but then Skoda also does give us a 150bhp Turbocharged vRS. They started off a Dsegment diesel car well and now everyone is following it.

Ford is reluctant to launch it's new model (Focus, etc) in India and when they make new launches they try to exorbitantly price their products (Mondeo)

Ford is working on getting the Focus. Yes the Mondeo was overpriced but as a drivers car it was awesome.

At least they come as an optional accessories...

But at what price, Fogs for Civic/City retail at Rs. 18000, cars like Wagon R, Swift, Zen also come with fogs as standard, so for all Civic S buyers, i feel Honda ought to have given Fogs as standard.

All modern cars have on board computer starting from B segment cars.

On Board Computer shows data such as FE, Avg Speed, Top Speed, DTE, etc.

Which other company except Honda brings their latest cars to India without stripping them down on features?

16inchers, fogs, leather, lumbar support, audio controls on steering wheel are just a few of the features which Honda has removed for the indian market.

In fact all Honda cars are SOHC, to save on the pricing front.

Which creaks, RATTLES and leaks in the monsoon

Can you give any real data to varify that statement? I have never heard of Optra's sun roof leaking, infact aftermarket ones are known to leak. Ask Rudra Sir, who's car is 3years old now, he will tell you about the leaking part which is not true.

Chevrolet gives us a 20 year old car (matiz) rebranded as Spark.

10 years maybe but not 20.

Civic has won over 46 international awards and 9 Indian awards (as of Feb'07)

Who has given the Civic the award, our own magazine, which even ranked the Optra as the best in Rear Seat Comfort, Best Ride & Best Build Quality. Also Chevy UVA has won car of the year award. The Civic sold abroad has more features, the main point i want to convey here is not Civic is a bad car, no-no Civic is a very good car but for the price which Honda is selling it they ought to have given a few more essential features. I dont think any Civic S owner deserves to spend almost 13Lacs on a car and get no leather seats, fogs.

And Honda better bring the diesel here, high time.

[anandpadhye]

You said it all Busa!

Rather than digital speedo (which is an amazing novelty, no doubt), I would prefer FE counter, distance to empty, tyre pressure monitor

And I have read reviews of the Honda 2.0L iCTDi (diesel engine) in the european accords on Home - What Car? Helping you buy better and many other sites. It's one hell of an engine. I disapprove Honda's adamant decision of not launching this engine in India. If Fiat's Multijets and Skoda/VW's Pumpe Duse's work smoothly on Indian Diesel and are made available at competitive price (even without localization), why is Honda crying foul???

BTW, nice to see the market likes the rear of Civic...but I am surprized as I really like the front of the Civic way too much so much so that - given today's Civic config with no lumbar support, lack of low end torque (more pronounced with the advent of common rail diesel monsters), rear supension issues, lack of useful instrumentation - if I buy Civic, it will be due to the astonishing looks.

[BUSA]

if I buy Civic, it will be due to the astonishing looks.

Anand its not only you, 90% people are buying because of its looks, no wonder it manages to sell around 1200 units a month, though its dropped to quite low of later.

And i would buy the Civic for similar reason, the looks and the engines high revv noise, but why SOHC? Cost cutting, you bet.

[jeetu4444]

guys please honda is the only company that sells latest models in india...all other company sell old models and even toyota offered first the qualis which was a very old model..honda civic is the best in looks, engine, space, handling and i can go on...my friends own corrolla and optra but they still prefer my civic anyday......i think civic is worth its price..auto shift with 5 gears and paddleshift, which use to come only in cars double its price..civic is the true winner in D segment

[anandpadhye]

Jeetu,

Appreciate your points. It's just that expectations are high from honda and quite understandably so.

One point though about the AT - paddle shifts are more of a gizmo. Once you have an auto gear box implementated, where you put controls for the tiptronic mode is merely an ergonomic choice. Even in that, steering mounted controls make it tough to manually shift up and down on twisty roads - while your are taking hair-pin bends on steep graded ghat sections...

Even that accepted for a novelty factor, the gearbox in Civic uses a torque convertor - a very very commonplace stuff. No DSG like thing which is really high tech and very very creative one too...


Of course Honda says that Torque convertor in Civic is ultra-flat and very very small in diameter but then that's typical of the Japanese - they will perfect the art they learn from the Americans/Europeans and will even excel in that but when it comes to inventing something completely path breaking, most of the time it is German or American...

[sanchits]

hey..guys, taking delivery of my civic on monday/tuesday. the model is 1.8V manual,white. getting it from ring road honda, gurgaon. are there any discounts being offered or any freebies i can get with the car.

[BUSA]

honda civic is the best in looks, engine, space, handling

While i agree with the looks part, the car doesnot hold a candle to the Skoda as far as handling is concerned, space is better in the Optra & engine of the TPI is much better then the Civic. As a package the Civic is good indeed and kudos to Honda for providing paddle shifters, a first in teh segment.

[car_crazy1400]

Hey Sanchits, I got my civic last month & got a cash discount of 5,000 plus extended warranty upto 4 yrs absolutely free, From southend Honda, near badarpur border, Delhi.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Even in that, steering mounted controls make it tough to manually shift up and down on twisty roads - while your are taking hair-pin bends on steep graded ghat sections...

hmm, Interesting. Are the paddle shifts mounted on the steering wheel or on teh steering column. In sports cars with paddles the paddles are always 3 o' clock and 9 o' clock position as they move along with the steering.

How is it in teh civic?

[iraghava]

Vid - Paddles don't always move with the steering in all cars. In some they are fixed & in some they are mounted on the steering & hence move with it.