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Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Quadratica

I have had four cars in 31 years and am looking to replace my current one (which works fine but I am fed up of it) I do most servicing myself and hope to keep the car until I retire 2025.

Honda Civic 1.8 auto (2012-2015) OR Toyota Auris Hybrid (2012-2015).

I have driven them and both have their pros/cons so I am paralyzed by indecision and would like readers' votes.

The most important thing for me is complete and utter reliability.

Thank you.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - dan86

You cant go wrong with both in regards to reliability. Both makes are renowned for their reliability and longevity if serviced corectly. It will have to come down to personal preference between the two.

But of the two for my money it would be the auris but that's just me others may prefer the civic. I'm just not a fan of the design of the civic.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - gordonbennet

Do you feel confident about servicing a Hybrid correctly, i do all my own servicing and i don't, so for me it would have to be the Civic.

Civic's are a doddle to service (and i have no doubt a normal non hybrid Auris would be just as straightforward), the only real issue is to keep the brakes well lubed especially the rear calipers which have a self adjusting parking brake mechanism within...these won't have been stripped cleaned and lubed during normal maker servicing unless the owner specified it, so if you get a Civic i would suggest doing that immediately.

I too am not a fan of the Civic design, but daughter's 1.8 on an 08 plate continues to prove just as reliable competent and unbreakable as her two previous 2.0S types of the previous (04ish) model, in which she covered very high and hard miles without any breadowns.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Quadratica

You're both right; the civic looks a little odd (much less so in white) and I did post a few weeks ago about hybrid servicing and it is perhaps not so easy for me to do as a regular car. So these are issues that compound my uncertainty.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - SLO76
No question here, it’s the Civic all day long. Your intention to keep longterm and to maintain it yourself rule out the much more complex hybrid which really requires dealer servicing to keep sweet. Even with this you’d still run into the issue of batter pack degradation and this is a cripplingly expensive thing to replace. Ultimately most hybrids will be just petrol powered cars hauling a heavy electric drivetrain and dead battery around by the time they’re much more than a decade old.

The Civic on the other hand has no real vices as long as you use the correct oil and a good quality filter. The engine and gearbox are fit for 150k plus if well cared for and they resist rot very well. It’s probably the best small family auto you could buy with longterm ownership in mind.

There are a few others worthy of note including the straightforward Auris 1.6 or 1.2T CVT which should be perfectly fine as long as any gearbox oil changes are adhered to. Mazda’s 3 2.0 Skyactiv auto is another good one but a bit harder to find.
Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Quadratica

Thank you for the informative post. I never thought that (in the long term) hybrids would merely be petrol cars with a heavy battery to lug around because of battery wear & tear. I have seen many Auris HSD with over 120K miles and I don't think there are many reports of Prius batteries being 'dead'. This is important as I want to buy at about 30K miles and own to about 100K miles over 7 years.

The additional servicing for a hybrid would be off-set by the £0 VED. But I am loathe to go to the dealer for servicing/tyres etc. I am not that well off.

Your point about a Mazda 3 is good, I like the looks and I bet it's a fab drive with 6sp TC auto Are Mazda as reliable as the other two ?

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Engineer Andy

Thank you for the informative post. I never thought that (in the long term) hybrids would merely be petrol cars with a heavy battery to lug around because of battery wear & tear. I have seen many Auris HSD with over 120K miles and I don't think there are many reports of Prius batteries being 'dead'. This is important as I want to buy at about 30K miles and own to about 100K miles over 7 years.

The additional servicing for a hybrid would be off-set by the £0 VED. But I am loathe to go to the dealer for servicing/tyres etc. I am not that well off.

Your point about a Mazda 3 is good, I like the looks and I bet it's a fab drive with 6sp TC auto Are Mazda as reliable as the other two ?

Not quite as much, but still very good in petrol form - my 1.6 N/A petrol Mazda3 is now 12.5 years old and going generally very well. Like the Honda, keep an eye on the brakes if you don't use the car that much as they can stick and/or warp if left sitting on the drive for several days on a regular basis - fine if used for work 5 days a week though.

