Honda Civic 2.2 I-CTDi EX

Author's product rating:   

Safety	Excellent
Comfort	Excellent
Road Handling	Good
Looks	Excellent
Features	Excellent

Advantages:	Plenty of Gadgets, Best Satellite Navigation, Out of this world
Disadvantages:	Some problems with fuel cap release .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Cast your mind back to several months ago to that bizarre advert on television of a group of people making various noises to simulate the experience of the new Honda Civic to me the advert was annoying but 6 months later we had the brand new civic so it definitely got our attention and into the showroom we went to place our order and had the 8 week wait.

The Honda Civic has always been a popular car and this model definitely will not disappoint any owner and is quickly becoming one of the most popular cars on the road.

Opinions tend to vary but I guarantee after being in the vehicle a few times your opinion will change as you see the space aged dash which is definitely "Out of This World".

*~*~*Our Model*~*~*

The model we have purchased is the 2.2 CTDi EX version which is currently the top spec model and retails in at £18,100.
Our previous car was the Ford Focus ST 170 which had given us very high expectations when it came to looking for a replacement car that still offered great power and performance, of course we knew that the Civic would not be as competitive in the performance area but the other features more than made up for that.

The EX is packed with standard features and definitely leaves competitors far behind in terms of features.

*~*~*Costs and Depreciation*~*~*

Cost of the car and depreciation £18100, the cost that we paid was infact £18475 as we opted for Nighthawk Black which was not standard, however it is rumoured that Honda are thinking about increasing the cost of the civic in general within the next 6 months.

When we purchased the car we were told that there would be a guaranteed trade in value which is approximately £9420 based on the mileage that we have stated the car will do which isn't too bad for 3 years time and compared to other cars depreciation isn't normally poor on Honda's in general so this also swayed our decision to purchase the Honda in the first instance.

This model is in insurance Group 11 and for us it cost just over £400 for fully comprehensive insurance which for a couple in their mid twenties with some speeding points isn't too bad and out of 20 categories of insurance levels this is not bad meeting just over halfway and a vast improvement on the Focus ST.

Fuel Costs stated by Honda at 55.4 mpg but I would say it would be more like 45mpg and currently is the output we have been getting on average, as with most car manufacturers they do tend to exaggerate on certain items to generate more sales but here Honda would be better to be more honest with the fuel consumption figures as the cars literally sell themselves on the features alone.

*~*~*Exterior Appearance*~*~*

Love it or hate it this car has pizzazz and the design definitely works and although there are people out there with reservations I urge you to think twice this is one of the best cars on the market.

The car has excellent styling with its smooth corners, dual triangular exhaust and the front of the car is not all that different from the focus with its honeycomb front styling and triangular front fog lights this car is definitely not one to snub.

Despite my reservations of the rear spoiler it looks fantastic although the downside is the restriction to the rear-view as previously mentioned.

The indicators in the rear view mirrors is a feature I love on vehicles as it makes it impossible to miss them however the rear of the vehicle is another story as in the sunlight the indicators are easy to miss and can received some abusive reactions from drivers who are unable to see the indicators clearly.

The car has superb smooth lines and love it or ate it its got a thoroughly modern design that sets this apart from other cars.

*~*~*Interior Appearance*~*~*

The main "attraction" in the interior is the sci-fi appearance dash. Backlit in green for the general controls where as the driver gets the fantastic ultraviolet interior lighting for the dash the interior lighting can be controlled for brightness which often comes in handy for the satellite navigation during the evening as this can be really bright inside the car. We have it dimmed down in the evening as it can be really startling to the driver.

Called the "Dual Zone" this is the main "Cockpit" of the vehicle and give the driver full control of all the gadgets the car has to offer. My partners favourite part of the car as he loves buttons and voice activated controls and he certainly has this in the civic.

The Upper lever is furthest from the driver and contains the digital speedometer which is in a retro 80's style very simple and easy to read so there will be no excuse for speeding as the speed is very bold and clear to see, you can configure this to have either MPH or KPH. To the left is the screen showing the satellite navigation and the audio and temperature controls so all details can be monitored closely so your eyes are not scanning the vast dashboard constantly.

On either side of the digital speedometer are two helpful functions to the right is the economy gauge the more green lights that are illuminated the less fuel you consume.

To the left is a similar display whereby the more lights that are lit the closer you are to red lining the vehicle, very useful if you drive like a mad man like my partner does.

The lower zone controls the minor controls such as a large analogue tachometer. In the centre of the instrument panel is a 3-dimensional image which displays the fuel consumption data and is only visible when the engine in use.

The car also has Bluetooth facility for mobile phones to enable hands-free usage, this is a good feature to have and not something I have come across in a car before but then many things in this car I have not come across before! I have not used the Bluetooth facility as it is paired to my partner's phone but have been in the car when it has been used and it is temperamental you have to pre-programme the telephone numbers into the memory to enable to say "Call Home" it will then cleverly repeat what you have said and begin to dial. The conversation can be muffled from the recipients point of view as the noise of the road can be clearly heard during the conversation, however I have to state that the microphone could be in a better position, currently Honda Position it in closer to the passenger side rather than the driver so the conversation can be slightly distorted but we have been advised by Honda this can be improved with a quick visit to the dealership.

