New Owners report: Honda Civic MT

alankarm@sancha · 14th November 2006, 20:29

Another thing that I dislike is that the Civic has a built in (behind the dash) 6 CD changer. Which, though very decent in itself, does not allow for an upgrade to DVD. If this can be done by a third party, without any warranty isuues, please let me know. And also which head unit systems can be installed in that case. I want LCD screens also to be installed. Going through the only dealer in Rajasthan may be very expensive.

ST7677 · 5th December 2006, 10:16

New Honda Civic wins
"Family car of the Year 2006" (in it's segment) and the much coveted
"Over all car of the year 2006" (across all segments) in Malaysia.

sandeep108 · 5th December 2006, 10:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by ST7677

New Honda Civic wins
"Family car of the Year 2006" (in it's segment) and the much coveted
"Over all car of the year 2006" (across all segments) in Malaysia.

Is becoming very popular in Mumbai. I have not seen a single new corolla in my office building, but 5 new civics in past 2 months. The fact that our office building is full of SMEs would seem to indicate that again honda has come up with a winner, and that too at a whopping price difference. GM sold 270 optras, toyota sold 600 corollas and civic is at 1500+.

Actually the only area honda has slipped up is the demand for the AT. As indicated in a poll on t-bhp, the ratio was almost 50/50. The actual demand is 45/55 for AT/MT. But honda thought that demand would only be 10-20% for AT. So now while MT is available mostly within 3 weeks, AT wait time is reported to be 8+ weeks. So for those who want March depreciation benefits and AT, time to book civic is now.

DRC · 5th December 2006, 11:47

pordon my ignorance, \

can some one list the FE of both MT and AT both city and highway?

sandeep108 · 5th December 2006, 14:14

AFAIK - for Mumbai city:
AT - city 7-8 km/l, highway 12-13 km/ltr
MT - city 8.5-9.5 km/l, highway 13-14 km/ltr.

IMO highway figures could be bettered a bit and for Delhi/Chandigarh, obviously one can add 1 km/l more.

rubin2006 · 5th December 2006, 16:13

how fast did you go in your new civic and how stable it feels at high speeds

sandeep108 · 6th December 2006, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubin2006

how fast did you go in your new civic and how stable it feels at high speeds

I do not think ST7677 is driving it too much, he has never revved it yet beyond 2k rpm due to traffic and short commutes, I believe.

During my test drives, I felt it to have a harsh low speed ride but very stable and nice high speed ride. Somehow as soon as you cross 60km/h the car just feels lovely and you feel confident. You are cushioned but in trademark honda suspension setup, you can feel every bit of the road. Much better composure over dips and turns, much less body roll than the corolla. Since I have an OHC and knew the honda dealer, on second test drive I took it to around 125 km/h on worli seaface. Very nice and quick, though RS would be a tad faster. The AT is 10-15% behind the MT, both on mileage and power, but 25% ahead on comfort.

It does have some drawbacks though:
1. Few rattles here and there. But otherwise fairly solidly built. I happened to bang the driver side door against a high kerb, but no ding or dent on the door. On my OHC a small touch would warp the metal.
2. Lower car, similar to OHC, Zen, Esteem.
3. Some blind spots, especially front right A pillar. It gives it a great CLS type sleek profile, but that spot will take getting used to.
4. Larger turning radius.
5. You will not be able to give it to your local garage for almost anything other than minor body work, unless he has the latest Honda software/PC. There are too many sensors and electricals all being linked to the ECM/ECU. Even a normal battery change may not be possible, the ECU will have to be reset for the key/security by the dealer with the codes. In that way, the thinking of M&M/Renault with the simplicity of Logan may be appropriate for our conditions.

ST7677 · 6th December 2006, 11:46

Ah! not very true Sandeep... It is hard to resist reving that Vtec engine!!!
Rest I all agree with almost every thing you said about the car.
The best part is pulling away from traffic in the 3rd gear (60-100km) it's fast and it's smooth, and engine rev is just too good. The best part of engine comes out between 4k rpm to 6k, where there is a huge power surge.

Now that the engine is runned in, lately I have done upto 130kmph and the car feels very well planted and stable. I have also done some very hard cornering and the car is again very well behaved, there is very low body roll.
I remember doing a flyover loop at 60kmph in another very popular car (let me not name it), and it felt like the car was going out of control, I did the same with Civic at 70kmph feeling that I can push it further. I feel for hard cornerings tyre upgrade is a must. But not for me, as I generally drive steady and safe, these are one of exceptions.