The Honda and Toyota will likely be better on corrosion resistance (Mazda have improved, but not to the level of these rivals yet) and, if you do need to use a dealership, better on customer service - Mazda dealers can vary quite a bit in quality - normally fine as regards sales, more so on after-sales.

The Mazda will be a much better drive if you like a good handling car, although the Honda 1.8 petrol is quite nippy and better than the de-rated (standard model) 120PS Mazda 2.0 petrol, which is fine for anyone just wanting reasonable performance. The 6 speed TC auto box in the Mazda is very smooth but does sap some performance (manual: 0-60 in 8.9sec, auto in 10.3 sec).

One point though that may be of importance - make sure that the comfort and ride quality are to your liking for whichever of the three (or any others suggested) you look at - get the seating and steering wheel position to the optimum and take them for at least an hour test drive on a wide range of road types, especially those you often use, but including faster, twisty roads and those that are poorly surfaced and/or have speed bumps.

The reason being is that many potential buyers are put off by the overly firm ride on some cars/specific models, whether due to a general firm ride across a range or specific sub-models that come with larger wheels and wide, low profile tyres and perhaps stiffer suspension as standard. Some don't mind it - I didn't get on with the Mazda3 in Sport form with 18in rims and low profile tyres, better on the 'standard' 16in rims and 60 profile tyres. The Civic (last gen) seems to be a bit of a 'marmite car' - some people love them and the ride, others the opposite and find they are way too firm.

Note that some cars nowadays come on unusual size tyres (e.g. the Mazda's 205/60 R16) that are significantly more expensive (25-50% more in some cases and less choice) to replace than more common ones, like my 3's OEM size of 205/55 R16 which is common across many makes of C-sector car when it was built.

I'd go for a middle or upper-middle spec car to a) avoid the expensive, firm riding 'Sport' models and b) that would get the best value-for-money as many have a decent spec for most people and avoid the plethora of electronic toys that either we don't actually need and/or are more likely to go wrong.

The main thing in the Mazda's favour, other than its great handling advantage over the other two, is that its far cheaper to buy for the same spec (talking more about the Auris 1.2T than the hybrid) and thus you may be able to source a much newer car that may even be still under the manufacturer's warranty. Hondas aren't cheap to buy and parts are expensive, but, like the Toyota, are very reliable if properly looked after.

Probably best to make a list of all the things you want and score each car accordingly, including making allowances for the importance of each aspect. Have a look at the Review section here for all of them (they'll be under the 'Used Reviews' below the newest models for each make) and the road tests to get more info. The 'Good and Bad' section is useful to document possible problems that may arise, but bear in mind that they are individual document cases, not a list of 'inherrant' porbelems every owner will face.

Best of luck.

PS. You may also wish to consider a Hyundai or KIA given the have longer warranties, and like the Mazda, may get you a newer car for your money, although to get that benefit you'd need to service any car at the manufacturer main dealership.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Big John
The Civic on the other hand has no real vices as long as you use the correct oil and a good quality filter. The engine and gearbox are fit for 150k

I have four friends running Toyota hybrids (2 x Prius & 1 X Auris Touring and 1 X Yaris) and they all love them and all plan to replace them with another (2 people are on their second)

Despite the battery doomsayers - these have been good and the person with the oldest one has only had to replace one cell which was fairly cheap. The oily bits are very simple - it;s effectively a transaxle with a epi cyclic gears at each end with two integrated motors/generators. At one end there is an engine and drive is taken off in the middle between the epcyclic gears and both motors. The complex bit is the electronic gubbins which control the two motors/generators to effectively change the gearing or allow the engine to start and potentially contribute to generation or drive depending on circumstances (go pedal, stop pedal, current speed, temperature.....)

They are very light on the brakes as when you hit the brake pedal the motors/transaxle act as a full on generator to a) top up the battery and b) slow the car. It's only when you need more stopping power that the pads/discs are used. Pads can last 100-200k miles.

Many taxi's use these now and many have starship mileages (300k miles+) with few issues. One minor issue to watch is the crankcase ventilation valve that can cause oil burning until fixed (pressurised crankcase blow oil past valve seals, ohter oil seals and gaskets).

