What other cars were you considering and why? (merged)

[HondaRob]

Looked at and test drove Volvo S40 1.6d in Se spec, ended up being too expensive and needed a hatch (V50 is also too expensive).

[Minkster]

A few people have mentioned a couple of other cars which I think *look* good but have significant 'put-off' failings which is why they didn't make it to the final shortlist...

Citroen C4 - In hatchback mode, I think this is one of the prettiest cars on the road. The front-end just does it for me. High depreciation was off-putting but then again you get good discounts. The killer for me was shutting the door to hear a clangy, slightly rattly cheap feel and thus was discounted.

Dodge Caliber - I'm a bit of a sucker for American cars, and I really like the styling on the car. What I hated however was the expanses of cheap, grey, pastic on the interior. Another case of a good looking car being completely ballsed up by shoddy quality.

Although, I suppose both the above cars are probably offset by relatively cheap purchase prices...

[mouse123]

Looking at another Skoda Octavia RS but didnt as i wanted to save money on insurance and running costs

Also Astra sri with vxr body kit didnt because it had a crap interior

Would have looked at the Volvo C30 but wasnt out then and too late now ....still happy with this one

[Charles_Harding]

I looked at an Astra before Millie got sign up.

I thought that the exterior styling appealed.

But, honestly, I couldn't even drive on the test day 'cos my feet were too big!!

They fouled the steering column when I moved them from the accelerator to the brake!

Decided on safety grounds to look elsewhere, thank goodness!

Millie can take my size 12's in her stride!

"Nothing in the world creates more false hopes than the first few hours of a new diet!"

Charles H.

[Mark Q]

Lexus IS200 not enough room in rear for duaghters legs !
JAg x type wife says its too old man !
Alfa 159 went to dealers 7 times but never managed to drive one !
Honda accord ok but a bit bland ....

..compared to Civic which took our eyes when we looked at accord and never looked back. For my budjet instead of getting bottom of range exec I got top of the range hatch, I perfer the hatchback anyway for transporting things around.

The wife was a bit disappointed that theres no lexus on drive but she loves driving the civic >>> She's got an RX-8 too so she's no

[4540flossy]

Ford S-Max TDci Titanium... Firstly no discounts available and then reports on quality and reliability issues. Didn't think that the Civic would be practical enough until I drove it. Then I decided that I'd have to adapt my lifestyle to suit the car!

[l-noel]

After having driven my 307 for 5 years and more than180 000 km, I was in a mood for change... all ! No more dull car, no more French car, something with a nice design, maybe a good diesel engine (but I prefer petrol), European car, why not a Coupe ?

But one night we saw an advert at the TV (never saw it again) for the new Civic ! So we went to the dealer have a look at the real car and book for a test drive... The Line the interior design and the Diesel Engine conquer us !

But Mme NOEL and me, we don't like to buy car on a heartbeat !

So went to Opel to have a look at the Astra Twintop, Poor salesmen ("don't buy Honda you cant resell it ! Proof look in the Used car You will not found ONE !" ) And he didn't ring me back for a test drive so I let it down !

Then I went to Vw, Had a look at the skoda and at the Audi A3 in the same time but too dull ! Ask for an EOS, and the salesmen said the car was not available for a testdrive ... So ask for a Jetta 140 TDI DSG... Car is not available for a testdrive... a simple jetta (I dont want a golf...) car is not... I let down !

Went to Alfa Romeo and have easily a test drive of the GT 150 HP Diesel, Very nice but my wife did not like it so let it down...

BMW, 120D Easy to have a test drive, and the salesman was ready to let me the car for a longer time to let me convince Madame... Ask for the price seems ok but went through the option listing OMG !!! let it down...

Went to Toyota, had a look at the Corrola, had a test drive of a wonderful Celica ... but was not Punchy enough and it was a second hand.

Went to Seat and had very easily a test drive of the 140HP DSG Leon, nice design but poor interior design (how can be accepted such a crappy design ?) Driving was nice, engine not so nice but the gearbox Yes ...

Went back to Honda for a second test and we place the Order ! We ask for a Milano red CDTI but after 3 month our dealer tell us in December that Honda was not able to deliver the car before March / April ! As he has received a Champagne with the same Specification, he propose a swap !

If I have to do the same choice today I would take into consideration the new Fiat Bravo and the Toyota Auris

[slowhand]

I saw a CIVIC saloon 4 door for the first time at the dealer today mmmm
that is not bad, never seen them advertised in the uk, it looks almost as big as a Accord, though the wheels were absolutely gopping.

But I almost bought the Seat Leon 150bhp tdi RED limited edition with all the body kit on and twin exhausts, very nice, but at my age everyone would ask where my son got the kit from.
The Civic looks quite stylish and racy in standard trim.

My other choice was the Mazda 6, but that would not fit in the garage, and the Mazda 3 5/4 door looked abit boring, so there we are 6 months on and a Civic owner, not quite the build quality I was expecting, but ok.

But the next car is going to be a Toyota Auris, that looks realy nice in black and all the fittings seem much better.

[Smazy]

I testdrove the Seat Leon. I think it's a nice car from the outside, but the interrior is kind of cheap and boring. I could get a nice deal with a Peugeot 207. Nice car to drive but not a car for me.

[pariah]

I looked at the Jaguar X-type Estate, the Focus C-Max, and the Golf Plus. Favourite was the Jaguar (even though its a Mondeo under the skin). Walked past the Honda dealership and thought HMMM... that looks rather nice. Tested it, bought it, others were no comparison in my opinion. BTW the Civic's my wife's car, my other car is a bike...

