In general, customers were treated well by the dealerships. There is a new stereo in your car and a dead remote control, so you’re in this situation.
The aftermarket either doesn’t know about this or doesn’t have the desire to inform the vehicle’s owner. If a non-Honda radio is installed, the keyless entry feature is disabled. A few complaints about the Civic’s centre armrest placement and road noise from the tyres’ 185/65R-14 size were made, but overall, this car’s cabin is one of its class’ best.Īfter installing an aftermarket stereo, a number of owners complained that their keyless entry system stopped working. That component was incorporated into Honda’s stock stereo in order to save money. With its low centre of gravity and wide display, it offers excellent visibility. There is a lot of room in Honda’s interior. In addition, the interior is very welcoming. The position of the accelerator pedal determines whether the vehicle is understeered or oversteered, respectively. The throttle can be used to control it around a skidpad. The Civic is extremely easy to balance in any situation. Two mph faster than the Camaro, and one-half mph more than the Neon. The Civic’s power assist and rack-and-pinion steering make it a joy to drive. In terms of hardware, Honda isn’t stingy. The Civic is equipped with gas-pressure shocks on all four corners, as well. However, all four Civics have double wishbones. Simple multilink/trailing arm setups or a solid beam axle can also be employed. The front suspension on the vast majority of subcompacts is MacPherson.
The Civic excels at handling and outperforms its rivals. ABS-controlled front disc/rear hub brakes stopped the car at 60 mph with adequate pedal feel. For the fastest launches, this was a problem.īrakes with ABS control on the rear disc/drum brakes were stable and safe. There are cars out there that can go 60 mph in second without shifting to third like some of our competitors, but we could have gone even faster with a shorter gearing setup! Front-drive wheels jumping off pavement is known as axle hop. Despite the fact that its primary purpose was to improve fuel efficiency, this has happened. Gearing seemed to be a little too high on our Civic. VTEC systems, which vary from engine to engine, increase the power of each one. The 115-hp HX coupe and the 127-hp EX coupe are both 1.6-liter SOHC 4s. Keep an eye on the tachometer to make sure you’re in the most efficient power band. That’s even faster than the Pontiac Sunfire, a sibling to the Cavalier.įor our test drive, we used the small 1.6-liter SOHC 4 engine, which makes just 106 horsepower and generates 103 lb-ft of torque. A DOHC Neon’s 150 hp is comparable to the SL2 Saturn’s 124 hp output. At 6200 rpm, the Civic reaches its maximum power output. The DOHC-powered Neon Sport coupe clocked in at 8.13 seconds.
Off the line, the less expensive cars perform better. Using a five-speed manual transmission, the Civic LX was able to hit 60mph in 9.05 seconds. It took us 8.26 seconds to get the Neon from zero to sixty miles per hour. To put it another way, this sticker costs about $1,500 more than the equivalent sticker on a Saturn or Neon (both of which offer more power). And whatever model your young college graduate chooses, Honda will be there to support him or her with their reputation for making fun vehicles.įrom the CX hatchback to the EX sedan (which costs $17.280), Honda has a total of 21 official model variants. Because it is the most popular Civic model, we chose to test it in the LX sedan body style. In the end, we paid a total of $15,599. In spite of the fact that the Civic line is less fun to drive than the CRX Si, the new, slightly larger and more cushy model that was introduced in autumn 1995 isn’t as boring as we feared it would be. The Civic comes in three body styles: coupe, sedan, and hatchback. Fun to drive, long-term cost-effective, and reliable. The best car for a recent college graduate who wants a vehicle that is both dependable and entertaining? In spite of its bulletproof nature, the Toyota Corolla is dull. The Saturn Coupe, Mazda Protege, and Mazda Protege are no exceptions. A great car like a Dodge Neon or Volkswagen Golf may have some quality control problems. I recommend the Honda Civic. The following article is a 1996 Auto Week review of the Honda Civic