We've had Civics for about 20 years now. We used to get a new one every 3 years when the warranty ran out. Decided that this was a mistake as we have never had a problem with any of them. Our latest one is 8 years old now so we just joined The AA in case of any breakdown.
I guess it's a question of just how severely the bumps are felt. Motoring critics do seem to be quick to let perfect be the enemy of good, so I tend to be a bit sceptical of what they write.
My parents always had Honda cars and i inherited a Civic years ago. Sold it on recently. Never any problems, 1.4 engine and an auto box. Only recommendation is that you must adhere to regular oil change. Good cars and often overlooked in favour of flash french crap (my opinion).
And how long did the Citroen last and how much did it cost when it went wrong?. Perhaps like the Hydralastic suspension on the BMC cars of the 1960s. Wonderful for the first two years or so and then deflation on one corner so the car looked like a pissed crab!. Happy days.
Got 3 at work and never had an issue aside form a battery failure. That’s in 5 years of ownership one of them has 140,000 miles on it. 1.6l Diesel engines get around 60mpg
i had a Civic Type R back before kids came along and it was fantastic fun
as far as I am concerned they are absolutely fantastic vehicles reliable and very efficient.
And how long did the Citroen last and how much did it cost when it went wrong?. Perhaps like the Hydralastic suspension on the BMC cars of the 1960s. Wonderful for the first two years or so and then deflation on one corner so the car looked like a pissed crab!. Happy days.
They cost a fortune for repairs, and got pretty manky pretty quickly. Hence I switched to Fords, first a couple of Mondeos, now an automatic Fiesta which is close to the best car I have ever had, but a Mondeo was like a van for the amount of stuff you could get in it.
I know nothing about cars so did a lot of research before buying a 9 year old (61) Honda Civic. Don't buy automatic and get the 1.8 litre was what I learnt and that the engine is brilliant -garage (not where I bought it) told me that the engine would easily go for 300k miles and beyond. Looks nice/drives nice and the back folding seats are so easy to use and gives you quite lot of transport space.
In terms of Japanese Mrs Plum drove a Nissan Micra from new for 17 years and it never failed to start or broke down. The bodywork underneath went before the mechanical parts.
Haven't had a Japanese car for many years, but early in my motoring career (80s) they were the thing to go for. Sick of British cars failing to start if there was even a cloud in the sky, I had two or three Toyotas and Mazdas - the paintwork was scabby and rust killed them, but the mechanicals were excellent and you always knew it would start.
Some of that British crap practically ran on Easy Start
I've driven Fords, Vauxhall's, Rovers, Jags & Renault's and mostly had them for 3 years before replacing them. However, longest serving car I've had was a Honda FRV. Had it for 6.5 years & did 130k miles in it. 1.8 Automatic engine & never gave me any problems.
Thanks guys. I've read about suspension not the best on bumpy roads. Any thoughts on that? Also did you have the 1.4 litre engine?
I've got a 59 plate, so generation before the one you're looking at. Suspension is poor, although there's speed bumps everywhere near me, so probably notice a bit more than others would. However, great car in general, worth putting up with iffy suspension as everything else about it is excellent.
The latest Civic in Saloon version is a stunning looking car particularly in White or light silver. The Saloons seem to be quite rare in the U.K. but are very popular here in Thailand. Its definitely on my wish list. I've had an Accord and a Prelude in the past and loved them both. Rust was a problem back then, but that's changed now.
Just to follow up on this, I did eventually buy a Civic - a 2014 1.4 with 20k miles on the clock. I've had it about a month now, and so far I'm delighted with it. Really enjoying the Avant Garde styling, along with some things which are new to me, such as climate control and ECON mode with auto idle stop. Also has a huge boot for a car of this size, and back seats with ingenious folding mechanism to maximise luggage capacity. I'm getting in excess of 40 mpg, better even than a 2013 Corsa 1.2 I used to have, and head and shoulders better than my old 1.4 litre Hyundai i30. Only minus point is the paint, which seems rather thin and prone to stone chips. Thanks again to all Lifers who commented on this thread.
Just to follow up on this, I did eventually buy a Civic - a 2014 1.4 with 20k miles on the clock. I've had it about a month now, and so far I'm delighted with it. Really enjoying the Avant Garde styling, along with some things which are new to me, such as climate control and ECON mode with auto idle stop. Also has a huge boot for a car of this size, and back seats with ingenious folding mechanism to maximise luggage capacity. I'm getting in excess of 40 mpg, better even than a 2013 Corsa 1.2 I used to have, and head and shoulders better than my old 1.4 litre Hyundai i30. Only minus point is the paint, which seems rather thin and prone to stone chips. Thanks again to all Lifers who commented on this thread.
Comments
i had a Civic Type R back before kids came along and it was fantastic fun
as far as I am concerned they are absolutely fantastic vehicles reliable and very efficient.
Hence I switched to Fords, first a couple of Mondeos, now an automatic Fiesta which is close to the best car I have ever had, but a Mondeo was like a van for the amount of stuff you could get in it.
Some of that British crap practically ran on Easy Start
Its definitely on my wish list. I've had an Accord and a Prelude in the past and loved them both. Rust was a problem back then, but that's changed now.