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Looking for a 9th Gen as a family car

2K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  andyk134 
#1 ·
Hi all.

Previously i had considered getting an 8th Gen Civic, but i may now be in the market for a 9th.

I need to replace my 2011 Alfa Mito with 128,000 miles for something bigger. the Mito is no longer my main car, and no big commute now anyway, so we wont be doing high miles. its simply used when out with the kids, holidays, shopping etc, i have another car for work.

So i'm looking for a Petrol, maybe hatch, or maybe tourer. looking to spend around £7000 ish, could stretch to a bit more if need be. it might be a stretch for the tourer at that price, but i might get lucky.

My questions, if anyone could spare the time?

1) How does the 1.4 compare to the 1.8 in real world? is it still a capable car as a 1.4?
2) One problem with the Mito, is that the windows are quite small, so the kids cant see out very well. The windows too look a bit small in the Civic. What are the experiences with your kids? can they see out ok?
3) Are Hondas as reliable as the reputation suggests? Reputation isnt everything, Alfa get a bad rap, but the Mito has been the most reliable car ive had!
4) Any recommended independents in the Beds, Herts, Cambs areas?
6) can you get a space saver in the boot? (properly fixed in)

As far as features go, nothing is essential but i'd quite like the following, in order of importance:

Front and rear parking sensors
Non tinted rear windows
Xenon headlights
Heated seats
Rear camera
panoramic sun roof
17" Alloys
Leather

The Xenons only seem to be available on the EX Plus, which doesnt seem very common, and outside my price bracket. which is a bit frustrating... it would tick all the boxes though.

What say you Civic fans :)

thanks
 
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#3 ·
For the facelift tourers at least you'd need an SR or EX to get leather and only the EX had upgraded lights (think they were LED rather than Xenon on the facelifts but might be wrong). Not sure if any tourers had pano roof, that might mean a hatch only if that's a must.
My SR tourer has front and rear parking sensors but to be frank they are rubbish. They are way too sensitive and compared with my BMW which work really well I dont find them useful.
Visibility out of the tourer is poor to the rear and you really need the reversing camera. Also the windows are tinted and that means at least to my 55 year old eyes that nighttime visibity isnt good
Overall the tourer is a great family car, no reliability issues so far and very economical but not without things I'd change.
I can fit a space saver spare in the floor as well no problem.
All comments based on my 3 years of owning a 2015 SR Tourer, obviously other years and the hatchback will be different
 
#4 ·
Similar requirement here, i did a lot of shopping around and test driving stuff and ended up buying 2015 (facelift) 9g tourer in SR spec back in Sept 18.

I'd also really have liked the better headlights, but tbh that's the only thing that the SR is missing for me - i can cope with that. I put better bulbs in the halogens..

Mine's a 1.6 diesel as i do a high mileage.

Tourer is a great family car. I have two kids and two dogs btw.

SR has the heated leather you want, plus camera. mine had oem 18"s but most have 17"s. Didn't see any with pan roof when i was looking so i guess this is rare option. Sr has tinted rear windows, so if you want the heated leather and camera then you're going to have to accept the tints i think :)

ex-plus was very expensive new hence very few around on the used market. more choice if you look at sr.
 
#7 ·
If you're going to commonly run with 4 kids, I'd say you'd be better served by the 1.8 - The 1.4 is adequate for myself in the car, but it will feel the load if you have quite a few up.

You're sorted for everything but the Xenon / LED Headlights with the upper models; The LED headlights only appear on the FK2 CTR and a few select tourers to my knowledge.

As the Facelift has projectors, you can fit HIDs without knobbing oncoming traffic, but it is still an MOT failure, So you'll need a kind tester or 20 minutes to swap them over.
 
#10 ·
Good info. Thanks guys. Need to drive a few now.

Is the reliability what you expected it would be? I could get a basic bmw 320 estate at the same sort of year, mileage and cost as the civic, but repairs are likely to be expensive. Honda seems like a better bet to me.
 
