Other cars What other cars were you considering and why?

[aliendad]

we were thinking of the focus cc or the 307cc, but apart from hitting my head on the low roof, once we saw the civic that was it.

[HUHarvey]

Actually I went to the dealer to buy a Honda Jazz. This was the price range what I wanted to pay for a new car. And I really loved its interior and versatility. After the test drive, however I felt that it is slow. Too slow. The dealer then asked me if I wanted to try the Civic. Ii tried it, asked whic models and colors are on stock, have chosen one and bought it immediately

[cb550]

Hi
Interesting the Alfa 147's does'nt seem to have been considered as an alternative to the Civic

Had a 16v mjet for over 2 years and found it to be completely trouble-free,great handling with stability control,easy to get on with electronic gadgetry,well finished and rattle free and exellent performance with economy.

Where the Civic beats it is with an even smoother and more lively engine,same again with fuel economy,lighter clutch,much better 6th gear throttle responce,quieter auto climate control(practical to actually use it!)Also the absence of turbo lag at traffic light getaways makes it an even more easy to enjoy drive

[cfcnick]

Originally Posted by cb550

Hi
Interesting the Alfa 147's does'nt seem to have been considered as an alternative to the Civic

Had a 16v mjet for over 2 years and found it to be completely trouble-free,great handling with stability control,easy to get on with electronic gadgetry,well finished and rattle free and exellent performance with economy.

Where the Civic beats it is with an even smoother and more lively engine,same again with fuel economy,lighter clutch,much better 6th gear throttle responce,quieter auto climate control(practical to actually use it!)Also the absence of turbo lag at traffic light getaways makes it an even more easy to enjoy drive

blimey I was just about to post about the 147 myself. I had a 1.6 petrol and found it fantastic to drive, very similar to the Civic with its sharp handling and high revving engine. In fact if Alfa had bought the special edition Collezione out a bit sooner, I would probably have bought that instead of my civic!

[FWH]

Alfa..
Well I drove a 75 many years ago.
The pedals were so close together that my big feet tended to press all 3 at once. And there were constantly red leds glowing on the "error panel".

Are they any better today?
They look nice, but imho are expensive.

[cb550]

Originally Posted by FWH

Alfa..
Well I drove a 75 many years ago.
The pedals were so close together that my big feet tended to press all 3 at once. And there were constantly red leds glowing on the "error panel".

Are they any better today?
They look nice, but imho are expensive.

I thought my 159 was underdeveloped with its weight,turbo lag etc.The 147 previous to that I thought was exellent.(no error displays on that one to worry about!)

Originally Posted by cfcnick

blimey I was just about to post about the 147 myself. I had a 1.6 petrol and found it fantastic to drive, very similar to the Civic with its sharp handling and high revving engine. In fact if Alfa had bought the special edition Collezione out a bit sooner, I would probably have bought that instead of my civic!

Close call

The Civic for me certainly does do the business,no regrets with this choice!

[FergusTheDog]

Actually the Kia C'eed is a decent car but is about £2,000 too expensive. I had one on hire just after it was launched and it's pretty inoffensive plus there are some nice touches. My Dad has a new generation Rio diesel and it's better than a lot of small cars for about 75% of the cost, and he gets 60 mpg. Can't be bad can it?

[FWH]

The Kia also has AUX-in...

[WavyD]

Audi A4, Vauxhall Vectra, Mazda 6, Megane. All much bigger than the Civic from the outside, but not as practical on the inside and all dull as pants.

The only thing that Honda needs to address, is the fact that the Type-S is only available in 3 door. I want to own a 5 door Type-S Diesel. Why should family men (and Woman) not have a practical but sporty car direct from the factory. If I want a sporty 5 door, I would have to remodel a standard 5 door (using Type-R or Type-S parts) and suffer increased Insurance costs.
Most other manufacturers now produce a 5 door sports, so why not Honda?