BTW I am planning to do my first long drive next week, the route is good and I would definately try doing 150-180 if the conditions permit, just to see what all is available in reserve...

Sandeep, I do not have any rattles. I once noticed it but then it was due to some lose CD cases bouncing in one of my storage box. Check for the same.

In City I am getting anywhere between 8km/l (worst) to 10kmpl (best) with full a/c on in Banaglore (read very bad traffic conditions). I guess the variation is due to difficulty in measuring the fuel left in the tank each time (the electronic meter is as approximate as the manual one).
So I calculated the average over first 1000kms and I have got an average of around 9 kmpl with A/C on all the time in climatronic mode at 26deg C.

Will soon report on highway mileage...

Vishal M · 6th December 2006, 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeep108

It does have some drawbacks though:

Although I am a die hard Safari fan and am looking forward to 2,2 lt model. But if that is not launched by Jan, I will go in for a Civic. I know the two are very different choices, but like both Cars. I visited a Honda showroom in Delhi "Ring Road Honda" on the weekend and found something strange. The salesmen were trying to desell Civic. Even when I was taking a test drive, He was continously talking about the features of City. he was telling me things like.... this Car is 4 lakhs more expensive than City.....City is a tried and tested Car etc..I even got a call from them yesterday where the lady asked me "have you finally decided on City Sir?" I said no, but I am keen on Civic...and then there was a change in the tone of voice.....I have not been able to figure out this lack on enthu of sales staff on Civic....Is it that the company is trying to make some improvements in the Car and has advised dealers to go slow? ......Could be a function of high sales targets on City???

ST7677 · 6th December 2006, 12:51

Ah, that's simple.
City is older model and needs push (considering immense competition) so dealerships have higher profit margin on it.

Where as Civic is new and sells by itself and is anyway backordered so dealers get less profit margin on that.

So obviously the dealer pushes cars which he gets more money from. But haven;t seen this happening so blatently!!!

Considering City and Civic - it depends on what you want.
It's more like City -> City V Tech and then -> Civic

Floyd de Souza · 6th December 2006, 14:31

I drove the Civic MT recently between Delhi-Chandigarh and this is what I experienced :

-Extremely smooth engine..loves to be revved
-I often touched speeds of 140+kph and the stability was rock solid even during high speed lane changes..and I love that steering wheel
-A hint of vibration in the steering past 120 kph probably due to uneven tyre pressures or a slight misalignment/misbalance
-Gearbox, though slick, not in the NHC league
-The braking was adequate but could have been better...does'nt feel sure footed during high speed braking
-AC cooling was good though winter was setting in. It worked very well under the midday sun
-was irritated with the handbrake lever
-GC was bad. Had to make a detour and the bottom got scraped over a hump or two

I was undoubtedly impressed with the car but felt that Honda could have given a more upmarket feel by using fake wood trim and better fabric for the upholstery. But I think it is worth the money and that is why it is selling. It makes more sense than the Accord and the Sonata Embera as the space differential is not that great and the Civic is definitely the more driver oriented car of the lot. I envy those who can afford the Civic.

sandeep108 · 6th December 2006, 16:13

@ST7677: Re: lower mileage when giving to dealer:
Do not worry too much about mileage going down at dealer. Happens to me also. They all are congested. So what happens is that they need to double/triple park at every stage of service. So invariably huge amount of petrol is wasted just idling or moving back and forth.

e.g. my car was in the middle of 2 cars. So the driver moved the first one into a vacant space, left it idling. Then he moves my car into another vacant space, leaves my car idling. Then he moves the first one back, but space is again little less, so a bit back and forth to correctly park it. All this time, my car is idling

. Then he moves it to the ramp where they jack it up and after a bit of back and forth finally shuts the engine. After finishing torquing the suspension he repeats the parking process in front of another car. When that car needs to move, he again starts my car, moves it, leaves it idling and...here we go again. This process would be repeated for washing, engine oil change, etc. Now what do you expect.

