[vkochar]

Hey - Nice post there.

I also remember when I drove my friends Civic the first time I did think that the Interiors with all those eye catching gizmos were a bit cramped BUT then after some time I was very comfortable.

The good part about CIVIC is that it rides beautifully on the highways - once you cross the 100 mark - it just zips so smoothly - the steering feel and hold is AWESOME. No wonder this car is doing so well !!

The only dissapointing bit was when Reversing View was very small - Its bound to hit if drove by new drivers. Also the GC is not that great. But apart from all this it truly is a flawless Car. Cheers !!

[unknown]

Originally Posted by thefreak

Got two giants to accompany me so as to be able to test the ground clearance issue. (believe me they are giants - at a combined weight of 230 kgs these guys can walk in WWE and be respected).

heard that the horn is extremally loud inside the cabin. Did not feel so but then again that is IMHO.

Civic horn is worst even city zx has got a better horn .

No rear AC vents in the car . That was something I expected!

Have a look below -Courtesy ST7677
ImageShack - Hosting :: img2622mo1.jpg

[ST7677]

Hi TheFreak,
Very good test drive review!!!

I am in Bangalore and I regularly drive over mountain speed breakers and 5th grade potholed roads. In spite of that I feel that the Civic low GC / suspension issue is over hyped and it is not something one can't live with!

One thing that hits you is that the steering wheel is so small (and it obstructs a clear view of the tachometer).

The steering wheel has tilt & telescopic adjustment so probably the setting was not right, hence it was obstructing the tacho view...

Yes, the steering is small and sporty and slightly eliptical. In my opinion it is the best steering I have personally used. The touch of stock steering is also very cool.

No rear AC vents in the car

There are rear A/C vents for the rear, they are below the front seats...

[thefreak]

Heh! Why did they need to hide the A/C vents?

BTW something I missed out is that even with lot of kilograms on board and the AC on full blast (setting 21 degrees) there was quick acceleration

[ST7677]

Heh! Why did they need to hide the A/C vents?

1. To save the space below the arm rest to be used for other purpose
2. To possibly avoid the air draft

BTW something I missed out is that even with lot of kilograms on board and the AC on full blast (setting 21 degrees) there was quick acceleration

The motor is very decent and the pick up is good even with full load as long as you are at the right RPM (which is anywhere above 2k all the way to 7k), below 2 k it is slow...

[csentil]

yes.. good review freak. Honda Civic horn is not at all loud. If you have the windows rolled up and are listening to music you won't even hear it !!!!

The sporty steering is awesome. Drive it regularly on the highways and it gives excellent feel and makes driving very easy. However its not artificial like the NHC.

I still believe its a 4 people car and not 5, inspite of it having a flat back floor. You need to have the centre rest out and enjoy it too. :-)

I'm planning to fit a reversing sensor. The view is small and the ORVM's don't help much.

[anandpadhye]

Good TD report.

Even I found that the steering blocked the view of tacho and trip meter and I am a short driver.

But the steering grip is wonderful - soft, perfect in thickness and small. Liked so much that wanted to retrofit it into my NHC...

[csentil]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Good TD report.

Even I found that the steering blocked the view of tacho and trip meter and I am a short driver.

But the steering grip is wonderful - soft, perfect in thickness and small. Liked so much that wanted to retrofit it into my NHC...

Had the same problem. Adjusting the steering for tilt & rake helped and also adjusting seat height helped. Its something you have to sit and do patiently to get the best riding position. Move seat up/down/front/back, steering tilt/rake till you get the ideal position. The only irritation comes when you give it for service and they move the seat position/height.

[alankarm@sancha]

Originally Posted by merains

thats kool,any probs you faced in your car so far, i have a civic too,done about 1100 km and finished first free service

I think you all know the problems faced by me with my Civic by now. So I am not saying its the best car, but just a decent car. The attitude of Honda and their dealers is turning more pathetic by the day. They have gone in the no response mode, or just the "everything's normal" mode.

[sudarshansarma]

I agree with the dealer attitude statement. The dealers are extremely arrogant and the consultants for some reason dont seem to have any competition knowledge(the one i met didnt even know there was an Optra Magnum TCDi or an automatic octavia). They also harp on just 2 features, the Honda badge and fuel economy relative to the competition. Also Ichibaan honda is the worst in kalina, mumbai. There is no place to park, you walk in and no one cares you have come in....so different to what things were long ago when the first city came out. Shame...

Also the Civic is not God. There are problems(suspension issues etc..) but at the end of the day which car doesnt?

Corolla-Rock stiff suspension
Civic: Rattles from the front, suspension problems(wear)
Optra TCDi: Annoyingly vibrating clutch and cheap plastics
Octavia: Tractor like sound and OVER PRICED spares
Lance Cedia: Just doesnt make the D segment cut.

But I guess there is no perfect car yet(hopefully the jetta will put paid to all that)!!
Cheers

[ST7677]

Had the same problem. Adjusting the steering for tilt & rake helped and also adjusting seat height helped. Its something you have to sit and do patiently to get the best riding position. Move seat up/down/front/back, steering tilt/rake till you get the ideal position. The only irritation comes when you give it for service and they move the seat position/height.

I agree. I hate it when my seating position is tempered with and that is when electronic seat adjustment with Preset memory is missed most :(

However I have found a work around. Once I settled for a perfect position, I took note of how many clicks seat was moved back, how many clicks up and how many clicks the back rest was at... It's little difficult but once you get it, resetting takes just about 20 seconds... Have been practicing this for years now...

Also I prefer to have two settings -
One for the short city drives (upto 2 hrs) - which is as low as possible and reclines back...Comfort oriented and sporty
The other is for long highway drives (>2 hrs) - which is some one upright and little higher... more alert and good posture oriented

[ST7677]

Civic: Rattles from the front

Now this is a new one, at least I have not heard before.... Has any one else faced this???

[thefreak]

Yeah... please elucidate on the front rattling issues... also any news on the recall issue in India? The RHD and LHD stories seemed a bit far fetched..

[VMG]

Looks like there are more issues in Civic ( suspension, GC, after sales and service - Dealer and now wiper );
Do you think Cedia and Corolla sales will pick up becasue of the above?

[thefreak]

Wiper??? What is the issue there?

GC is not an issue as far as I am concerned (read my test drive - there was over 450 kgs worth of human flesh and bones in the car and it did not bottom out once).