Honda Civic [2010-2013] User Reviews

 

Exterior It used to be a very nice looking car in 2008, when I bought mine. Now it looks a little jaded compared to younger competitors.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Very nicely finished. Quite comfortable.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox The engine is excellent. It started rattling though at 32000 km and we discovered that the engine mounts had given away. On calling up the service station, we were told that this is typical of all Honda Civics. Though this thing is expensive, it got covered under extended warranty which I had smarted negotiated while buying the car.

 

Ride Quality & Handling On smooth highways, this is a great car. On Indian roads, the car is a pain. It is slung too low for places like Gurgaon. The car scrapes over every speed bump, every pebble and every little bit of dog poo on the road.

 

Final Words The customer service is non existent. We have had two instances of the battery dying in the last 3 years and everytime we had to beg & borrow to come back home. Since the car has automatic transmission, the push start option is not there. So you are stuck wherever the car stops without warning. Calling up their 24x7 assistance number is useless. Honda road side assistance is horrible.

There have been situations where the authorized service providers (Ring Road Honda and Pearl Honda) do not have spares available. Critical parts like brake pads, lamp bulbs etc are out of stock for weeks.

In summary this is a great car if you live in Japan. It is not designed for Indian roads. And it is definitely no road worthy over long journeys. 

 

Areas of improvement  

1. Ground clearance

2. Customer support 

3. Spares management

4. Road side assisntance.

 

Smooth, extremely easy to drivePoor ground clearance, low fuel economy, horrible after sales service

Simply the best car in it's class the CIVIC beats it's rivals in all areas . It looks stunning with a low sports car like stance & muscular body . The interior is futuristic with it's hallow spoke steering wheel & in the auto you get paddle shifts - a first in it's class. Leg room is good though you sit a bit low , the engine is a 130 bhp motor which in typical honda fashion is fast yet frugal .It is no surprise that it has become the best seller in it's class & it has no major weaknesses , probably honda's biggest success , the civic is light years ahead of it's competution .good looks, interiors, performance, style, paddle shift auto.low ground clearance

ENGINE:

The heart of any Honda is, and will always be, its engine. The VTEC system has always been a unique feature of Honda engines. This has allowed Honda to extract a relatively high horsepower from a small 1.8-liter engine. This engine is also highly efficient, as we have been able to earn some exceptional fuel economy.

INTERIORS:

Fairly decent and good quality interiors, high quality plastics, dashboard and placement of dials, comfortable seats and controls.

EXTERIORS:

Superb aerodynamic body shape, creates its own unique road presence. The front looks dandy with the wrap-around head lights, though the rear or the car looks a bit out dated and one needs to get installed a spoiler to give it a better sporty looks.

STEERING, SUSPENSION & BRAKING:

The steering on Civic is also very good, aided by the 16-inch tyres. The electric power steering is nicely weighted, not too heavy, and just light enough for low speed maneuvers.The suspension is much, much improved over previous versions. It is much firmer in the front and a tad softer in the rear. This translates to very controlled body roll, and minimal dive under braking. However, the ride is still compliant enough to be all-day comfortable.

The braking power is only adequate and need further improvement. Wind and road noise are far reduced , although some still does make it into the interior, but not enough to hinder conversation.

SAFETY ASPECTS - HONDA LIVES UP TO ITS COMMITMENT

The Civic begins with a very strong body developed with what Honda calls its Advanced Compatability Engineering. This term basically means that the structure is defined to perform well in crashes with a wide variety of vehicle types and sizes. All Civics also come with anti-lock brakes (ABS) for controllable stopping power.

RELIABILITY AND RESIDUAL VALUE: ANOTHER HONDA TRADEMARK

Civic has always been a very desirable car in its class, leading to slightly less flexible dealer pricing. While you may not get that fantastic deal at the dealership as compared to other competitor models, this will pay dividends when it comes time to sell or trade in your Civic.

COST OF OWNERSHIP:

Owning a Civic is a relatively inexpensive affair due to the infrequent maintenance intervals and low fuel consumption.  

styling & erogonomicsLow ground clearance

Toyota maybe the world's leading car manufacturer, but in India Honda is by far the better acknowledged of the two, thanks to their space-age car design and the punctuality with which they introduce new cars or upgrade existing ones.

One look at the 7th generation Civic or the 8th generation Accord is enough to make you absolutely certain that there are a bunch of smart automobile engineers sitting in Honda HQ. Ever since it was introduced, the Civic had been my dream car.  It was introduced at a time when things like Paddle Shifts were jargons only hard-core F1 enthusiasts knew anything about. But suddenly you have a D-segment car sporting it!! I dont think competition has recovered from that blow yet. Granted that Honda products are over-priced. But over-hyped they are not!! If I am singing paeans about their products it is because visually and technically they knock the socks off the competition.

Today, I made my dream a reality. I bought a Misty Violet Civic 1.8 V manual.

To me, the decision was a no-brainer. I test drove the Innova before and the Jetta after driving the Civic and neither came close to the sheer visual magnificence, the irresistible appeal and the Pure Exhileration that the sight of a Civic's contours conjurs up. I gave the Optra a skip since it hardly sells these days and resale value is next to nothing. The Skoda Laura looked good and was impressive technically, but I am not convinced about the company's long-term commitment to India. Their cars are still mostly imported or assembled and therefore the cost of aquisition and maintenance are disproportionate to their pecking order in the automotive world, though Skoda  is perceived as a luxury brand in India.