Due to the natre of how this hybrid works there is no MOT emissions test

Edited by Big John on 24/08/2018 at 20:39

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Quadratica

Thank you for that information. I think on the Auris HSD very little is likely to go wrng despite complex electronics and HJ reveiw suggests it is a low stress motor and I felt this on the test drive, very little vibration/mechanical feel at any speed (up to 60mph anyway).

It is encouraging that your people have been long-term owners. I spoke to one taxi driver who was very happy with his Auris HSD and said he had pals with hybrids at 200K miles with nobig battery trouble.....your point about brakes was also mentioned by taxi man.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - colinh

Had a couple of Auris HSDs - completely reliable - servicing is relatively inexpensive and a dealer will give a Hybrid Health Certificate with a service which gives an additional year of warranty for the hybrid drive-train, up to a total of 10. Toyota LV batteries are smaller than normal (as they're not used for starting) so are vulnerable to leaving a boot light on, for example. The CVT boxes are a bit "buzzy" if you live in a hilly district

Edited by colinh on 24/08/2018 at 21:54

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - SLO76
If you were buying and disposing before 6-7yrs I’d happily back the hybrid, I often do suggest the Auris as an option on here. But you plan on keeping it beyond the likely lifespan of the battery pack which is affected more by age than anything else. The technology is basically the same as that used in mobile phones and laptop computers and we all know how their performance drops beyond 4-5yrs. For your purposes and your home serving plan I’d veer you away from one here. It won’t make much economic sense to pay more for one than a Civic or a normal CVT Auris unless you do a lot of heavy local stop/start driving.
Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Quadratica

Thanks for those points. The Auris HSD is more expensive to buy and I would veer towards a 2015 Auris HSD to have more big battery life and that would cost about £13K whereas a 2013 Civic can be bought for £8K. That sizeable difference would take me about 8 years to recoup in petrol / VED / self-servicng savings.

The other thing in favour of the Civic is that one can drive it keenly and not worry all the time about getting the best mpg. In the Auris HSD I can imagine myself driving so slowly and carefully to maximise mpg that it annoys other drivers and kills any fun of driving.

If only the Civic looked a little less 'odd', not too bad in white SO on the whole I am veering towards the Honda. Let the search begin!

Many, many thanks to all those who replied and made valuable suggestions.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - badbusdriver

Looks are entirely down to personal opinion i know, but i prefer the Civic to the Auris.

One thing i like about both of them is that they are quite slim (within 10mm of each other), with so many cars being, to my mind, just too 'fat'!. The Civic also has a much bigger boot (possibly due to the hybrid gubbins in the Auris?), by over 100 litres.

I like both the cars, but overall, given the time you plan to keep it, servicing it yourself, and (possibly) giving it the odd spirited run(?!), i'd go for the Civic.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Avant

I think it's your type of motoring and your driving style which needs to settle this one.

The more your driving is in urban / suburban areas, and the more gentle and leisurely your driving style, the better a hybrid will suit you. If you drive a lot on the 'open road' and enjoy a bit of acceleration when you can, go for the petrol Honda. The problem with the otherwise excellent Toyota hybrid and its CVT is that if you want a burst of acceleration the revs go skywards, and what seemed effortless in town becomes frenetic.

Both are good cars - make sure you get one with full service history and moderate mileage (not too high and not too low).

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - SLO76
“Both are good cars - make sure you get one with full service history and moderate mileage (not too high and not too low).”

And remember that the Hybrid will plummet in value far more rapidly without a dealer service history. The Civic auto also is usually bought by older drivers who expect service history but the drop will be much less so. If you intend on keeping until the car is done then this isn’t a worry however.

