I hope i'm not the first to get and read thier R&D december mag, but i just got done reading the article about the new honda civic. these guys are nuts! i cant believe how one minute your reading about one thing they dont like, ie, engine power...Quote " get caught mid-corner in too high a gear and it will feel like you just parked in quicksand." but just before that the rave on how the engine revs to 7800rpm and they love it. They also say you have to "work for the speed, cause below 5000rpm a call down to the engine room will reveal no one's on duty." then go on to tell you how well the power gets laid down and how the car makes them not hate front wheel drive anymore. ??? they dont like the short front end, no trunck lid, the 3 ft chevy lumina apv type dash, the fact you cant see the front corners of the car cause the car makes you sit so far back (because of the 3 ft dash) oh and yes, they dont like the brakes... "initial application is far too touchy, making good heel and toe braking difficult...abruptness proves annoying even in hard use, and slightly spongy pedal feel dosent help either! in fact the only thing they really like is the way the interior feels, well put together!

the reason i mention all that, getting to it, is they compare it to the SS/SC and a mini cooper S. All they say about the SS/SC is that it is " a surprisingly potent performer, but cant come close to matching the hondas fit and finish". then after all that and above, plus technical data for all 3 cars, they declare the new civic, "the best pocket rocket here".

Horsecrap!!!

if honda mounted a set of tires on a turd and put the holier than thou H on it, these guys would find a hundred things to not like, but still say its the best. what the hell has honda got on all these guys? i have never seen people pick a car apart so bad, then compare it to another car that is, ok honestly, a little better, not a lot based on thier tech data, and still say its the best of the 3 cars??? come on.... every honda cant be the best car.

sorry i had to vent, i would like to know what everybody else has to say about this. I know this isnt the first time its happened in a honda vs whatever car, but man i get tired of thinking, they dont like this, they dont like that, this could be better here, but hell its a honda so it must be the best of the crop!

this is to you Road & Track...

 

I think the new SI is beautiful but still weak. Honda needs FI from the factory.

 

I wonder how much Honda pays the magazine guys.... Car & Driver did a pickup comparison and the Ridgeline was the winner..... gimme a break....

 

yes, i remember that as well, and the next month they got a ton of hate mail over it. i said it then and i will say it now...bring me a ridgeline, a chevy and a ford, and lets go out and bail some hay, pull some grain wagons, or heck, just go INTO THE FIELD, and see wich truck wins the contest....please....

 

vue redline is a better truck(er.... SUV) than the ridge line

and same power train between the 2 , LOL


the fit and finish is usually alot better than anything short of caddie level trim


the new civic's are the best lookings 1's honda has made to date

 

I read it for the entertainment value, to look at pictures and research vendors. Thier reviews are watered down and not very accurate, they often try to be everything to everyone, but wind up just sounding lame.

I like the new SI , I may seriously consider one next spring when I sell my Mazda 3. I am looking for a N/A car and I will be keeping my eyes on the civic. No more Mazda for this kid.

 

What's Wrong with Mazda?

 

The Ridgeline has got to be the biggest joke of a vehicle on the market right now. Its by no means a real truck, nothing more than a jacked up Odyssey Minivan with a bed on the back. In fact, one of the mags recently took a Ridgeline on a light off road (dirt) trail, and the by the end of the ROAD (a few miles) the Ridgeline had blown all 4 struts. So they called Honda, and all Honda had to say was "we don't know what would make it do that". I'll tell you why it did that, because its a piece if **** poseur vehicle and its not a real truck by any sense of the word.

Thats some serious fanboy **** right there. "Not even close to matching Honda's fit and finish"?? Are you kidding me?? It seems that no matter how nice of an interior any other manufacturer makes, the Honda is always percieved to be better just because its a Honda. Personally I think the Civic's dash layout looks like crap, I don't care how "soft the plastic feels", the Cobalt's interior still looks 10x better, not to mention its probably 10x more functional than Honda's spaceship looking layout.

 

Its not fanboy to say our cars are nowhere near the fit and finish of a Honda.

I bet their sunroofs don't rattle.

I bet their trim doesn't fall off of their roof.

I bet their seats didn't wrinkle up after 2000km's

I bet their spoiler doesn't look like its going to fall off when you close the trunk.

Good thing we're faster

 

EFF that!! I agree with love my ss... a turd with an H would get all great things said in tho's mags. For ex.