#12 ·
As someone who owns a F30 BMW (328i) and a Civic Tourer I can give an accurate comparison

The Honda feels the more solid car although the BMW feels, at least superficially, much more premium. However once you look past the skin you realise the Honda seats are more comfortable, the suspension feels more solid and the general build quality seems at least as good

The Honda hasnt missed a beat in the 30k miles we've done in it but other than a wheel sensor the BMW has also been OK although at 63k miles there is definitely something knocking in the suspension

The BMW is probably easier to work on, the location of the oil filter at the top of the engine makes oil changes simpler than the Honda and there's lots more information and easily accessible diagnostics compared to the Honda which is pretty sparse

The BMW is quieter and more a drivers car but which one would I want to keep for say 150k miles ? Which one for the least hassle ?

Honda every time.
 
#14 ·
thanks, yes thats good info.

From the little ive seen so far, this seems like a pretty easy going forum, its nice not to see every other marque getting a slating, which is often the case on car forums.

I had a BMW years ago, a 2002 330Ci coupe. I loved it. and it never let me down, but over the years it did need various suspension parts, a new radiator, a new front wing (rust) plus the usual service items. I then needed a much more economical car, so i got an alfa Romeo Mito, and it went through a set of injectors (the seals started leaking which killed them i think) but its been great for the 128,000 miles its done.

I still have the Mito, which i'm looking to replace with a Honda, and now also have a 2018 Alfa Giulia Veloce. Its a fantastic car. its got a few quirks, none of which detract from the joy of owning the car, but the fact that it is under warranty helps, as any problems should get sorted for me.

for this second car, which budget does dictate to be out of warranty, the less hassle the better.
 
#15 ·
As you've found out, without a crystal ball no one can say buy this, buy that because it will be good and trouble free.

128k good miles covered in a mito speak alot should anyone say this make or that make will or will not be a good way forward. Alfa's, if reflected in their sales numbers hav'nt really cast off their reputation for poor reliability. Had two, one great, one not, causing my decision to go back to Honda.

Realising it's possible I could be bitten one day, nevertheless because of my personal good experiences with Honda car ownership my inclination is to be staying with the make.
 
#16 ·
yeah, alfa havent really managed to lose the reputation. Plus the dealers, what few there are, get a pretty poor reputation. New cars are coming with a 5 year warranty though, so hopefully that will help. Ive been very please with the mito, its had a tough life for a small car. its been well serviced etc, but ive done over 70,000 miles in it, and they are not motorway miles. The new Giulia is a seriously good car. They have done an amazing job of it, since its its all new, rather than an update to an existing design.

I'm liking the idea of a civic though. i think i prefer the styling of the 8th, but most here say the 9th is overall a better car, and obviously the only choice for a tourer.
 
#17 ·
9 gen will be a better car (refinement etc). 8 gen petrols take some beating for value if budget say less than 4.5k

Should still be some good cars out there (our's I would say is) normal checks plus air con, elec folding mirrors and a presentable body/interior plus service book would be on my check list.

Don't think I would take on Alfa again-Guillietta not quite distinctive enough to select unless perhaps an 'alfisti'

My 1 year old 159 with 2.4 engine looked a million dollars at the time (2006). Drove a bit like a horse and cart being a bit harsh. Throw in 33mpg average the car was too much of a dissapointment so moved to Honda.
 
#18 ·
Take a Giulia for a test drive... just for the sake of it. I think youll be surprised how much better it is than the 159. I do know what you mean though. Ive only just started warming to the giulieta. Im hoping they replace it with something from the giulia platform at some point.
 
#20 ·
The 9th gen hatch is bigger inside than you think. We get 2 decent size suitcases flat, side by side in the hatch without even putting the seats down. And with the seats down you can get loads in when going to the tip. Comfortable and fun to drive with reliability a given. Had my secon civic for 2 years now and wouldn’t change it for anything similar in price and size.
 
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