If you want to chart Honda’s success in Canada and North America, look no further than the Civic. From a bare-bones mini clone that first appeared here in 1972, it has evolved into the benchmark of all economy cars. Virtually every other manufacturer, when competing in this market, cites the Civic as the car to beat, and it has garnered awards and kudos from every quarter, including Best New Economy Car for 2006, by the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Bonus: all Honda Civics sold in Canada are made in Canada, at the company’s Alliston, Ontario facility.
So what makes this car so successful? In a word: accessibility. It’s easy to get along with, undemanding, driver-friendly, comfortable, affordable, and now, even stylish. If you can afford to buy a new car, you can probably afford a Civic.
For ‘06, the Civic sedan has received a major facelift and re-design and comes in four trim levels: DX, DX-G, LX, and top of the line EX, which is what I drove. All are powered by a 1.8 litre four cylinder that features a single overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder, and Honda’s i-Vtec variable valve timing system. This engine develops 140 horsepower at 6300 rpm, which is up 25 hp from last year’s version. Two transmissions are offered: five speed manual and five-speed automatic. The autobox has Honda’s grade logic control system, which is also found on their Acura models and throughout the Honda lineup. It basically adjusts the vehicles’ drivetrain to suit driving conditions ......dropping it down a gear during hill descent and while climbing. I’ve always liked this feature and it’s becoming more and more widely used throughout the industry.
What separates the EX from its three stablemates is equipment level. For the base $22,230 price tag, you get four-wheel disc brakes (compared to front disc/rear drum), an additional 12-volt accessory socket, 60/40 split folding rear seat, rear passenger armrest, steering wheel-mounted audio and cruise control buttons, and various interior odds and ends. The manual five-speed is standard issue, and the autobox will run you an additional $1200. A base Civic DX sedan starts at $16,980, so your decision as a buyer is to decide if the additional $5250 is worth it, because the basic driving experience is exactly the same.
Which is not a bad thing. With the new redesign, the Civic is even more driveable than before. Don’t expect anything dramatic or soul-stirring when you slide behind the wheel; it just isn’t that kind of car. But the view out the front windscreen and peripheral visibility is as clear as ever.....always a strong point with Honda products. But for reasons I’m not clear on, the new Civic has a redesigned, smaller, handbrake, which is okay, but, then, so was the old one. The instrument binnacle has also been rearranged with the speedometer, gas gauge, and temp gauge located on top of the dashboard. For me, it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other. I don’t mind it, but fail to see its advantage over the previous model. Sometimes, carmakers change things just for the hell of it, I figure. One nice little feature is a pair of remote releases for the back seat. Open the trunk lid and there they are, which means you can lower the rear seat backs without fiddling around with hard to find interior release points. While we’re at it, let’s get cargo capacity out of the way: 340 litres. By way of comparison, the Hyundai Elantra provides 368 litres, and perennial rival, the Toyota Corolla, 385 litres.
And let’s not forget one of the main reasons people purchase a vehicle of this kind: gas consumption. The automatic EX version returns 8.2 L/100 km in town, and a very reasonable 5.7 L/100 km on the highway. These are excellent numbers, and according to Transport Canada, the average driver would consume 1420 litres of regular grade fuel per year with this car, which translates into annual fuel costs of around $1000, even with the price of gas being what it is.
Criticisms of the Civic are hard to come by. In fact, I don’t have any. If I really had to pick nits, I suppose I could kvetch about its appliance-like character. But in this market, that would probably be considered a virtue. This is sensible shoes transportation at its most sophisticated, and represents Honda’s uncanny ability to take care of the little things. The Civic can more than keep up with traffic, and on the highway, is stable, reasonably quiet, thrifty, and comfortable. In town, it’s nimble, manageable, easy to park and equally thrifty. It will seat five adults in reasonable comfort, and provides the basic minimum requirements for getting from A to B.
What more can you ask for?
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