"When we got in it, i just knew it was a Honda Turd, cuz the fit and finish, and the way every thing was so nice to the touch. And the way this Crap just was so high revving, made me wish i had one for myslef right now! even tho the Cobalt SS and (other cars in the comp) can drive u some where, this is a Honda! Even tho it is a piece of poopie, i think it just "inch's out" the compition! C&D... R&T.... All on the take from Hnda/toyota.. and they all take it in the pooper!

I'll take a Chevy POS over a Honda any day!

 

I personally think the new Civic line up looks like ass. And this is comming from a previous Honda owner and tuner.

 

Thats just your experience, I can say aside from the seats not really holding up that great, that I haven't had any of those other problems.

Oh and the spoiler is a whobbly POS. Thats why I am taking it off

I have heard that Honda basically releases new models in Japan first to work out the kinks in Japan and then releases them to the US after all the bugs are worked out. So it's not that Honda doesn't have problems it's that they just force them on all their ppl first.

 

This sounds like a case of GTO vs Mustang GT. The GT is appearently more "Fun to drive" and is a better car than the outperforming Pontiac for that specific reason.

Take what C+D says with a grain of salt.

 

I was choosing between a new civic or cobalt, whether it be an si or ss, yes honda has quility but they still didn't address the hp and torque issue, not to mention the price, (ouch) ! Then there's the piano dash, wtf were they thinking? I had an 03 lx civi and i think that car was far more attractive then whats out now!

 

Who cares...... Car magazines praise imports. everybody knows that

 

yes i agree with you about the entertainment value, but it gets awfully frustrating to ALWAYS read how superior honda is to all cars and now trucks! thats why i said if u look at the tech data, often times the honda is not even close to the numbers of what they are comparing it to, but somehow, the honda always edges out the competition. how do they do it???

 

i used to own a honda, i had a 99 civic dx, put in an sir engine, suspension, tons of different upgrades, i never had one single problem with the car, all i had to do was oil changes, and i had it from 138,000 km to over 200,000 km. ill give it to honda in terms of reliability, although im really glad i bought a cobalt ss/sc instead of keeping my civic.

 

Automotive Journalism when it comes to magazines like Road and Track , C&D and MotorTrend are about as honest as american politics

 

i wonder if they plan on doing a honda vs. chevy vote.... if anyone sees it let me know so i can stack it

 

My sunroof doesn't rattle.

My trim hasn't fallen off of my roof (I guess your talking about the sunroof piece).

My seats haven't wrinkled (9700 miles so far).

You got me on the spoiler, I do worry when I see it in my rear view at anything over 50 mph.

My only problem has been with the syncros on the transmission (2nd gear), which only a couple others on here have mentioned problems with also. I haven't had any of the other problems that others have brought up on these forums (like the leaking windshield, or even the leather on the passenger side door panel). It's a first year car that has to have the kinks worked out of the assembly line. The new Civic will have them, too, I guarentee it. Unfortunately for GM, their past reputation is difficult to repair. Fortunately for Honda, their past reputation keeps them going.

 

My back seat squeaks,
My door trim is comming loose,
My concerns fade as I press down that gas pedal,
My smile is wide
Make every drive home from work a good one, buy a Cobalt SS/SC.

 

Theyr'e like movie critics they will rave about a crap movie beause Tom Cruise is in it "War of The World 's " yet give no pause to a truly good movie "Napoleon Dynamite" just take it as they are FOS.

 

First off, about the wing... sure, it looks like its going to fly loose, but have any of you ever ridden in a civic that feels as solid at 140 as our cars? Or one that can go 140 stock?

Second... a few months back I read a comparison on the 05 Type S and the 05 SS/SC, and I believe it was road and track actually... (I'll have to go find it) but anyway, they judged the cobalt to be the winner by like .4 out of 160 points... Now you are going to tell me they would take an 06 SI over an 05 Type S?!?! Somebody gimmie of hit of what they got....

 

Interesting post. I rarely buy Road and Track though. Sounds like the article is porrly written, full of contraictions ect.

Please post the times for the Civic Si. I am anxious to see how slow they are

 

Just about every automotive publication are "H", "A", Lexus, BMW, or Toyota Fanbois... I cant even remember the last time a mercedes beat a BMW in a comparo... Worst one that I can remember was the 03 M5(Im pretty sure) Vs 03 E55.... They basically said they thought the Benz interior, ride quality, power, creature comforts, and looks were all better... but you could get the BMW in a manual so it was better.
Oh well... Mag comparos suck. Although I am anxious to see and drive the new SI