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429 Posts
I spent some hours today driving a Civic EX-GT.
The car looked good although the dark grey colour was not a colour I would buy it in.
The ride was very similar to my 8G. On the M25 motorway it thumped along over bumps exactly the same as I am used to. The only difference was that the thumping of the tyres was not so loud as the 8G. The auto box was fantastic and gave a very smooth drive and always seemed to be in the right gear. In sport mode it changed down a gear and was not so smooth.
I liked the way you can now switch off the internal alarm when leaving the car locked with a person or animal inside it.
Approaching from the passenger side only the driver's door unlocks whereas approaching from the passenger side all doors unlock.
The satnav high res screen is much bigger and clearer and more colourful than the 8G. It was also bigger and brighter than the one in the ES-T.
I liked the way all the music on my USB stick immediately showed on the screen when plugged in. Having the ability to watch HDD Videos while parked was interesting although not something I would often use.
I found the secondary colour screen on the dash alongside the speedo rather limited. It only had one option for monitering petrol use. Not as good as what is inside the wheel of the 8G.
The ultra smooth steering wheel finish certainly is unusual. I didn't like it as much as my 8G but can live with it OK.
The front parking sensers were brilliant. When turning out of a tight entrance they gave a coloured warning as well as beeping according to how close I was.
The cover under the glass roof was set lower than the 8G which meant the roof was a good 2 or more inches lower when the cover was closed.
At the moment there is one showstopper to resolve before I can buy it. This was the narrow seating. It is drastically inferior to the 8G.
At first look the drivers seat is higher and wider than the passenger seat. In reality because the passenger seat has no height option it is squashed in next to the hand brake which is now on the passenger side. The result is great for the driver but very uncomfortable for the passenger. The passenger has no space to overflow the seat and after just a few minutes by wife (size 16) was in pain from the seatbelt and brake digging into her thigh. The only answer was to sit her on a cushion to get her above the offending seatbelt buckel and handbrake. The driver is immune to the problem as their seat is higher up and they have extra space where the handbrake used to be. We tried all the lumber adjustments of which there were three electronic settings but this just pushed her to the front of the seat and were even more uncomfortable. Despite all this electric adjustment there is not even a manual height adjuster - a major ommission.
I am currently looking at having a custom seat cushion made that will stay in postion, that my wife will not slip off (the leather gives no grip like the cloth does) and will raise her out of the pit. After driving the car, sitting on the passenger seat is like sitting on the floor!
If the seating problem can be fixed I will buy an EX with Premium Pack. I decided against the GT as it works out an extra £2k just for the roof and a few other bits I can do without.
Why do I want it? Because of the auto gear box, the HDD Satnav and the dual air con.
The car looked good although the dark grey colour was not a colour I would buy it in.
The ride was very similar to my 8G. On the M25 motorway it thumped along over bumps exactly the same as I am used to. The only difference was that the thumping of the tyres was not so loud as the 8G. The auto box was fantastic and gave a very smooth drive and always seemed to be in the right gear. In sport mode it changed down a gear and was not so smooth.
I liked the way you can now switch off the internal alarm when leaving the car locked with a person or animal inside it.
Approaching from the passenger side only the driver's door unlocks whereas approaching from the passenger side all doors unlock.
The satnav high res screen is much bigger and clearer and more colourful than the 8G. It was also bigger and brighter than the one in the ES-T.
I liked the way all the music on my USB stick immediately showed on the screen when plugged in. Having the ability to watch HDD Videos while parked was interesting although not something I would often use.
I found the secondary colour screen on the dash alongside the speedo rather limited. It only had one option for monitering petrol use. Not as good as what is inside the wheel of the 8G.
The ultra smooth steering wheel finish certainly is unusual. I didn't like it as much as my 8G but can live with it OK.
The front parking sensers were brilliant. When turning out of a tight entrance they gave a coloured warning as well as beeping according to how close I was.
The cover under the glass roof was set lower than the 8G which meant the roof was a good 2 or more inches lower when the cover was closed.
At the moment there is one showstopper to resolve before I can buy it. This was the narrow seating. It is drastically inferior to the 8G.
At first look the drivers seat is higher and wider than the passenger seat. In reality because the passenger seat has no height option it is squashed in next to the hand brake which is now on the passenger side. The result is great for the driver but very uncomfortable for the passenger. The passenger has no space to overflow the seat and after just a few minutes by wife (size 16) was in pain from the seatbelt and brake digging into her thigh. The only answer was to sit her on a cushion to get her above the offending seatbelt buckel and handbrake. The driver is immune to the problem as their seat is higher up and they have extra space where the handbrake used to be. We tried all the lumber adjustments of which there were three electronic settings but this just pushed her to the front of the seat and were even more uncomfortable. Despite all this electric adjustment there is not even a manual height adjuster - a major ommission.
I am currently looking at having a custom seat cushion made that will stay in postion, that my wife will not slip off (the leather gives no grip like the cloth does) and will raise her out of the pit. After driving the car, sitting on the passenger seat is like sitting on the floor!
If the seating problem can be fixed I will buy an EX with Premium Pack. I decided against the GT as it works out an extra £2k just for the roof and a few other bits I can do without.
Why do I want it? Because of the auto gear box, the HDD Satnav and the dual air con.