[zio]

I fell in love with the Civic Type S as soon as I first saw one but never really expected to be able to afford it. Honestly, the Toyota Auris was the most expensive car I had been looking at - others were the Renault Clio (what was I even thinking?!?) or the new Corsa. I tried the Auris - I found it a bit too large to be honest and the Clio - which was simply the dullest thing I've ever driven. The clapped out '95 Escort I already had was more fun to drive!

Fortunately my local dealership had an ex-demo Type S for sale which I test drove twice, fell absolutely in love with and after much haggling, bought today. I've literally managed to save over 4 grand over the price of a similarily specced new one.

Admittedly, being as it's a Sunday, I haven't actually had my credit agreement accepted yet, but I see no reason why it won't be so fingers crossed! If all goes well I pick it up on Thursday - I don't think I've felt this excited about anything since I was a kid!

[baillieswells]

My wife wanted a replacement for her eight year old Nissan Almera which has never let her down, and runs perfectly. I used to have a Honda Accord Aerodeck (1996 model). When I went to change this in 2004 I test drove the replacement, Tourer, which I didn't like, and having test driven the Mazda 6, terrible road noise at speed, and the Totota Avensis, terribly pedestrian, I settled on the Nissan Primera. An odd choice perhaps, but it still serves me well. Is comfortable and quiet on long journeys. (To Scotland and bach several times a year to see grandchildren). Any way to go back to why the Civic for a runabout. A selection of three. Nissan have dropped both the Almera and Primera and have produced the Qashqai. Eccentric pseudo off roader, ugly, though comforable, and drives well. My wife had set her heart on an automatic, for the first time, and Qashkai's petrol version not available until later in the year. Mazda 3, inspite of 'Zoom -Zoom', not all that different from the Almera. Honda Civic. First Civic we test drove was a 1.4 SE.(Though I didn't know this) I found it terrible to drive, slow jerky acceleration, felt sea sick in the rear on single track country roads. However, my wife liked it.On returning it to the dealer, was informed that it was a 1.4, not the 1.8 I had requested. Told him to get lost. Went to another dealer and test drove a 1.8SE, talk about chalk and cheese, the 1.8 engine made all the difference on the i-Shift. However, still didn't like sitting in the back. As it is to be my wife's runabout, and I shall only use it as a driver and never a passenger I dismissed the poor rear ride. My wife takes delivery this Friday.

[Anthony]

Because my wife drives a Corsa, we went and had a test drive of the new diesel version. Rubbish service - kept waiting for an hour for the test drive despite having booked a specific time. The salesman quite happily put his name on the enquiry sheet although we were dealing with one of his colleagues (until recently I ran a sales team and behaviour like that would have meant a really good b*ll*cking for any of my people from me). The car was unresponsive with noticable turbo lag and very woolly steering.

I saw the Volvo S30 in the brochure and liked the clean Scandinavian lines. Went to sit in one and take a proper look. Not impressed and very expensive for the spec. Also, I went to the showroom twice and despite being there for at least 30 minutes each time, no one bothered to speak to us - which I find amazing and took as indicative of the service we were likely to (not) get.

Feeling somewhat dejected after coming out of the Volvo dealer, I saw the Honda showroom opposite and said "well, whilst we are here, let's at least have a quick look". you can guess the rest, it was lust a first sight. "Bloody hell it's a Klingon Warbird!" was my immediate reaction once I had hopped inside. Service and general showroom experience was excellent by the way. Happy to tell you it is Johnsons Honda at Milton Keynes.

Am I chuffed with my spaceship? Is the Pope a Catholic?

Anthony.

[ruracer]

I started looking at 2nd hand cars and my dad said for that kind of money, you could get a new one!
So I started looking at new cars and wasnt sure of the money I wanted to spend. I blame him for spending so much now ) The money started creeping up and up.

