Hi all VW to Honda switcher

[DerChef]

Hello

Its "the boss" from Northern Ireland two days ago I ordered a new 2.2 Civic EX in Galaxy Grey with 18" Storms

My last two cars have been Mk 4 and a MK 5 Golf TDi's

Sick to the teeth of VW's poor value for money and awful after sales service with exactly the same issues from two different stealers.

Hope the Storms will not be too jaw rattling on the less than perfect B roads round here. My last Honda based UK made car was a Rover 200 I bought in 98 and that was fine so I am hoping for no quality issues.

[NEEMSTAR]

welcome to the bright side

[lippy]

Good choice, when do you get it?

My brother in law has a Golf, and I've never really liked them, but he has not had any issues with his car - a 52 plate.

[Vet_2010]

Welcome!
Always nice to see a fellow Northern Irish owner!!

[Foggy69]

Welcome DerChef.

Well done on moving on from dullness of the Golf. It is time to stand out from the crowd

[alastair b]

Welcome to the forum Derchef.

[nico651]

Congratulations on a wise decision made... Going from a dull VW Golf (bweurk...) to a spaceship as the Civic is really a giant leap for mankind...
I'm not sure however about the 18" wheels you put under it. As you can read in another post of me I choose 16" instead of 17"
I "downgraded" my wheels from the standard 17" to the 16" wheels of the 1.4 Sport version. Boy, am I glad I did it... 60% of Belgian roads are heavily abused and with the stiff suspension of the Civic it's not a very comfy ride. Luckily the excellent seats absorbs a lot of bumps but still the car will not let you fall asleep behind the wheel.

[Moose]

Welcome Derchef,

Sorry to hear you didn't rate the Golf. My last 150 TDi was a great little car, it was just the fact it had over 110,000 miles on the clock and i fancied a change.
The Civics great, just hope you won't be disappointed with the MPG

[DerChef]

Originally Posted by Moose

Welcome Derchef,

Sorry to hear you didn't rate the Golf. My last 150 TDi was a great little car, it was just the fact it had over 110,000 miles on the clock and i fancied a change.
The Civics great, just hope you won't be disappointed with the MPG

No the Golf's were great Mk IV no faults and Mk V only faulty auto dimming mirror and loose trim in the 8 years I had them.

However it is clear whilst the MK IV was a quality car, they are clearly skimping now on the quality of materials and the MK V was just as much of a sea of hard plastics as my old Dad's Seat Altea.

Also to replace it with another MK V I would be paying much more for a car more poorly equipped !

However the clincher was after sales service to get anything even the most minor thing done needed about 4 trips.

1. Arrange to meet service manager
2. Get car put on diagnostic as they could not simply order parts without a report to VW even for something blindingly obvious.
3. Come back to get it fitted as they dont keep anything in stock.
4. Come back again to get it looked at a second time.

[Moose]

Agree with you, MK IV far better than MK V. Had a few problems with the stealers but servicing and repair costs have come down a lot recently

[Glepor]

Just switched from an Audi A4 TDi 130. Very solid and well built but yaaaaaawn.....

[DerChef]

Well its here

Arrived home to be greeted by my new Galaxy Grey 18" stormed 2.2 EX

First impression are very good indeed. Especially the ride quality from the 18" wheels it was definitely the best way to go (all those that say its way too harsh must have chronic/terminal piles). Yes the pilot sports roar a bit but now excessively so.

Everything seems solid and so far and squeak free.

Had a long trip yesterday of 100 miles and got 47.9 mpg not bad for only 150 miles on the clock.

Only real downer so far is

FM radio reception! in the Glens of Antrim yesterday was almost unusable even on the strongest BBC stations. I thought they had sorted this

Anyways will post pictures in the gallery and give a longer progress report.

[-=Stella Artois=-]

Ello, welcome to Civinfo.