Honda Civic - Next car

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Mon 20 Nov 2017 18:47
Honda Civic - Next car - ib33

Hi,

I am thinking of buying a Honda Civic 1.6 diesel or 1.8 petrol, 2014 or 2015 year.

Would be interested in any forum owner's opinions including any problems encountered and if anyone has towed a caravan with one.

Regards

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Mon 20 Nov 2017 19:16
Honda Civic - Next car - scot22

Not an expert but, unless you do a high mileage, from personal experience do not buy a diesel. After much personal reseach, and learning from this forum, the Civic is shortlisted for my next car.

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Mon 20 Nov 2017 19:22
Honda Civic - Next car - CK91437

the petrol is 99% more reliable than the diesel.

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Mon 20 Nov 2017 19:47
Honda Civic - Next car - RobJP

the petrol is 99% more reliable than the diesel.

Absolute nonsense and scaremongering.

Got any real stats to back up that ridiculous claim ?

The diesel can have it's faults - mainly DPF related, and usually caused by the car not doing enough long trips to passively regen the DPF (so basically, the people bought the wrong engine variant), but overall they seem pretty reliable.

I'll put it this way. Here are problems, as reported to HJ :

www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/honda/civic-2012/?se...d

The most common complaint seems to be electrics-related, then complaints about rear brakes needing work and the cost involved.

There have been 2 (yes, two) DPF-related complaints to HJ.

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Mon 20 Nov 2017 19:48
Honda Civic - Next car - Bolt

the petrol is 99% more reliable than the diesel.

Apart from myself, having the diesel tourer 65 plate and done 28k in 20 months no problems at all, I know 2 other people who own a hatch, without any problems and done half the mileage I have,

so as for reliability there is nothing between them, apart from diesel MPG which is a lot better 50+mpg in town and had 75mpg on a run which is pretty good in my book

Now waiting for the new hybrid accord next year

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Mon 20 Nov 2017 20:02
Honda Civic - Next car - gordonbennet

Look after it, hose it down underneath now and again, get it serviced, but be aware as touched on above the car if dealer only serviced more than likelywill not have had full strip clean re-lube of the brakes, possibly since new, it may only have had brake cleaner squirted at the brakes, so get them serviced properly at a good indy.

Other than that and a sensible decision between petrol and Diesel depending on your use and you could choose far worse cars.

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Tue 21 Nov 2017 10:43
Honda Civic - Next car - argybargy

After much personal reseach, and learning from this forum, the Civic is shortlisted for my next car.

Its on mine too, along with a Time Machine so that I can go back to July and not buy my current car. ;0(

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Tue 21 Nov 2017 20:03
Honda Civic - Next car - Engineer Andy

After much personal reseach, and learning from this forum, the Civic is shortlisted for my next car.

Its on mine too, along with a Time Machine so that I can go back to July and not buy my current car. ;0(

If I recall correctly, you had an issue with your current car with its overly firm ride, and again, if memory serves, the 2012 - 17 Civic seems to have a (for want of a better term) 'Marmite reputation' for ride quality - some people (including HJ on his review on this website) think the ride is great, others think its unduly firm. Not sure what to make of that - perhaps its down to the model variant tested, similar to VAG Leons & Octavias when going from the SE models to the FR/Sport variants, especially when the 17in and especially 18in rims are added into the equation.

I noticed a big difference between testing a new car (not a Honda BTW but Mazdas) on 18in rims (which the ride was fine, even on poor roads) and one that was even just 6 months old with 4k on the clock (definitely a firmer ride on the same size rims, same journey during the test).

I suspect the 'new softness' of tyres quickly disappears, often leaving the car owner pee'd off and either thinking about changing the car completely (at great expense) or, if possible, replacing the wheels and tyres with higher profile ones (not exactly cheap either).

It was pure chance that my second test car that day was a slightly 'older' (i.e. not brand spanking new with less than 50 miles on the clock) one, and from now on (given I prefer to buy new/nearly new and keep for around 10 years or so) I'll test drive the car I want as both new and one that's the same variant but older (if possible), to see how they fair later in life. A shame you can't do that with other things in life that can REALLY hurt your wallet down the road...

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 09:30
Honda Civic - Next car - argybargy

Engineer Andy:"If I recall correctly, you had an issue with your current car with its overly firm ride"

You're quite correct: my permanent passenger complained long and loud about the Focus's concrete suspension. It never really bothered me that every bump felt like a deliberate kick up the arras, but hey: as driver and the one who pays the bills, it ain't my place to say.

