A really enjoyable car to own! (Honda Civic 1.8i-VTEC SE 5dr)

Member Name: cjc3001

Product:	Honda Civic 1.8i-VTEC SE 5dr
Date:	15/09/08 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Individual design

Disadvantages: A few teething problems

I bought this car from new in September 2006, and in the main it's proved to be a really good buy.

I wasn't sure about Civics when my friend first suggested I consider them, but as soon as I saw the new model I fell in love! The car looks very different to most other cars on the road, although it has proved very popular since it's introduction to the market in January 2006.

The interior of the car feels quite futuristic, with an electronic dashboard which is angled for the driver's comfort; this model provides lots of data which can be scrolled through by using switches mounted on the steering wheel (as well as being able to control the stereo from here), such as average speed, time travelled, distance until re-fuelling is required, as well as the usual mileage statistics. The only downside to the design of the dashboard is that the highly visible digital speedometer does encourage some back-seat driving from passengers who are so inclined! I can't provide any technical information such as BHP - I'm really not that way inclined, but the official Honda website does provide all of this information.

The car itself provides a really smooth, quiet drive, although you can hear the engine responding to acceleration which I gather some people find quite important! This model of car is amazingly quick & responsive too; it's really entertaining to drive.

Other features of the car which I love are the rear seats - these fold flat down giving you masses of space in the back on top of the already large boot, or they flip up & secure like cinema seats - apparently you can fit two full-size mountain bikes in the back using this arrangement. The seats are also really comfortable, with adequate airbags (although luckily I've never had to test these out!).

One negative of the design of the car is the split rear windscreen, with a spoiler positioned exactly in the average person's eyeline, and also the fact that there is no rear wiper - Honda claim that the windscreen is ergonomically designed not to require one as moisture clears itself - believe me you have to reach some significant speed for this to happen which obviously is illegal on suburban roads.

There have been a few teething problems which I've experienced over the last two years; the three most memorable being an ongoing problem with the petrol cap release not functioning when I first bought the car - I would often get caught at garages intending to fill up the petrol tank, however the release handle situated near the pedals would not unlock the cap, no matter how hard I tried. This would often be very frustrating & embarrassing, and resulted in me taking the car back to the garage five times for replacement parts before the right part was fitted. I've also lost the seal of the windscreen twice (once travelling quite fast on the A1), but was assured this would not mean the windscreen would fly out - thank goodness for that! I've also had to take the car back to the dealer after receiving a call back to get the hand-brake replaced as apparently this is a common fault, but otherwise I think it's just been a case of ironing out any niggles you half-expect when you buy a new design of car.

The tax banding for this car is currently £145 per year, quite low considering the size of engine due to its relatively low CO2 emissions.

All in all, I'm really pleased with my choice, and am hoping in years to come the car will have held its value quite well, being a reliable Honda. In the mean time I'm sure I've got many happy years of driving ahead of me!

Summary: Fabulous car to own & drive

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