The main reasons why I decided on the Civic are:

- Stunning appearance. Look at it from any angle (except maybe from bottom up) and it never ceases to awe you.

- The engine - 1.8 iVTEC with 132ps is kick-ass and a class-leader. It is also very quiet and, I hear, reasonably well-mannered when it comes to drinking fuel.

- The driver's seat. The dash and the steering are ethereal. The tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel takes laymen like me closest to an F1 experience as they can get.

- Big bang for your buck - Dual Airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Automatic Climate Control, 6-CD intergated Audio with 6 speakers, Leather Upholstry, an out-of-the-world dashboard among other minor things like electrically retractable ORVMs, integrated turn-indicators etc

I do not take delivery of the car until two more weeks from now. From what I hear, mileage is pretty decent at around 10kpl in city - I will confirm this once I lay my hands on the dream machine.

The only grouses I ever hear are:

- low ground clearance - Honda claims 170mm. VW claims 152mm for Jetta and it looked definitely better than Civics. So there is some mistake in the way GC is calculated. Those claimed numbers contradict what you actually see.

- Limited boot space - with that elongated wheel-base this was bound to happen. But at least that extra space went into the passenger cabin!!

- After Sales Service - this is something I am wary of now, but with a 4 year 80000km warranty, I am pretty sure nothing major will break down too soon.

So then, Pure Exhileration it is. Driving the Civic is something I look forward to with so much anticipation. No other car in its class can give you that intoxicating feeling of seeing the digital speedo race past 60-100-150 in the blue ambient light of the dash. I hope I can still hold on to my civic-sense when I get hold of the car....

To be Continued...

Class-Leading Design, Rev-Happy Engine, Excellent Resale ValueLimited Bootspace, Low Ground Clearance

I had driven this car VAT for 6000 Km covering Maharastra, Karnataka, Kerela & Mysore over 2 months self driven with Pune Bangalore in one day.
Car is comfortable ( except for awkward hand brake position which touches your leg ), good AC, returned good fuel economy ( 11.5 Km/l over highways, hills, cities and some very bad roads  with full AC) and encountered no problems.

The minor problems with the car is a one second lag in response once you press the accelerator and road grip at corners at higher speeds. The ground clearance can be little better - however if one slows down to complete halt at most times it will clear speedbreakers with ease ( It scraped bottom of car twice on Mysore-Brindavan road and they were really monstrous speedbreakers which would have touched most cars ). The boot is small and for such a long trip we had to keep some luggage in rear section.  

Looks, comfort, driver positionsmaller boot, low ground clearance, slow response to throttle

The civic is excellent. I liked it because, 3 people can comfortably sit on the back seat. It had good looks and I had absolutely no complaints with this car. The only issue is the mileage is terrible. I drive mostly in the city I get less than 7 km per litre.

 

Civic is revolutionary design in its class parked in between its rivals it certainly looks modern. In terms of performance its a brilliant car.Torque is spread across the whole RPM range even sound is epic at higher RPM it feels very lively.The manual gearbox is devil as the cars engine but automatic transmission feels little lazy(and very boring).It do not have dual clutch setup as Laura and Jetta.If you love to drive then i'll suggest go for manual but if you want to use it for daily purpose in city you better be with the automatic.

In terms of fuel economy figures are fair. It is not very economical. In case of automatic its simply the worst specially in city(Only 7-8 kpl).

Interior is the place where most of the things go wrong with it.It is very sporty and modern looking but it is plasticky and if you compare it with honda city you hardly get 2-3 features extra.In terms of interior it feels like grown up city.On the plus side you get better space,goodcomfort and mainly very sporty and eyecatching digital speedometer.

Ride is very quiet but the tire noise bit annoys you.Handling no other word for it mindblowing. Proper drivers car. All comes alive in mountain roads.It is absolute fun specially with manual.

Overall it is a sporty car not for person who is seeking only comfort.Low fuel economy but absolute fun.Honda could have made it more day today and featured but I am glad they didn't.

 

Good style,Interior space,Fancy digital meterFuel economy specially for automatic,Plasticky interior.

I feel great to drive Honda, Interior and spacing no comments Exterior looks pretty Looks luxurious Service and maintenance bit costlier but its worth Long drive simply superb Feel proud to have civic Black color civic is great combination for this exterior design features And finally am eagerly waiting to own a new Honda civic.

Exterior Excellent.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Excellent.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Good.

Ride Quality & Handling Very Good.

Final Words Generally very good.

Areas of improvement Pickup is not good.

Wipers are not good. They make noise even after replacing with the new ones and it is annoying. Ground clearance is less. Touches the bottom, most of the times. Need to take care of the bottom air vent. If you open it, remember to close when you park. Once rats spoilt the interiors. They came in through engine compartment from bottom and spoilt AC ducts. The looks, the interiors, exteriors are excellent. It gave mileage of 18kmpl once from bangalore to chennai (up/down). Once it gave me 16KM. Later it came down to 12. The magnum honda service center did something, replaced some parts, that could not help much. Later it improved a little bit. City drive it varies from 7KM to 9KM. leg space is very good. Enter, Exit are much better compared to other cars in the same range. Somehow, I am feeling the Pickup is not great. Used to be very good in the first couple of years. I have driven this vehicle about 20,000 KM in 6 years.

LooksGround Clearance, Pickup