In fact the seats in the B Max are much more supportive, both for her and for me, so that problem has been addressed, as has my apparently jerky gear change as featured in the manual Focus.

So it seems that our next car needn't have a particular soft ride as long as the seats are supportive and the gearbox automatic.

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Mon 20 Nov 2017 20:12
Honda Civic - Next car - SLO76
The Civic is a great option but as a tow car the 1.6 diesel is a better bet with vastly more pulling power. The 1.8 petrol is pretty much bombproof but it lacks midrange pull and to date the 1.6 Diesel is proving reliable too. But as with all modern diesels it won’t take kindly to lots of short stop start driving so it all depends on the type of usage it’ll see.

I have a CRV with the same 1.6 diesel and the engine has been outstanding, it’s amazing on fuel, smooth and pulls surprisingly well for such a heavy car. Only weak point on diesel Honda’s of this age is the clutches which are prone to judder which for some reason doesn’t seem to affect the petrols.

For towing and if you’re doing plenty of distance driving I’d have the diesel. I’d spend a bit more to get a good approved used example from a Honda main dealer as they have the best stock.

Edited by SLO76 on 20/11/2017 at 20:13

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Tue 21 Nov 2017 20:16
Honda Civic - Next car - Steveieb
Not as technically savvy as the other contributors but the one thing that strikes me about this car is the poor rear view visibility.
This has been partially acknowledged by Honda in fitting a rear view camera but the rear spoiler may look the part but it sure does Interfere with the view in the rear view mirror.
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Tue 21 Nov 2017 21:01
Honda Civic - Next car - catsdad
Rear visibilty is usually raised by reviewers but I've never found it an issue in practice. You look past it not at it and the total glass area is actually quite large.

Think of it another way, how many people refuse to carry rear passengers on visibility grounds? They potentially block out much more than a narrow spoiler strip.
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Tue 21 Nov 2017 21:29
Honda Civic - Next car - badbusdriver
Rear visibilty is usually raised by reviewers but I've never found it an issue in practice. You look past it not at it and the total glass area is actually quite large. Think of it another way, how many people refuse to carry rear passengers on visibility grounds? They potentially block out much more than a narrow spoiler strip.

And how many builders, tradespeople, postmen and women, even the humble window cleaner (like myself), and anyone else who drives a van, truck or bus do you hear complaining about the rear view. My van has no rear windows and no camera, it's never caused me any difficulty.

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 09:35
Honda Civic - Next car - argybargy
Rear visibilty is usually raised by reviewers but I've never found it an issue in practice. You look past it not at it and the total glass area is actually quite large. Think of it another way, how many people refuse to carry rear passengers on visibility grounds? They potentially block out much more than a narrow spoiler strip.

And how many builders, tradespeople, postmen and women, even the humble window cleaner (like myself), and anyone else who drives a van, truck or bus do you hear complaining about the rear view. My van has no rear windows and no camera, it's never caused me any difficulty.

Indeed, I think it is easier to overcome the issue of poor rear window space if you've regularly driven a vehicle with no rear visibility except mirrors. You learn to trust senses that you wouldn't necessarily trust if you had a great big back window to look through.

Its one of the changes you have to overcome if you go straight from driving a car to a large goods vehicle, or in my case fire engine. Can I trust my mirrors to tell me whats happening behind and below me? It doesn't take long to learn that you can.

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Tue 21 Nov 2017 23:14
Honda Civic - Next car - Bolt
Not as technically savvy as the other contributors but the one thing that strikes me about this car is the poor rear view visibility. This has been partially acknowledged by Honda in fitting a rear view camera but the rear spoiler may look the part but it sure does Interfere with the view in the rear view mirror.

you dont have to be technical to comment on the rear screen, its as marmite as the rest of the car, and the camera was fitted for reversing with, not to replace the rear view mirror

It cannot be that bad as I see women driving these cars now, which wasn`t a common sight a few years ago (that may be due to Civic price though) but I see more of them driving about these days and without rear damage...

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 00:49
Honda Civic - Next car - Avant

"It cannot be that bad as I see women driving these cars now...."

You mean, I presume, that in your view women are more discriminating and won't accept poor rear visibility?

SWMBO was watching a recording of the Antiques Roadshow this evening, where the antiques experts were in a 1965 Ford Zodiac (Mark 3). This had terrific vision front and rear through a huge glass area. But I suppose if one of those overturned the occupants would be lucky to emerge alive.

