7 + 8 = 9

Mr Punch · 25th March 2012, 21:31

No, it's not my Comprehensive education gone wrong......... I have had a 1.4 V-tech 9th Gen as a courtesy motor for the weekend while my car has a few repairs done.

When I first seen the 9th Gen in the flesh, I thought "Oh........" The kind sales man gave me a guided tour and even then I was sort of impressed.....Well not really. It looked like someone had put an 8th Gen and 7th Gen in a dark room with each other to have their dirty way and hey presto....... This was the result.

However..... I'm not one to give up so easily. I put my car into Honda for suspension repairs before the roads of Ireland finish the job for good. As a loaner, I have been given a brand new 1.4 V-tech to play with for the weekend........ Sun and a free Sunday spells play time.
I'll be honest and say I like it. The interior is a touch bland but they have kept the spirit of the 8th Gen although the clock cluster is a bit dull and I did miss the 8th Gen look. Although the 1.4 V-Tech has more grunt than my Dsi it still has to be worked hard on rural roads and still is a bumbler on the motorway. The softer suspension has removed the handling ability a touch especially on tight bends. It's nice to be able to plug my I-Pod in and rear view is a bit better although I have never struggled with the rear view on my 8th Gen. Seats are good, the support is better than my 8th Gen seats. I found the drive quite smooth and despite the 1.4 performance it chewed up the miles I did today quite well. The MPG is on par with my Dsi which was a bit of a disappointment. What I would like to know is...... What is that green Econ button all about? Press it and the car suddenly loses power...... Why?? I turned it off, it didn't even improve the fuel consumption. The auto switch off at traffic lights was also switched off (I did the same with my Passat too).
I am glad the rear door appatures have been reshaped, it makes putting the kids in the back of the car much easier plus getting in and out of the car much better. I like the look of the front end, it looks meaner than the 8th Gen front end and very modern. They have fitted an airbag shut off switch (bout time) too thank god.
Would I have one?? Too right.......I will be having another 8th gen before I do but I haven't been out off the idea. The fact is, the 8th Gen was a very bold design that Honda will struggle to replicate it. The 9th Gen has retained the spirit of the 8th Gen but has moved on. The 8th Gen has started (

In my view) to look dated now so it's time to move on and rejoice the 8th Gen in all it's glory.

MP

LankyCTR · 25th March 2012, 22:14

Keep growing on me these.

Mr Punch · 25th March 2012, 22:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by LankyCTR

Keep growing on me these.

Same here, the test of quality will be when I collect my 8th Gen tomorrow. Will it be thank god I have my car back or will it be I miss the 9th Gen? We shall see.

MP

murray · 26th March 2012, 07:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Punch

Same here, the test of quality will be when I collect my 8th Gen tomorrow. Will it be thank god I have my car back or will it be I miss the 9th Gen? We shall see.

MP

Will be good to hear your thoughts.

Grayfox · 26th March 2012, 10:10

The ECO button reduces power, makes the AC weaker, does some throttle changes to make it slower to respond.

This makes the car use less fuel.

Remember it is Vtec(well it is really an i-Vtec), not V-TECH

Mr Punch · 26th March 2012, 12:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayfox

The ECO button reduces power, makes the AC weaker, does some throttle changes to make it slower to respond.

This makes the car use less fuel.

Remember it is Vtec(well it is really an i-Vtec), not V-TECH

I've not had it long enough to know the difference

Thanks for the explanation though.

NH Dan · 26th March 2012, 16:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayfox

The ECO button reduces power, makes the AC weaker, does some throttle changes to make it slower to respond.

This makes the car use less fuel.

Remember it is Vtec(well it is really an i-Vtec), not V-TECH

Same with the stop start - it aint running = it aint using fuel.

Jpetrie · 26th March 2012, 17:35

Don't like it, never will. The 8 gen is fantastic, love it. My next car in a few years will hopefully be a CW Type R.

Unless this has a drastic facelift or they do a fantastic job with the Type R (should they make one), I will not be buying it.

Mr Punch · 26th March 2012, 20:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by murray

Will be good to hear your thoughts.

I picked up my car today and I'm glad it's back. The 9th Gen isn't for me yet. One day boys... One day.
Although the rid is more harsh on an 8, it has more feel to it. The dash is also better set out. The particular 9 I had was a little too sedate for me. Don't get me wrong, the 9 was a nice car but I'm sticking with what I know for now.
Tell you what though....... The front end on the 9 looks great though.... Well impressed with that.