While you can maintain these cars at home you are missing out on any manufacturer technical bulletins alerting the dealer to known issues and any software updates. These are important on sophisticated modern vehicles and values of cars (particularly complex turbo diesels and hybrids) will plummet without it meaning any savings will be less than you imagine. As a trader I wouldn’t touch any of the cars you mention without a service history from a reputable garage and in the case of the hybrid a main dealer stamped up book.
Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Sprice

I've got an 8th gen 2009 1.8 Civic manual, great car to drive, personally I don't find the ride too harsh which was a common criticism at the time and the computer regularly shows well over 50 mpg (I've actually seen it well over 100, many miles after a trip reset). Real fuel consumption measured brim to brim is late 40's usually.

My last car was a 9G Civic 1.6 DTEC, another great car, and didn't really ride much better despite having improved suspension. Regarding the 9G 1.8, there seemed to be a problem with 2012 models having an oil consumption problem, check civinfo.com for details.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - bazza

I have a 2012 9th gen 1.8. I've not noticed any oil consumption in the 12000 miles I've put on it. Again, I regularly see over 50 mpg measured, currently averaging 48mpg since I bought it. A nice refined car, a few quirks such as rear visibility and a "marmite" dash but overall it's refined, economical and comfortable. Mine is 6 years old and drives like new. I would have another. Auris is also a great buy but would oonly go for a hybrid if my driving justified it, ie high miles in the city. Otherwise the 1.2 T would be perfect. We run a 14 yar old Corolla as well and I can vouch for Toyota's robustness.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - pd

I'd go with the Auris all day long. Once you get used to a hybrid you will not want to go back to a stone age petrol only.

The Toyota hybrid system is very, very reliable and I'd trust it over most other engine combos.

Servicing is minimal. There is really no servicing on the hybrid system at all - the mechanical bits just get an oil change like any other car. There are non-serviced examples of these with 300k on still chuggin along like new out there. After a few years who does the servicing will have absolutely no effect on the residuals at all - and if they do we're talking £100 in the trade.

The only situation I'd consider the Honda is if you do primarily motorway driving in which case the hybrid advantages are mitigated quite a bit. For mixed driving they are excellent.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - madf

I agree with much of pd's post above..

Once a car is 10 years old, whether it works or not and how it works is far more imprtant than who serviced it. It will be worthless - to a few £100 - in both cases,

As I do all my own servicing on a Jazz and a Yaris, I know. But as you grow older , ease of servcing is a must.. For the Hybrid system, ANY electrical work requires proper electrically insulated gloves. The system works at high volts and currents and there are some big condensors: discharge those through your body and you may die (and if you have a pacemaker you will be dead as it will have died from electric shock.) Car Mechanics did a series on renovating a high miles Prius. Worth reading..

Edited by madf on 25/08/2018 at 17:00

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - Quadratica

All good points from people with more car knowledge than me. I asked for a readers' vote and I think more prefer the civic and the points raised in its favour have convinced me it is the better car for me. I will only buy a one-owner model which has done about 10K miles annually and has a Honda SH. I intend to keep it for a long time and service myself apart from any specialised jobs when I will let Honda do it (as I do with my current car).

Today I visited a local Vauxhall dealer selling a suitable Civc. The salesman gave me the patter and when I asked about previous owners he said THREE ! I could not get out of there fast enough.

A good time of year to buy too.

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - gordonbennet

Just make sure the aircon is working properly when you buy, some Honda's appear to have issues with compressors and they are not a cheap fix, son's 13 plate CRV compressor was replaced under Honda extended warranty a few weeks ago, some £1500 job apparently, Civic probably cheaper but gives you an idea.

Speaking of which you might just find a suitable Honda Approved used in budget, that warranty is rock solid,

Civic 1.8 v Auris HSD - Utterly Undecided - phil_z70

I cannot comment on the Civic but I can recommend the Auris

I have had a Auris Touring hybrid for 4 months now and it is a lovely car once you have got used to the cvt gearbox, it's not a car that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end but it's a very smooth, quiet and a very relaxing drive, especially in stop start traffic.

I have always done my own servicing too but I will now use Toyota for the basic servicing (to prolong the battery warranty up to 10 years) I will do any other items myself, brakes & things. Toyota servicing is actually quite reasonable and after the car is 5 years old is a bit cheaper

The other running costs are very good, over 50 mpg, free road tax from a automatic petrol