The seats are extremely comfortable, although I do wonder how long the upholstery will last the fabric is similar to velour and seems to gather all the bits of fabric and dust making them impossible to keep clean even the dyson can't grab all the bits!! The seats are a black with silver mesh to the side and they are extremely comfortable and very supportive as they are not to dissimilar to the bucket seats found in sports cars. One key factor for me is that the seats are extremely comfortable to sit in and the lumbar support is adjustable on the drivers side but not on the passengers and after quite a long journey you can feel a little discomfort however I tend to over come this by adjusting the position of the seat slightly.

The foot well contains metal drilled pedals giving it that sporty interior appearance and there is a large footrest to the left to give the left leg a break from the controls and of course with cruise control you literally can leave your feet with nothing to do!!

The pedals feel well weighted and there is even a little place for you to rest the left foot.

The steering wheel is definitely one of the most comfortable and is jam packed with buttons and controls. This car is amazing when it comes to features and just being able to ask "What time is it?" and have the car respond is fantastic. By the press of the voice activation button you can set the temperature in the car, change radio station, and select a track on a CD or mp3 loaded into the CD player.

The Satellite Navigation is fantastic as you really can never get lost it has an automated memory of the route and works in tunnels so if the connection does temporarily get lost then the satellite navigation will remember the route and continue to direct you. This again is voice activated or can be controlled by the rather large button in the centre of the car.

The interior of the car is fantastic and my only disappointment with the interior is the plastic on the doors which looks cheap compared to the rest of the car, but I do hate the cheapness of plastic used in cars anyway, hence my review on the Vauxhalls as they love plastic!!

The glove box is refrigerated when you have the climate control on cool as this circulates right through ideal to chill a can of pop! It is also very deep so offers plenty of storage options in there.

Adjustable drinks holder in between the two front seats makes taking a Super size drink from McDonalds into the car possible!

*~*~*Visibility*~*~*

One major disappointment for this car is the split rear window which greatly restricts the view from the rear window, you do adjust to the screen being split in two quite easily but all the same it can be fairly distracting when reverse parking.

The pillars on either side of the front windscreen are also a major distraction when it comes to turning corners and parking but again is something you adjust to quite easily and should certainly not deter you from purchasing this car as these could possible be the only disadvantages to owning the new civic.

When you look at the civic you will see that there is no rear view windscreen wiper and would be led to believe that this would be a disadvantage but as Honda promised the design of the rear window does not require a rear wiper and so far we have not noticed a problem with this at all as the rain runs clear from the rear window not posing a problem.

The front wipers are big and chunky and definitely clear the drivers side of the window but for me this is one factor I am not too impressed with as the way that the windscreen wipers work is that the move outwards rather than to the left like most wipers do so the centre of the windscreen does not really clear that well from the passengers perspective but again it is not a major problem.

As a lady of just 5ft 3" in height the car does tend to surround you quite high up so to fully ensure that your driving position does not restrict you in anyway ensure that you use the adjustable height for the drivers seat and the steering column to obtain the optimum driving position and this should not cause any problems for the shortest of drivers.

*~*~*Space*~*~*

The Civic has great space in the front and the rear with plenty of leg room for the tallest of passengers.

The rear seats have plenty of legroom and there is even storage space under the front and rear seats, if it is space you are looking for the civic has a wonderful feature of the "magic seats" which simply lift up and by depressing the handle they stay upright giving enough room for a bike! We attempted to use this feature once for one half of a double divan but it was just too high and we couldn't fit it in, so we collapsed the seats in the rear and it fitted in neatly in the rear through the boot so you really cannot grumble when it comes to space.

Even the boot is full of surprises in this car with a false floor to the centre of the boot to provide extra storage and with a total capacity of 485 litres. Ideal for putting your shopping in the bottom and a bulky item on top.

*~*~*Safety Features*~*~*

The Civic is jam packed with safety features with VSA Vehicle Stability Assist, ABS Anti Lock Brakes, EBD Electronic Brake force Distribution.

*~*~*Performance*~*~*

The handling on the Civic is pretty impressive as it does perform well on the open road, on corners however I was not impressed with the sharp corners as handling was not the best and it did feel as if the car could get out of control if I had not been familiar with the road. One feature we miss on this car is the handling as it comes no where near as great as the Focus ST170 and they could certainly do with fine tuning this on the top model civic.

The Civic has drive-by-wire throttle and electric steering which basically means it is controlled by computer systems as opposed to mechanical systems making it light and direct when it comes to controlling the car.

A major feature on this model is the cruise control which certainly helps on motorway journeys as I for one find I get awful cramp from keeping my foot on the accelerator for the whole duration.

The cruise control maintains the speed even uphill and you can speed up and down at the press of the button it makes it a pleasure to drive this car as do many of the options on the EX do.

This specific model has a manual 6 speed gearbox with a top speed of 127mph and boasts 8.6 seconds to sprint from 0-60 mph.

The red starter button contributes to the sporty appearance of the civic and is operated by the turn of the key in which the dash will illuminate and then the button can be pressed to start the engine.

I do think that one feature that lets the Civic down is the long chunky outdated key which would be vastly improved with a compact key or keyless ignition and I am surprised that this feature is not provided on the car with so many modern features but I suppose there is always one feature that gets over looked.

The diesel performance is pretty quick and almost as quick as the Focus ST170 2.0 petrol engine so the performance did surprise us both, having now experienced this car we would be very difficult to be swayed back to a petrol engine, when we first discussed getting the diesel version I was off put by the loud noise that a diesel engine generates, however Civic have proved me wrong with this quiet engine which provides a very quiet drive even the occasional turbo charger can barely be heard, well not loud enough to present a problem anyway.