But originally I looked at 2nd hand Audi A4, Vovlo S40. Then with new cars, Skoda Octavia top spec elegance 1.6, test drove it, very nice drive, comfort and good spec but not as good spec as my saloon civic. I wouldnt knock anybody for driving Octavia though, fantastic car but not as exciting for a young man like me than saloon civic.
I drove the Kia Ceed, not interested in buying but just to compare to the Octavia because at this stage, the civic wasnt in my mind! Its just not available in Ireland, very few out there.
And the VW Jetta, boring unless you get the top spec which you pay through the nose for....
and the Mazda 3....uummm... NAAAA

So i found out about the civic saloon 1.8
drove it , wanted it , bought it before somebody else did as there was only 2 in Dublin.
happy happy driver man now.
Went up from a 1.2L Clio

In the shopping carpark the other day, I saw parked beside mine , a 07 VW Jetta (no alloys and scuffed wheel covers!), 07 Peugoet 407 (dirty).
Mine was sparkling of course and looked ten times the car of the others.

Why would somebody pick these for the same money give or take a few 100?
Brainwashed into a make/model buying mode, I think.

[Transalp]

We have looked at the Kia C'eed (cheep) and also the focus (good drivng)and the corolla (build quality), but......nothing beets the looks of a civic. As I have been riding aan accord 2.4 with a very big smile for 3 years regarding maintanance and build qualitiy the choice was rapidly made. The Honda's are also rarely seen cars in the Netherlads and that is something we like to. The German brands are so common. Technical they are okay, but...well everyone is driving a volkswagen (even the name is embarassing), Opel (vauxhall), Audi, Seat or even Ford. So definitly the looks of the civic and Honda's name ragarding the durability did make the choise being rather simple.

[sdg_77]

Originally Posted by Anthony

... lust a first sight. "Bloody hell it's a Klingon Warbird!" was my immediate reaction once I had hopped inside. Service and general showroom experience was excellent by the way...

That's roughly what happened with us - good service when we bought the previous Civic from Avonvale in Stratford so we went back to just 'consider' the new shape. It's a very odd thing when trying to be objective and decide 'will a double bass fit in the back?' while thinking how it looks like something the Klingons designed. I had pretty much decided after the test drive.

After a couple of months 'she who must be obeyed' remarked that she has grown to like the shape too.

Ours is in for recall work on the windscreen seal at the moment - we've been driving a T reg 1400 automatic Civic - not exactly a bad car - but not something to conquer the galaxy in . We get ours back tomorrow.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by sdg_77

[..]


- but not something to conquer the galaxy in . We get ours back tomorrow.

Perhaps we should list photon torpedoes and full phaser banks as dealer-fitted options...?

Anthony.

[Foggy69]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Perhaps we should list photon torpedoes and full phaser banks as dealer-fitted options...?

Anthony.

Mine is a Defiant class ship, and come equipped with Quantum Torpedoes as standard

PS Yes I know I am sad

[Griffard]

I was seriousyl considering a Golf GTI but was put off by the price, and the fact that my previous Golf has not been that reliable. Was also considering a focus ST and Volvo C30 T5.

At the end of the day I went for a test drive in the Type R and the decision was easy!

[South]

I also considered a Mini Cooper D and a Seat Ibiza Cupra TDI.

The Mini is a fabulous drive, has a great interior and a feisty engine.
However, IMO, the Mini is not a car in which I would be able to drive 35.000 miles a year comfortably.
And let's be honest... it's just not a practical car... sadly.

The Seat is a beast. Plain and simple.
Torque in every gear, at every speed. It just wants to go and go and go.
Besides that, it's not something really special.
The dashboard is from the 80's and even the seats are sub-par.

For 1000 euro's more I have a Civic Type-S CDTI with the advantahe options package.
So the choice was an easy one in the end...

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Foggy69

Mine is a Defiant class ship, and come equipped with Quantum Torpedoes as standard

PS Yes I know I am sad

You and me both mate!

Anthony.