Doing our Civic Duty

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent value for money. Easy, secure handling. Good ergonomics, spacious and comfortable.

Cons: EX model required for 60/40 split rear seat. DX-G model in short supply.

The Bottom Line: 
Excellent value for money, unbeatable combination of standard features and quality.

Author's Review
My wife and I set out this fall to look for a new car to replace my 2001 Hyundai Elantra which was a good car, just lacking an automatic transmission and air conditioning.

At first blush, a Honda Civic is not what we would ordinarily have considered buying. Not because they're a bad bet - far from it. We were more concerned about rear seat comfort for our son, who is 5'10" and fairly long-legged and few small cars offer much more than penalty-box accommodations for tall kids.

One weekend, with our son in tow, we took a 2006 Civic LX sedan for a test drive. My son found the back seat roomy and
comfortable, with adequate leg room. Even my wife, who first said "Eww... the Civic looks like a bubble on wheels", was impressed by the ride comfort and easy handling the car offered.

At first I had reservations about the Civic's unique two-tier instrument cluster and the huge expanse of dashboard which places the windshield a long way away, in the fashion of the Pontiac TranSport minivan of the early 1990's.

In actual practice the instrument cluster works very well. In fact, it works as advertised - it actually lets you focus more on the road ahead and not on the speedometer or tachometer or gas gauge. While the windshield is steeply raked and far away, I didn't find the effect disconcerting. If anything, I found I liked it a lot.

Handling was excellent for a small car. Easy, stable, and predictable, with good road feel. The car was shod with Goodyear Eagle tires, which help make the handling as good as it is.

The standard ABS brakes were powerful, quick, and easy to modulate in normal driving conditions. The engine was surprisingly strong and peppy for a car in the Civic's class, and quiet at cruising speed. The automatic transmission, which features Honda's proprietary Grade Logic system is smooth and transfers power quickly. Unfortunately we didn't have an opportunity to really test out the Grade Logic system, and so I cannot offer any opinions as to its real-world efficacy.

That said, prospective buyers of the Civic sedan should not expect it to handle like a sports car. While the handling is competent, it quickly shows its limits in hard cornering, even with the Goodyear tires. (Then again, how many families buy Civics solely for their sporting pretensions, unless they opt for the Si coupe?)

Ergonomics in the Civic cabin are very good. One of the reasons why the Civic is so pleasant and easy to drive is that controls are intuitively laid out and most of the important ones fall to your hands fairly naturally. We did find that the radio and climate controls mounted on the dash were a tad far away for our liking. The power windows and mirrors which are standard in the LX model were easy to operate. We were initially surprised and pleased by the way the doors lock automatically when the car is started and put into gear. We also liked some of the other thoughtful touches, like a movable centre arm rest and the ability to lock the fuel filler door and trunk release from the inside.

The seats are comfortable, supportive and easy to adjust.
My wife, who is 5'2" tall, had no trouble finding a comfortable driving position. Rearward visibility of blind spots is so-so if the headrest is situated too far up and you happen to be short.

Overall fit and finish is excellent, with most of the materials imparting a sense of quality and even an almost luxurious feel. What also made the Civic so likeable is how spacious it feels compared with many small cars on offer these days.

The biggest quibble we had with the Civic LX is its fold-down rear seat. It folds down in a single piece. To get a 60/40 split rear seat, you have to plump for the top-dollar member of the Civic family, the EX model.

Still, the trunk is spacious and easy to reach into. We found the location of the rear-seat latch in the trunk to be somewhat odd. However, in view of the interior trunk locking system, we think Honda placed the rear seat latch in the trunk as a security feature.

After a second test drive, we knew that we had found our car. So we bought a Civic LX. We were treated fairly by the dealership where we bought it, and they were honest enough to tell us we could not expect much of a discount because of high demand. With careful negotiating, we were able to get the maximum discount they were prepared to offer. We were tempted to save some money and go for the cheaper DX-G version, but were dissuaded by reports of their short supply.

For $21,500CDN the Civic LX offers tremendous value. You get just about every conceivable option you could want and side air bags too, which are often unavailable or an extra-cost option in cars costing as much or more. Add in great fuel economy, Honda's storied reputation for quality and reliability, good resale value, and you have an unbeatable combination.

The media in Canada are raving about the new Civics, and dealerships can't quite meet the demand. Rumour has it that the Alliston, Ontario plant where the Civics are built, is putting on a third shift to catch up. Our Civic isn't slated to arrive until early January 2006 because we wanted an exterior colour which is in short supply.