Test drive review
Well I test drove the new Civic today (2.2 diesel ES) for a couple of hours and I have to say its a humongous leap from the 8th gen in everyway; smooth, solid, quiet, well built, I like the dash and the I-mid display is pretty cool, I don’t like the handbrake being on the passenger side though...designers eh!
I took it on some seriously rotten roads uneven, pot holey, speed bumps, cobbled and twisty country roads. I deliberately went through pot holes and over speed bumps quick to see how it reacted and I have to say it soaked it up very well (no knocking!) and on the A47 got up to 110 in no time and road noise was minimal (I could still hear the radio on level 4)
The doors feel heavier and far more solid than the 8th gen and the controls on the door are of much higher quality. Some people have said they bang their knees on the door card...well I have to say im 6ft4 and got in and out of the car with no problems, I also like the way the door controls are angled up towards you rather than level as they are on the 8th gen.
I was amazed how light the clutch was on this car and the gear change is shorter and much smoother (changing gear in my EX is all clunky this is quiet and smooth) I love the idle stop (once I figured it out!)
The diesel engine is a little bit noisy at idle but once you're moving you don’t really notice it and it gives a nice smooth powerful drive.
The steering is a bit over light (I went round a roundabout holding the steering wheel with two fingers!) I have to mention the steering wheel as some don’t like it. Well I think it’s a very good steering wheel it feels more padded and fuller and the controls are easy to manage all soft to touch but the horn sounds a bit wimpy!
The aluminium pedals are all good im pleased Honda have gone back to the traditional accelerator as I prefer this to floor mounted one on the 8th gen
The cloth seats are of a good quality, nice and firm but I couldn't help but feel the seats were narrower than the 8th gen
Visibility from the rear window has been massively improved with the split much lower
I really liked this car but would go for the ES-T spec as I would like the in built satnav
Before I drove it I thought why would Honda omit the start button on all but the EX-GT but once inside I depressed the clutch and turned the key; I very quickly forgot about it. I asked the sales guy in the showroom about this and he very convenitly mentioned that Honda like to hold things back so in two or three years time Honda will facelift this car and perhaps you will get the start button across the range and the wheel arches will be colour coded...just like they did on the 8th gen!
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed driving this car and it put a smile back on my face. Would I have one...most definatley but will be about a year before im in a position to do so
if anyone has any questions about anything I’ve missed then please ask
Pictures....
