What about the MPG, is there a noticeable difference? I have a 2.2 and the new Astra and the Astra is a lot quieter and smoother if a little slower than the 8th Gen Civic so surprised you say the new Civic is noisier.

 

Hi Martin1973.

There really is no comparison when it comes to MPG, 60+ around town, which is great for a diesel.
A really comfy ride, it's just that my new car seems a lot harsher and given that the 1.6 delivers a fair bit of horsepower and torque in comparison to the 2.2, well to say that on paper I should not notice the difference, the everyday driving is a different story.
The 2.2 would pull around town in a really high gear, whereas the 1.6 just doesn't deliver when it comes to low down torque and pulling off.
I would have expected with the stats, for it to be a lot better than it actually is. Perhaps it just me, or there is something not right with the car, there are no fault codes, and it has just had a new MAP sensor fitted as part of the recall.

That was hopefully the question that would be answered for me by other members who have gone from the old diesel to the new- am I being unrealistic in my expectations?

Should I take it back to the dealership to complain? it's difficult to know as I do not have a similar comparison.

 

Small engined diesel drives worse than bigger BHP, more torque, bigger displacement diesel shock! Good on fuel but I don't really think any 4 pot diesel can be classed as smooth!

 

A 2.2 is always going to have more power than a 1.6 in the real world. Dealers will say anything to sell cars. The new shape is growing in me.

 

I have the Civic 2012 2.2
The power is amazing even in Eco mode and as for without well hold on tight
All of my friends and family cannot believe its a diesel its so smooth and as far as noise is concerned what noise
MPG 65-70 on a run 40-50 every day run
What more could you want

 

I drove the 1.6 for about an hour as a test drive but ended up getting the 9th gen 2.2 which I have had for 14 months now. These i-dtecs are wolves in sheep's clothing, if you keep the revs as low as possible you get a refined economical car that is smooth and pleasant to drive. If on the other hand you let the revs go high and utilise the turbo you will not be disappointed in the performance :vroam:
If I were you I'd give it a spirited drive and see what kind of pull you get, if you aren't getting that turbo thrust in 2nd or 3rd gear I'd take it to the dealer for a check up. Hope it works out for you.

 

I had an 8th Gen 2.2 and now have a 9th Gen 1.6. The only time I miss the bigger engine is when overtaking and pulling off.

Other than that I find the 1.6 fine in terms of power and much better in terms of handling thanks to it's lighter nose, I test drove a 2.2 9th Gen and I didn't find it exciting because it felt very similar to my 2.2, it was good, just not exciting but the 1.6 added some change in the feel which I welcomed.

And of course....my wallet welcomed the 1.6....especially as I am a company car tax payer.

Noise....on the day I handed back my 2.2 and got my 1.6, the 1.6 sounded a lot quieter both standing outside and when in it. But it's not that refined really...despite Honda's claims....sounds pretty gruff on a cold day, but I still think overall it's quieter than the 2.2 8th Gen.

 

That is exactly what worries me, if as a lot of people claim, that the 1.6 is quieter than the 2.2, then it leads me to believe that there is something wrong.
Of course, it goes without saying that when I take it to a dealer, they will say that there is nothing wrong with it or there would be a fault code.
Short of taking another 1.6 out for a drive, I can't see how I will be able to convince a dealership mechanic that there is a lack of power and what I feel is excessive noise.
This will be made worse, by the fact that it is under warranty, and any repairs should be free of charge, it will be in the best interest to Fob me off.
This was proven to me when I purchased the car, on a test drive, there was excessive noise from the rear which increased with speed, after taking the dealership principle and the chief mechanic out, he claimed that it was just a difference in the tyre wear from the front to the rear tyres???
I played stink that it wasn't right and in the end the replaced both the rear tyres which sorted the problem.
It was an uphill battle and lots of feet stamping until they would relent and pay the cost of the tyres.
Think I'm going to be fighting a losing battle here. anyone have any suggestions???????

 

I had a similar fight with my squeeky brakes....got there in the end, they ended up replacing all the pads.....probably will start up again at somepoint, I got Arval (lease company) to do the fight for me though as they wouldn't listen to the little guy (me).

 

Take another out for a test drive. At the end of the day, Honda will pay for repairs, not the dealer, so the dealer actually benefits if there is something wrong. They shouldn't fob you off, it's turning business away!

 

My personal experience is that the 1.6 is quieter and more refined than the 2.2 – that’s based on changing in September 2014 from a 100k+ 2006 2.2 to a new 1.6.
The 1.6 is amazing. It delivers similar performance to the 2.2 just looses out at the top end, as said it’s refined, and it’s also incredibly efficient with 70+ mpg on longer journeys. Overall the car drives very well compared to my old Civic, I also noticed a few improvements to the drive between the 2014 MY to the 2013 MY I originally test drove.

 

Test drove the 1.6 didn't have enough go for me after the 2.2 Honda need to do a more powerful Diesel.

 

My experience is that the 1.6 is quieter than the 2.2 in my old Type S GT but that the sound the Type S did make was nicer to the ear, particularly when you rev the engine. I find the 1.6 has a nice note below 3000 revs but above that it is not that nice to be honest. Performance is pretty good too, obviously not as quick as the 2.2 but respectable.

Having said that, I recently changed from and ES to an SR. Everyone has said how much quieter the SR is, it's also more revvy from my point of view. Not sure why, especially as the old one had done 22000 miles and I'm only up to 800 on the new one...