Also engine is cold everytime, so rich mixture is used at start up, resulting in even more petrol burnt.

sandeep108 · 6th December 2006, 16:21

And going back on topic, as per this http://www.cybersteering.com/pulmain...News061101.rtf report in the verna post http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...na-road-6.html, civic is still going strong at 1700+ cars every month, 4 months after launch with corolla at 586 and optra at 240 left clean behind in it's exhaust.

supremeBaleno · 6th December 2006, 16:54

yeah, the Civic has been doing great. And you don't need any stats for that. Just observe the number of Civics on the road and you can know. Civics are all over the place as far as Chennai is concerned.

Man, the way people are buying Civics, you would think it costs some 6-7 lakhs only.

coolmastdude · 7th December 2006, 12:45

Hi All!
I've done 165+ km/h on my civic AT and take my word for it, the car felt absolutely stable and composed... not a hint of instability, drifting or steering vibrations. In fact, at speeds of 140+, it feels almost as stable as an Octavia (I've done 170+ on Octavia RS during test drive). The only concern is the low ground clearance and long wheel base, due to which one has to almost come to a halt when a speed breaker or rough patch of road is sighted on the horizon, lest you hit the under-carriage. Overall the car is a pleasure to drive and even the back-seat riders are happy due to more than ample leg space to stretch out.
Overall a fantastic experience so far!
If anyone has fitted xenons on civic, please give your feedback, since I'm planning to go for the same.

14th November 2006, 20:29	#121
alankarm@sancha BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ajmer / Mumbai Posts: 210 Thanked: 3 Times	Another thing that I dislike is that the Civic has a built in (behind the dash) 6 CD changer. Which, though very decent in itself, does not allow for an upgrade to DVD. If this can be done by a third party, without any warranty isuues, please let me know. And also which head unit systems can be installed in that case. I want LCD screens also to be installed. Going through the only dealer in Rajasthan may be very expensive.
	() Thanks

5th December 2006, 10:16	#122
ST7677 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,054 Thanked: 73 Times	New Honda Civic wins "Family car of the Year 2006" (in it's segment) and the much coveted "Over all car of the year 2006" (across all segments) in Malaysia.
	() Thanks

5th December 2006, 11:47	#124
DRC BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cockpit Posts: 911 Thanked: 64 Times View My Garage	pordon my ignorance, \ can some one list the FE of both MT and AT both city and highway?
	() Thanks

5th December 2006, 14:14	#125
sandeep108 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,050 Thanked: 302 Times	AFAIK - for Mumbai city: AT - city 7-8 km/l, highway 12-13 km/ltr MT - city 8.5-9.5 km/l, highway 13-14 km/ltr. IMO highway figures could be bettered a bit and for Delhi/Chandigarh, obviously one can add 1 km/l more.
	() Thanks

5th December 2006, 16:13	#126
rubin2006 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: delhi/calgary Posts: 286 Thanked: Once	how fast did you go in your new civic and how stable it feels at high speeds
	() Thanks

6th December 2006, 11:46	#128
ST7677 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,054 Thanked: 73 Times	Ah! not very true Sandeep... It is hard to resist reving that Vtec engine!!! Rest I all agree with almost every thing you said about the car. The best part is pulling away from traffic in the 3rd gear (60-100km) it's fast and it's smooth, and engine rev is just too good. The best part of engine comes out between 4k rpm to 6k, where there is a huge power surge. Now that the engine is runned in, lately I have done upto 130kmph and the car feels very well planted and stable. I have also done some very hard cornering and the car is again very well behaved, there is very low body roll. I remember doing a flyover loop at 60kmph in another very popular car (let me not name it), and it felt like the car was going out of control, I did the same with Civic at 70kmph feeling that I can push it further. I feel for hard cornerings tyre upgrade is a must. But not for me, as I generally drive steady and safe, these are one of exceptions. BTW I am planning to do my first long drive next week, the route is good and I would definately try doing 150-180 if the conditions permit, just to see what all is available in reserve... Sandeep, I do not have any rattles. I once noticed it but then it was due to some lose CD cases bouncing in one of my storage box. Check for the same. In City I am getting anywhere between 8km/l (worst) to 10kmpl (best) with full a/c on in Banaglore (read very bad traffic conditions). I guess the variation is due to difficulty in measuring the fuel left in the tank each time (the electronic meter is as approximate as the manual one). So I calculated the average over first 1000kms and I have got an average of around 9 kmpl with A/C on all the time in climatronic mode at 26deg C. Will soon report on highway mileage... Last edited by ST7677 : 6th December 2006 at 12:00.
	() Thanks

