Automotive & Things That Move

“Long Term Test Drive”

In general, the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla get lumped into the same "econo" bucket, with good reason. The Civic is our commuter rat. We put at least 82 miles per week day on this car. It’s not so pretty any more and is often adorned with empty coffee mugs and bagel crumbs. We bought the car with about 70k miles on it some 7 years ago. We’re now running 233k trouble free miles, at least relatively trouble free.

The entire time we’ve had the car, the only non consumables I’ve replaced are the C.V. joints, the radiator, a rubber control arm bushing, a ball joint, and the thermostat. Not too shabby for 160k miles of use. The CV’s cost about $100, the Radiator another $100, bushing $50, ball joint $120, and the thermostat with new gaskets about $40. Now if you’re not handy, the CV’s are going to cost you some decent labor. There not difficult to do, but they take time since several major front end assemblies need to be removed for this repair.

As for consumables, the big ones to note are the timing belt and, for standard transmission models, clutch. This is an “interference” engine as in most foreign cars and as such the timing belt MUST be changed on a prescribed interval else you risk a fatal engine failure. The belt doesn’t cost much, $30-60, but the labor to install it is going to run in the mid hundreds. Similar with the clutch, aftermarket parts are available for about $100 but the labor again is going to run in the mid hundreds. I’ve changed the clutch once and need to do the timing belt for the third time now (60-90k interval).

The major bonus on this car however is the fuel economy. You may see this influence my other automotive reviews, particularly American cars. The Civic averages an easy 38mpg. This is not like the Passat where you have to baby it to get 30mpg. The Civic gets 38mpg _all_ the time. On bad days you might get 36mpg. The car isn’t a “write your name on the pavement doughnut monster” by any means, but it moves right along. We typically commute on the highway at 80-90 MPH without any issues regarding available power or fear of being rear-ended while merging. You will have to rev this little motor to generate that merging power which I’ve found seems frighten many American car drivers. But, this really isn’t going to hurt this engine one bit. Redline is in the 7k range.

Interior durability is very high. This car is fitted with tan fabric upholstery. There are no tears or even noticeable wear spots. There are few stains here and there, but nothing that affects the integrity of the seating.

Interior noise and elbow room are the main detractors for this car. There is significant wind and tire noise at all speeds. Elbow room is cramped to say the least. Driver and passenger can’t fasten the seat belt simultaneously and there is no arm rest. Space between the bucket seats is just enough for the hand brake.

Exterior durability is also very high. Now at 13 years old and 230k miles, were getting some minor bubbling on the leading edge of the hood and at the rear of the rear wheel wells. However, these bubbles are _slow_ growing. They actually have been there for a year or two with little noticeable growth. The hood rot is due to road debris damage, and should likely be avoided with a protective clear film. The rear wheel well is a minor design flaw. This area collects road debris and remains damp.

All in all, this is a great car. I highly recommend the brand and the Civic in particular.