We bought our Honda Civic 1.5i VTEC-E in 1997 when it was 7 months old, but just had delivery mileage. Our local Perth dealer (Weir Honda) were offering what was a nearly new car with around £1500 off the new price. We knew from looking at comparative prices that this was a good deal and managed to get mudflaps and carpet mats fitted as well.
Broadly the experience has been very good - the dealer has been helpful in sorting out several minor problems. These were rattle in top end of the engine (a minor adjustment), a missing jacking point on the rear nearside, a silencer which gave out after 2 years' use, squeaky ventilation fan and a stuck sunroof (x2). None of these prevented the car from running and all were fixed free of charge. In the case of the silncer they really did not have to do this but decided to offer a replacement ex-gratia.
In terms of running it offers excellent fuel economy at an average 40-42mpg, with the engine tuned for this. But it also offers a reasonable amount of performanc from the VTEC engine when overtaking power is needed. Interior space and boot space are good and almost equivalent to the Accord. Open road handling is sharp and it is well-behaved in town, with good weighting on the power steering and a slick gear change. Brakes are good - not too sharp on application bit they do anchor well.
A downside is the build quality as regards rattles and squeaks from the boot area and windscreen respectively. However we like the car so just ignore these minus points.
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Advantages: Good reliable and well designed cars on the whole... Disadvantages: Dodgy dealers (varies from place to place). There is only normally one franchised dealer in most towns outside London. This means that the dealers get away with a lot!!!
hondadriver 29.08.2006 (15.09.2006)
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Review of Honda
Advantages: Good reliable and well designed cars on the whole... Disadvantages: Dodgy dealers (varies from place to place). There is only normally one franchised dealer in most towns outside London. This means that the dealers get away with a lot!!!
hondadriver 29.08.2006 (15.09.2006)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Honda
May 8th, 2001
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