MP

bodgerx · 26th March 2012, 22:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayfox

The ECO button reduces power, makes the AC weaker, does some throttle changes to make it slower to respond.

This makes the car use less fuel.

Remember it is Vtec(well it is really an i-Vtec), not V-TECH

Doesn't reduce power. Throttle inputs are equalised, so it doesn't feel as responsive. If you floored it in both modes and did a 0-60 test, there wouldn't be any difference.

dmode93 · 27th March 2012, 06:43

Reminds me of the insight, and i really dislike the insight

macsport · 27th March 2012, 11:54

A good write up and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the 9th generation. I'm in the undecided camp at the moment as I haven't driven the new car. I'll reserve judgement until I do but it's good to read the thoughts of others who have.

steve2505 · 19th April 2012, 22:00

I have just completed 900 miles in my 2.2 diesel and I have to say I miss my old 1.8Si terribly. I know its my fault I should have had a longer test drive. Looks wise its quite cool but the only mitigating feature I can find in this new car is that the heater now doesn't blow cold air over you when its reached temperature.

The rear view is better in some ways but still blocks a huge amount of vision.

That said ... the electronics software is seriously mad and unworkable: the audio controls are duplicated on the steering wheel in exactly the same format as the dash - great you think but no they work differently so just when you think you have the controls sussed you haven't. The centre knob on the dash turns the audio on but not off, that's a different button. The source button on the steering wheel you have to press to select a menu item but not when its switched to audio when pressing will actually move the selection to the next item.

The trip computer is now totally useless .. the three things you want to see are the elapsed time (in case you want to schedule a driving break); average MPG by trip and range (I do a lot of miles and range is important). In my old civic no problem press the 'I' button and it rotates you through them - not anymore now you have to stop the car, pull over and change the settings on the menuing system because you can only display one item at a time. Sure there are 3 screens but two are reserved for wallpaper ... just the thing so you can look at your girlfriend or loved one on the dash which ensures that you actually do take your eyes off the road for an extended period. Yes great stuff but why can't I have my trip info instead of the wallpaper?

My iphone now locks out on Bluetooth because I connect the USB first; Honda tell me its apple but my CRV (yes I own one of them too) doesn't do it, so its not Apple its the way the software is implemented. Guess what I've turned it off and given up with the radio, its too much hassle.

The limiter, something I've always wanted since I traded the Mercedes in.. lock it to 50 and bingo it lets you do 51 MPH.. in this digital age how difficult can it be to get to 50? Guess what I don't trust it, so its off!

Remember those nice 6 eco lights? I used to play trying to keep as many on as possible, it encouraged me to drive economically. Now we have a pair of lights that change shade from blue to green, cool ay? No! I can see the blue and I can see the green but I am slightly colour blind so everything in between is lost, so this device is now useless... guess what I've turned it off

Every time your passenger alters the aircon you get a message on your screen, why? there's an aircon screen below the main screen why do I want my data interrupted by what the passenger is doing?

Every time you start the car it sends a warning message saying no-one is in the back seat and no seat belts are connected; really useful as 99% of journeys I'm on my own.

The restart mechanism gets to you eventually; the clutch is quite stiff and by the end of my journey to work my left foot aches from the constant press to the floor to restart. I would disable the autostart but the fuel saving is a necessity. The warning screen that flashes on every time it cuts in will annoy you enough to turn that off too.

So to the camera, great addition except those awful yellow guide lines telling you where the car is going to go; except they don't. Well they do if the car space is large; if its tight then you have to make sure one yellow line goes the wrong side of the white marker line as the yellow lines don't match the width of the car. In addition the camera seems to poke out so far that the image is always dim and on that small screen when dazzled by the incredibly bright yellow lines its unusable. Add that to the fact that if you get sun coming in the drivers window that screen is perfectly positioned to be not readable.

Fuel: well theres the thing my main reason for buying this was fuel. I used to get 40+ out of my Civic 1.8 so I thought I should hit high 60's in this baby. So far 48mpg is the best I have got and that's with the eco button always in and I do a lot of motorways - 48 eek, I get nearly 40 from my CRV!

Sadly the list doesn't end there ...

The steering I don't know what the problem is here but it seems affected by every bump in the road and at high speed the rear end feels not very stable. Even stationary I can feel the engine vibration coming up the wheel. I won't mention that the wheel is now twice the diameter of that lovely old Civic one and I now find it very uncomfortable to hold on long journeys.