Slightly off topic but the suspension revisions are noticeable to me, much more like the 8th generation.

 

Slightly off topic but the suspension revisions are noticeable to me, much more like the 8th generation.

No way.... the 8G is like as shopping trolly in comparision

I don't really feel much difference between my 2012 & my new 2014, other than it's newer and tighter.

 

I agree Darren, the 1.6 is best below 3000rpm. It seems nosier over 3000rpm and I don’t think there’s a lot to be gained in terms of performance.

The 2.2 had a unique noise, and I seemed to get a lot of engine noise through the right air vent? The person who purchased my car questioned whether it sounded right but it had made the noise since day 1. I’m also convinced the engine got nosier with age and miles, especially externally.

 

Have driven the 2.2 alot (Company pool cars), the 1.6 has a much wider power band i.e more flexible to drive. The 2.2 has a quicker pick up, but runs out of puff quicker, whereas the 1.6 feels more like my previous 1.8... much more relaxing to drive than the 2.2, not stirring the gears so much.

As for noise, the 1.6 & 2.2 seem the same to me.... fairly quiet when warmed up

 

Improving 1.6

I too was surprised at how noisy, harsh and more irritatingly, how inflexible and cursed with bad turbo lag the 1.6 actually is, especially for a brand new engine design. Aside from it's enviable fuel economy, it was a major disappointment. I've never driven the 2.2 but I would doubt it could be louder or harsher? I put some xtralube ZX1 in after first oil change, a dash of 2 stroke in the tank on every other fillup and the biggest improvement was brought about by fitting a bluespark cr tech 2 tuning box. The result? It's smoother, less clattery and most importantly it's now much more flexible than the standard map, a lot less gear changing. It's how it should have been from day one in other words. It's a lease car so I haven't invested any of my own cash into it so I'm unconcerned if it affects it's longevity etc it but it does seem better now whilst I have it.

 

I too was surprised at how noisy, harsh and more irritatingly, how inflexible and cursed with bad turbo lag the 1.6 actually is, especially for a brand new engine design. Aside from it's enviable fuel economy, it was a major disappointment. I've never driven the 2.2 but I would doubt it could be louder or harsher? I put some xtralube ZX1 in after first oil change, a dash of 2 stroke in the tank on every other fillup and the biggest improvement was brought about by fitting a bluespark cr tech 2 tuning box. The result? It's smoother, less clattery and most importantly it's now much more flexible than the standard map, a lot less gear changing. It's how it should have been from day one in other words. It's a lease car so I haven't invested any of my own cash into it so I'm unconcerned if it affects it's longevity etc it but it does seem better now whilst I have it.

Your experience does seem to differ from most other owners and the motoring press reviews... Maybe your expectations were way to high? What diesels have you driven before?

 

I have no experience of the 2.2 in a Civic but have had my 1.6 for 15 months/36k miles and I reckon its the smoothest diesel I have driven. Apart from those in my signature I drove a long list of diesel hire cars for about at year before getting the Civic.

Fuel consumption is fantastic - 63 mpg calculated over the 36K.

 

Hmm I've never driven the 1.6 but I own the 2.2 i-dtec and have a comparison against VW's 3.0 V6 TDI in the 2006 Phaeton and the 2012 Touareg (company cars) and have a close relative with a 2007 Mercedes E 220 CDI. The 2.2 i-dtec is definitely more refined then the Mercedes but looses out against the V6 TDIs (which is not surprising I guess). Compared to 4 cylinder Diesel of colleagues and friends in the same segment the 2.2 i-dtec of my Civic is usually quieter and nicer sounding. Especially while cold. I can't believe the new 1.6 is so much worse then the 2.2 i-dtec.

I've once also driven the old 2.2 cdti from the old Civic and it is much worse then the 2.2 in my 9G.

 

The tuning box is a personal cash investment. A decision made on another 3 years of lease before it's replaced. I too just hope I don't prang it because I think my employer wil take an extremely dim view of it, easy enough to remove for servicing though.

 

It's been a while since I've driven diesel cars but they have included

94 Ford Scorpio 2.5 TD (not the frog eyed one) quieter than civic but slower and barely did 40mpg, probably slower too, but comfy.

94 VX Astra 1.7 TD Isuzu engine - this was a low mileage one and definitely sounded better than the civic, although in every other way inferior.

Various Mark 1 mondeo 1.8 TD - engines, one word agricultural, car ok otherwise, probably the match of the civic even now.

03 VX Vectra 2.0 DTI - horrid, in every way.

04 mk 2 mondeo 2.0 TDCi Ghia - this was almost new and I have heard these cars are money pits now but when new I think this car was nicer than the civic but barely did 50 mpg.

Sum up, civic is better than all these cars but should be bing much newer design, it's just not the leap in refinement in terms of engine in particular that I hoped for.

 

does the face lifted 2015 civic have a more powerful 1.6 dtec somthing like 150 bhp

 

Hmmm so I have my 2.2 9G serviced today and I'm having a 1.6 Diesel 9G as a loaner and while I'm positively surprised about the power (You only feel the missing power while overtaking or wringing it out - During normal use they feel about the same) the 1.6 is indeed a lot louder (or maybe just not as nice sounding) then my 2.2. My 2.2 never gets unpleasent - not even at max rpm - while the 1.6 doesn't sound nice at high rpm.