[kgbhoy]

Vauxhall Astra - Bucket with engine attached. All rattle no refinement.
Volkswagen Golf Match - Tin Box, albeit with a refined engine. Too slow and uninspiring.
Renault Megane - Would quickly get tired of shakin' that ass!
Seat Leon - Nice Car, appeared faster than the Golf with the same engine. Lacked something.
Saab 93 - Plastic fantastic, dull and functional and plastic. Boring plastics!
Citroen C4 - I felt sure something was going to break or go on fire at any second.
I'm sure there was more but they were obviously that bad that I've chosen to omit them from my memory entirely!

[waltsinhull]

Having spent 3 years struggling to get 20 mpg out my Evo, I decided that I wanted/needed a diesel and was sold on the Type S when I saw it reviewed in Japanese Performance.

I was some way down the line towards getting one when I saw the Type R and was on my way to order one of those instead, but having 3 kids the two rear seat belts killed it off and so I had to go back to the trusty type S.

Can't say that I have regretted it.

How stupid have Honda been with the packaging of the Type R? My dealer reported that I was the 3rd person that he knew of who would have bought one but for the deficiency of seat belts.

Getting back to the topic, We have a BMW as well and so when I take it for a service they give me a 1 series and I think they are the business from a driving perspective - particularly the 120d - I could never get my head around paying the money that they are asking though.

[Minkster]

Originally Posted by slowhand

I saw a CIVIC saloon 4 door for the first time at the dealer today mmmm
that is not bad, never seen them advertised in the uk, it looks almost as big as a Accord, though the wheels were absolutely gopping.

Thats the Hybrid Civic?

But the next car is going to be a Toyota Auris, that looks realy nice in black and all the fittings seem much better.

Nicely put together car but as dull as dishwater compared to the Civic IMO

[l-noel]

Originally Posted by Charles_Harding

I looked at an Astra before Millie got sign up.

I thought that the exterior styling appealed.

But, honestly, I couldn't even drive on the test day 'cos my feet were too big!!

They fouled the steering column when I moved them from the accelerator to the brake!

Decided on safety grounds to look elsewhere, thank goodness!

Millie can take my size 12's in her stride!

"Nothing in the world creates more false hopes than the first few hours of a new diet!"

Charles H.

12's size foot !!! I'm only 8 1/2 !!! Is this why you're 1022 post above me ?

[Obo]

Originally I wanted a mini but I didnt realised exactly how small and unpractical they are until I saw one properly. I went and looked round loads of garages and then spotted a civic went to the Honda garage and fell in love with it but I didnt think I could afford the spec I liked which at the time was ES with leather.

I nearly bought a focus titanium estate with touch screen sat nav & loads of extras for £15k, as I was part chopping a focus ST170 estate, but it had gone when I went back.

I test drove a Kia Ceed and very nearly bought it, the top of the range was over £10k less than I spent on my EX.

My dad talked me into going to Bristol Honda with him and my mum and convinced me to go for the civic I ended up ordering the EX and after a massive wait and a huge amount of farting about I couldnt be happier with it

[grebble]

Kia Cee'd Obo? Oh dear! Glad you saw sense...

One of the must-haves for me was leather as I had that on my old car and couldn't go back to cloth. I originally didn't consider the new Civic because leather wasn't available on all models to start with, so I briefly looked at the Mazda 3 and Seat Leon. I decided against the Mazda because I would have to go for the 2.0 litre Sport if I wanted leather, and that costs over £200 per year to tax and gets about 35mpg tops. The Leon fared a bit better, but I decided against it as it was a bit too 'chav' for me. Then I looked at the Civic again and found that leather is now available on the ES at a price I could afford! I had an older Civic anyway and loved that, so from there my mind was made up!

[Obo]

Originally Posted by grebble

Kia Cee'd Obo? Oh dear! Glad you saw sense...

I know I know...

I also NEED leather in the car with cats and dogs and a bf with OCD the hair in the car is an absolute nightmare imagine getting pet hair on the almost suede looking civic seats. I noticed every garage I went to said "you dont want leather its not fashionable now" I DONT CARE if I want it it's not as a fashion accessory! Honda and Ford were the only 2 garages that didnt say it Renault wouldnt even look for a car with leather and offered me a Megane estate older than my st170

[Kremmen]

Having a Lexus IS200 I naturally looked at the:

IS250 - too expensive, too large
Octavia - The badge plus slightly too big
Citroen C4 - poor build quality
VW Golf - then heard about the dealers

Then the Civic toys list got me interested coupled to Honda's reliability record.

[Charley Farley]

Hi All

As I previously had a Mecedes A class 170 CDI I naturally looked at a 180/160 CDI. Both very nice cars but 160 was too slow and 180 too expensive. Thought about a B class as I have two kids. But the wife didn't like it. Had a look at a Golf TDI but was too dated for me. I still remember the mark 1 Golf and the design cues are still the same. So I thought I 'll have a look at the Civic. I must admit in the flesh i was smitten. Reminded me of my old Lancia Beta Coupe. You can't beat Italian styling, it looked great. That's it I was sold.

[fromswedenwithlove]

My alternatives were:

• BMW 3-series - I really love this brand, but Bimmers are quite simply too expensive.
• VW Golf - a little bit dull
• Ford Focus - don´t like the design

so I went for the 1,8 Civic Sport: great design and good value for the money. This car has a "soul" and a lot of inborn qualities. However, I´m not happy with the stiff suspension, the jerkiness of the engine and all the bugs/faults during the first production year (mine is an early 2006).