We need a compromise between visibility and body strength. It can be done: Audis, for example, mostly have good visibility but get 5 stars in the NCP tests.

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 07:31
Honda Civic - Next car - bazza

I have had a 12 reg 1.8 for a few months. Rear visibility was one of the things I thought I would be bothered by but in reality it's fine, there's actually a large glass area and the mirrors are excellent. So it's not an issue really. The V40 I went in recently had far worse rearwards view.

I would opt for the diesel, as in any petrol/diesel option when it comes to towing., diesel will always be superior. I've not seen any problems on the forums specific to the 1.6 dtec. My 1.8 is averaging 48 mpg measured, it;s down a bit from the summer, with shorter drives and the colder weather. I'm a gentle driver, so I'm sure I could get this down to about 40mpg or so if I used the performance.

The ride of this version on 16 inch rims is the best I've had in any car to be honest and I struggle to understand why it is felt as too firm by some!

Overall, it's a fine car and extremely pleasant to drive around in, that's all i ask for.

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 08:22
Honda Civic - Next car - gordonbennet

SWMBO was watching a recording of the Antiques Roadshow this evening, where the antiques experts were in a 1965 Ford Zodiac (Mark 3). This had terrific vision front and rear through a huge glass area. But I suppose if one of those overturned the occupants would be lucky to emerge alive.

We need a compromise between visibility and body strength. It can be done: Audis, for example, mostly have good visibility but get 5 stars in the NCP tests.

Mk 2 and 3 Zodiacs were very popular as banger racers on the oval, i had a mk3 for the best part of a whole season, 6 meetings as i recall, Austin Cambridges another popular model, but the most desirable were Westminsters Rover P4's and Standard Vanguards which could take a hell of a battering before they became unusable.

Yes i know we scaffolded a Heath Robinson roll cage inside, but these were decently strong cars from the start, and you had a rollover, sometimes several, regularly.

I've seen the roofs cut from cars following accidents, probably the strongest ABC pillars i've ever seen were on Volvo 200/700/900 series, where the comparitively thin looking pillars comprised of multple folds of steel inside, incredibly strong, and i've seen roofs cut off some of the modern other makes where those pillars were little short of an oval shell, and due to modern design those pillars have had to get wider due to length and angle to maintain adequate strength.

If the crash tests involved an oblique rollover equivalent crush test on the roof sections the car buying public might have a bit of an eye opener.

Edited by gordonbennet on 22/11/2017 at 08:23

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 09:40
Honda Civic - Next car - argybargy

Speaking of the relative strength of various cars, I remember we had a scrap Rover SD1 in the drill yard at the fire brigade training school so that we could practice cutting a trapped person out of a vehicle in a crash situation.

Having cut up much more flimsy cars, it was a real surprise to find out just how thick the metal roof was on that vehicle. Took us ages and really tested our equipment.

I seriously doubt whether modern cars would present such a challenge, though I also reckon that what metal they do have is much better protected from rust.

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 10:04
Honda Civic - Next car - gordonbennet

A friend of mine who was banger racer welder and general car tinkerer used to trailer various suitable scrappers round to the fire station for the lads to practice on, and before he demolished his tiny old cottage (that he was born in) he let the fire service use if for smoke filled house rescue practice.

On the subject of rear visbility and mirrors, there's a world of difference between large enough sensible well sited rectangular mirrors, and the utterly hopeless things no more use than a make up mirror which are stuck on so many modern cars almost as a fashion accessory.

Edited by gordonbennet on 22/11/2017 at 10:07

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Wed 22 Nov 2017 12:59
Honda Civic - Next car - Engineer Andy

Most modern (and CE/NCAP compliant) cars are designed specifically to crumple in certain areas to absorb the energy of crashes so they don't endanger the occupants within the 'safety cell' of the car, rather than, with old cars from the 1980s and before, a much larger proportion of the energy is transferred from the impact point to the passenger area of the car.

I would expect the 'safety cell' part of modern cars to be far better at resisting deformation than that of an older car, though this is different to a firefighter using the 'jaws of life' to actually cut through the structure.

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Sat 25 Nov 2017 18:37
Honda Civic - Next car - ib33

Thanks for all your replies, especially interested in owner opinions and there doesn't seem to be any major problems. Think I will risk a diesel as my work commute although not too far is by motorway and the extra torque and economy will be good for towing our small caravan.

cheers

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