6th December 2006, 12:51	#130
ST7677 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,054 Thanked: 73 Times	Ah, that's simple. City is older model and needs push (considering immense competition) so dealerships have higher profit margin on it. Where as Civic is new and sells by itself and is anyway backordered so dealers get less profit margin on that. So obviously the dealer pushes cars which he gets more money from. But haven;t seen this happening so blatently!!! Considering City and Civic - it depends on what you want. It's more like City -> City V Tech and then -> Civic
	() Thanks

6th December 2006, 14:31	#131
Floyd de Souza BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 320 Thanked: 225 Times	I drove the Civic MT recently between Delhi-Chandigarh and this is what I experienced : -Extremely smooth engine..loves to be revved -I often touched speeds of 140+kph and the stability was rock solid even during high speed lane changes..and I love that steering wheel -A hint of vibration in the steering past 120 kph probably due to uneven tyre pressures or a slight misalignment/misbalance -Gearbox, though slick, not in the NHC league -The braking was adequate but could have been better...does'nt feel sure footed during high speed braking -AC cooling was good though winter was setting in. It worked very well under the midday sun -was irritated with the handbrake lever -GC was bad. Had to make a detour and the bottom got scraped over a hump or two I was undoubtedly impressed with the car but felt that Honda could have given a more upmarket feel by using fake wood trim and better fabric for the upholstery. But I think it is worth the money and that is why it is selling. It makes more sense than the Accord and the Sonata Embera as the space differential is not that great and the Civic is definitely the more driver oriented car of the lot. I envy those who can afford the Civic.
	() Thanks

6th December 2006, 16:13	#132
sandeep108 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,050 Thanked: 302 Times	@ST7677: Re: lower mileage when giving to dealer: Do not worry too much about mileage going down at dealer. Happens to me also. They all are congested. So what happens is that they need to double/triple park at every stage of service. So invariably huge amount of petrol is wasted just idling or moving back and forth. e.g. my car was in the middle of 2 cars. So the driver moved the first one into a vacant space, left it idling. Then he moves my car into another vacant space, leaves my car idling. Then he moves the first one back, but space is again little less, so a bit back and forth to correctly park it. All this time, my car is idling. Then he moves it to the ramp where they jack it up and after a bit of back and forth finally shuts the engine. After finishing torquing the suspension he repeats the parking process in front of another car. When that car needs to move, he again starts my car, moves it, leaves it idling and...here we go again. This process would be repeated for washing, engine oil change, etc. Now what do you expect. Also engine is cold everytime, so rich mixture is used at start up, resulting in even more petrol burnt.
	() Thanks

6th December 2006, 16:21	#133
sandeep108 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,050 Thanked: 302 Times	And going back on topic, as per this http://www.cybersteering.com/pulmain...News061101.rtf report in the verna post http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...na-road-6.html, civic is still going strong at 1700+ cars every month, 4 months after launch with corolla at 586 and optra at 240 left clean behind in it's exhaust.
	() Thanks

6th December 2006, 16:54	#134
supremeBaleno Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai / Kochi Posts: 5,546 Thanked: 2,697 Times View My Garage	yeah, the Civic has been doing great. And you don't need any stats for that. Just observe the number of Civics on the road and you can know. Civics are all over the place as far as Chennai is concerned. Man, the way people are buying Civics, you would think it costs some 6-7 lakhs only.
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 12:45	#135
coolmastdude Newbie Join Date: May 2006 Location: Nainital Posts: 16 Thanked: 0 Times	Hi All! I've done 165+ km/h on my civic AT and take my word for it, the car felt absolutely stable and composed... not a hint of instability, drifting or steering vibrations. In fact, at speeds of 140+, it feels almost as stable as an Octavia (I've done 170+ on Octavia RS during test drive). The only concern is the low ground clearance and long wheel base, due to which one has to almost come to a halt when a speed breaker or rough patch of road is sighted on the horizon, lest you hit the under-carriage. Overall the car is a pleasure to drive and even the back-seat riders are happy due to more than ample leg space to stretch out. Overall a fantastic experience so far! If anyone has fitted xenons on civic, please give your feedback, since I'm planning to go for the same.
	() Thanks