And now to the handbrake - the old Civic was perfectly positioned so who decided to move it over to the passenger side so far that if you do have a passenger 50% of the time you touch their knee getting to it: that is of course after you have removed their arm from the arm rest because if they are resting on it you can't use the handbrake!

Tom tom? yes great, lift that little lid and plug it in and then hit the lid top every time you reach for the handbrake.

The seats are softer, not firm and supportive like the old Civic.

And (i'm not sure its last but it will do for now) if you are over 5ft 6 inches you are stuffed as everything in the car is suddenly four inches below you. Oh yes, that centre arm rest just nestles nicely 4 inches below your elbow so its not comfortable using it; the door edge where you used to rest your arm; no good to hold the steering wheel unless you want wrist ache. That nice little recess where the door handle is? yes four inches too low and the steering wheel at its highest point is only about 3 inches off my lap.

Fits my 5ft 4inch wife perfectly but for me back ache.

It seemed ok when I test drove it but it shows you need to do a few hundred to know the car. If I could afford it I would give this back and go get my 1.8Si back as its a far, far better car and it all works, even the electronics!

So to sum up I've turned every bit of electronics off I can; use the mirrors not the camera. Fuel consumption sucks and the car is uncomfortable for my nearly 6ft frame.

Your call ....

ellobo · 20th April 2012, 09:57

Very informative, certainly puts me off. I don't like the styling anyway. I am mystified about the positioning of the hand brake, had some hire cars in work with it on the passenger side and its awful that alone would stop me buying.

jamesaberdeen73 · 20th April 2012, 11:10

I agree that the trip computer is a disaster.

gadgetman68 · 20th April 2012, 18:10

Steve2505; informative post, thank you. You should copy/paste it to its own thread so others don't miss it and can make an informed purchase

NH Dan · 25th April 2012, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadgetman68

Steve2505; informative post, thank you. You should copy/paste it to its own thread so others don't miss it and can make an informed purchase

Yes, definately. All based on ONE car.

Hotchy · 25th April 2012, 14:29

Iv seen a few of these driving about latley, they do look nice. Turn it into a 3 door fire breathing type R and it has potential to be stunning!

ellobo · 29th April 2012, 15:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by NH Dan

Yes, definately. All based on ONE car.

LOL, Yes but maybe others could add to the post...

NH Dan · 29th April 2012, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by ellobo

LOL, Yes but maybe others could add to the post...

yup, and maybe they, as others have on here, will be more than happy with the trouble free motoring that they have

25th March 2012, 21:31	#1 (permalink)
Mr Punch Car: 2007 1.4 DSI SE Milano Red Join Date: 18th March 2011 Location: Leamington Spa Posts: 387 Thanks given: 48 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts iTrader: (0)	7 + 8 = 9 No, it's not my Comprehensive education gone wrong......... I have had a 1.4 V-tech 9th Gen as a courtesy motor for the weekend while my car has a few repairs done. When I first seen the 9th Gen in the flesh, I thought "Oh........" The kind sales man gave me a guided tour and even then I was sort of impressed.....Well not really. It looked like someone had put an 8th Gen and 7th Gen in a dark room with each other to have their dirty way and hey presto....... This was the result. However..... I'm not one to give up so easily. I put my car into Honda for suspension repairs before the roads of Ireland finish the job for good. As a loaner, I have been given a brand new 1.4 V-tech to play with for the weekend........ Sun and a free Sunday spells play time. I'll be honest and say I like it. The interior is a touch bland but they have kept the spirit of the 8th Gen although the clock cluster is a bit dull and I did miss the 8th Gen look. Although the 1.4 V-Tech has more grunt than my Dsi it still has to be worked hard on rural roads and still is a bumbler on the motorway. The softer suspension has removed the handling ability a touch especially on tight bends. It's nice to be able to plug my I-Pod in and rear view is a bit better although I have never struggled with the rear view on my 8th Gen. Seats are good, the support is better than my 8th Gen seats. I found the drive quite smooth and despite the 1.4 performance it chewed up the miles I did today quite well. The MPG is on par with my Dsi which was a bit of a disappointment. What I would like to know is...... What is that green Econ button all about? Press it and the car suddenly loses power...... Why?? I turned it off, it didn't even improve the fuel consumption. The auto switch off at traffic lights was also switched off (I did the same with my Passat too). I am glad the rear door appatures have been reshaped, it makes putting the kids in the back of the car much easier plus getting in and out of the car much better. I like the look of the front end, it looks meaner than the 8th Gen front end and very modern. They have fitted an airbag shut off switch (bout time) too thank god. Would I have one?? Too right.......I will be having another 8th gen before I do but I haven't been out off the idea. The fact is, the 8th Gen was a very bold design that Honda will struggle to replicate it. The 9th Gen has retained the spirit of the 8th Gen but has moved on. The 8th Gen has started ( In my view) to look dated now so it's time to move on and rejoice the 8th Gen in all it's glory. MP

19th April 2012, 22:00	#13 (permalink)
steve2505 Car: 2012 2.2 dtec Join Date: 19th April 2012 Location: Bristol, uk Posts: 1 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	I have a 9th gen and I'd rather have kept my 8th Gen! I have just completed 900 miles in my 2.2 diesel and I have to say I miss my old 1.8Si terribly. I know its my fault I should have had a longer test drive. Looks wise its quite cool but the only mitigating feature I can find in this new car is that the heater now doesn't blow cold air over you when its reached temperature. The rear view is better in some ways but still blocks a huge amount of vision. That said ... the electronics software is seriously mad and unworkable: the audio controls are duplicated on the steering wheel in exactly the same format as the dash - great you think but no they work differently so just when you think you have the controls sussed you haven't. The centre knob on the dash turns the audio on but not off, that's a different button. The source button on the steering wheel you have to press to select a menu item but not when its switched to audio when pressing will actually move the selection to the next item. The trip computer is now totally useless .. the three things you want to see are the elapsed time (in case you want to schedule a driving break); average MPG by trip and range (I do a lot of miles and range is important). In my old civic no problem press the 'I' button and it rotates you through them - not anymore now you have to stop the car, pull over and change the settings on the menuing system because you can only display one item at a time. Sure there are 3 screens but two are reserved for wallpaper ... just the thing so you can look at your girlfriend or loved one on the dash which ensures that you actually do take your eyes off the road for an extended period. Yes great stuff but why can't I have my trip info instead of the wallpaper? My iphone now locks out on Bluetooth because I connect the USB first; Honda tell me its apple but my CRV (yes I own one of them too) doesn't do it, so its not Apple its the way the software is implemented. Guess what I've turned it off and given up with the radio, its too much hassle. The limiter, something I've always wanted since I traded the Mercedes in.. lock it to 50 and bingo it lets you do 51 MPH.. in this digital age how difficult can it be to get to 50? Guess what I don't trust it, so its off! Remember those nice 6 eco lights? I used to play trying to keep as many on as possible, it encouraged me to drive economically. Now we have a pair of lights that change shade from blue to green, cool ay? No! I can see the blue and I can see the green but I am slightly colour blind so everything in between is lost, so this device is now useless... guess what I've turned it off Every time your passenger alters the aircon you get a message on your screen, why? there's an aircon screen below the main screen why do I want my data interrupted by what the passenger is doing? Every time you start the car it sends a warning message saying no-one is in the back seat and no seat belts are connected; really useful as 99% of journeys I'm on my own. The restart mechanism gets to you eventually; the clutch is quite stiff and by the end of my journey to work my left foot aches from the constant press to the floor to restart. I would disable the autostart but the fuel saving is a necessity. The warning screen that flashes on every time it cuts in will annoy you enough to turn that off too. So to the camera, great addition except those awful yellow guide lines telling you where the car is going to go; except they don't. Well they do if the car space is large; if its tight then you have to make sure one yellow line goes the wrong side of the white marker line as the yellow lines don't match the width of the car. In addition the camera seems to poke out so far that the image is always dim and on that small screen when dazzled by the incredibly bright yellow lines its unusable. Add that to the fact that if you get sun coming in the drivers window that screen is perfectly positioned to be not readable. Fuel: well theres the thing my main reason for buying this was fuel. I used to get 40+ out of my Civic 1.8 so I thought I should hit high 60's in this baby. So far 48mpg is the best I have got and that's with the eco button always in and I do a lot of motorways - 48 eek, I get nearly 40 from my CRV! Sadly the list doesn't end there ... The steering I don't know what the problem is here but it seems affected by every bump in the road and at high speed the rear end feels not very stable. Even stationary I can feel the engine vibration coming up the wheel. I won't mention that the wheel is now twice the diameter of that lovely old Civic one and I now find it very uncomfortable to hold on long journeys. And now to the handbrake - the old Civic was perfectly positioned so who decided to move it over to the passenger side so far that if you do have a passenger 50% of the time you touch their knee getting to it: that is of course after you have removed their arm from the arm rest because if they are resting on it you can't use the handbrake! Tom tom? yes great, lift that little lid and plug it in and then hit the lid top every time you reach for the handbrake. The seats are softer, not firm and supportive like the old Civic. And (i'm not sure its last but it will do for now) if you are over 5ft 6 inches you are stuffed as everything in the car is suddenly four inches below you. Oh yes, that centre arm rest just nestles nicely 4 inches below your elbow so its not comfortable using it; the door edge where you used to rest your arm; no good to hold the steering wheel unless you want wrist ache. That nice little recess where the door handle is? yes four inches too low and the steering wheel at its highest point is only about 3 inches off my lap. Fits my 5ft 4inch wife perfectly but for me back ache. It seemed ok when I test drove it but it shows you need to do a few hundred to know the car. If I could afford it I would give this back and go get my 1.8Si back as its a far, far better car and it all works, even the electronics! So to sum up I've turned every bit of electronics off I can; use the mirrors not the camera. Fuel consumption sucks and the car is uncomfortable for my nearly 6ft frame. Your call .... Last edited by steve2505; 19th April 2012 at 22:22.

25th March 2012, 22:14	#2 (permalink)
LankyCTR Supporter Car: 2008 Alabaster Silver CTR Join Date: 15th February 2011 Location: Sheffield Posts: 709 Thanks given: 73 Thanked 134 Times in 123 Posts iTrader: (1)	Keep growing on me these.

26th March 2012, 10:10	#5 (permalink)
Grayfox Most Active Australian Car: 2010 Black Civic Si FK2 Join Date: 1st February 2012 Location: NSW, Australia Posts: 3,185 Thanks given: 69 Thanked 296 Times in 281 Posts iTrader: (0)	The ECO button reduces power, makes the AC weaker, does some throttle changes to make it slower to respond. This makes the car use less fuel. Remember it is Vtec(well it is really an i-Vtec), not V-TECH

26th March 2012, 17:35	#8 (permalink)
Jpetrie Banned Car: 2008 2.2 NHB Type S GT Join Date: 11th March 2011 Location: Southampton Posts: 1,790 Thanks given: 125 Thanked 272 Times in 206 Posts iTrader: (7)	Don't like it, never will. The 8 gen is fantastic, love it. My next car in a few years will hopefully be a CW Type R. Unless this has a drastic facelift or they do a fantastic job with the Type R (should they make one), I will not be buying it.

27th March 2012, 06:43	#11 (permalink)
dmode93 Car: 2009 5 door Alabaster grey Join Date: 17th November 2011 Location: london Posts: 37 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Reminds me of the insight, and i really dislike the insight

27th March 2012, 11:54	#12 (permalink)
macsport Supporter Car: 07 1.8 SE Blueish Silver Join Date: 20th June 2011 Location: Grantham, UK Posts: 159 Thanks given: 23 Thanked 12 Times in 11 Posts iTrader: (2)	A good write up and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the 9th generation. I'm in the undecided camp at the moment as I haven't driven the new car. I'll reserve judgement until I do but it's good to read the thoughts of others who have.

20th April 2012, 09:57	#14 (permalink)
ellobo Car: Type S GT Join Date: 29th February 2012 Location: Swansea,UK Posts: 41 Thanks given: 9 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Very informative, certainly puts me off. I don't like the styling anyway. I am mystified about the positioning of the hand brake, had some hire cars in work with it on the passenger side and its awful that alone would stop me buying.

20th April 2012, 11:10	#15 (permalink)
jamesaberdeen73 2012 ES 2.2 I-DTEC Civic Join Date: 3rd October 2007 Location: Turriff Posts: 256 Thanks given: 10 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts iTrader: (0)	I agree that the trip computer is a disaster.

20th April 2012, 18:10	#16 (permalink)
gadgetman68 LOUD NOISES!!! Car: 60 FN2 M200 Join Date: 5th February 2009 Location: Derbyshire, UK Posts: 5,187 Thanks given: 899 Thanked 692 Times in 574 Posts iTrader: (5)	Steve2505; informative post, thank you. You should copy/paste it to its own thread so others don't miss it and can make an informed purchase

25th April 2012, 14:29	#18 (permalink)
Hotchy Supporter Car: 2007 57 2.2 Type S Join Date: 19th February 2011 Location: Scotland Posts: 621 Thanks given: 35 Thanked 38 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (1)	Iv seen a few of these driving about latley, they do look nice. Turn it into a 3 door fire breathing type R and it has potential to be stunning!