Help on new car

thekhalida1

thekhalida1

thekhalida1

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Joined
4 Oct 2012
Posts
530
Hi there. Looking to buy a new car. This one really appeals to me. Its the honda civic type s 1.4 in a 3 dr. What you think of this car anything i should knownor tips etc thanks.
 
so firstly, a civic will treat you well over the years, it's a fine car.

Secondly, if people are going to give you adequate alternatives then we need to know a few things; Budget, requirements, motoring use and so forth.

Be more specific and we can suggest alternatives within your range.
 
The civic (even in S trim) isn't a great handling car, and with a 1.4 its not going to be quick either.

What it is a very reliable, practical car and with the 5 door incredibly flexible in terms of interior space.

The three door massively limits this so i'd strongly suggest considering the 5 door version, the rear doors aren't particularly obvious tbh...
 
Siliconslave said:
The civic (even in S trim) isn't a great handling car, and with a 1.4 its not going to be quick either.

What it is a very reliable, practical car and with the 5 door incredibly flexible in terms of interior space.

The three door massively limits this so i'd strongly suggest considering the 5 door version, the rear doors aren't particularly obvious tbh...
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I dont mind about speed. Is it a reliable engine? Should i expect problems?
 
We had the same 1.4i engine in an older generation Civic and it was really dire for the size of the car. Overtakes were impossible and if carrying passengers would sometimes need 4th gear on a hill on the motorway. Economy was ok, averaged 40mpg.

~80bhp on a car weighing 1200kgs is silly.

The car was reliable though, owned it for 7 years and ~100k miles and it never threw up any bills other than normal servicing.
 
ci_newman said:
We had the same 1.4i engine in an older generation Civic and it was really dire for the size of the car. Overtakes were impossible and if carrying passengers would sometimes need 4th gear on a hill on the motorway. Economy was ok, averaged 40mpg.

~80bhp on a car weighing 1200kgs is silly.

The car was reliable though, owned it for 7 years and ~100k miles and it never threw up any bills other than normal servicing.
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What you get after it
 
The 1.8 engine suits the 8th gen Civic nicely. The 1.4 doesn't.

The car, as a whole, with the 1.8 is an excellent one IMHO. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one over something like a Focus if I was to buy a cheap hatchback.
 
As already said 1.4 will be very underpowered. The Civic's also look fugly and are very expensive to buy. If it were my money I would be looking at a Mazda3they look great and are lovely to drive, failing that a Toyota Auris, both cheaper too.
 
I disagree r.e handling, the civic is pefectly tidy, if anything the stiff ride they seem to have adorned it with to keep it tidy is a problem. Looks are another thing, I like them but each to their own.

Agree that the 1.8 is far more suited to the size of car. Still nothing like what I would want but if the op just wants a decent, reliable car it should suit nicely. The 1.4 just struggles in everyday life - if you have no insurance restrictions making you go down that road then don't bother IMO.

The Mazda 3 is decent enough too as is the focus but neither have anything about them that's particularly stand ou better than the civic ( including the handling, I've never understood the fuss over the focus having had a few). Interiors are all fairly comparable despite design differences, civics tend to come in quite a good spec though you can get it all in the other two, all have 3 door / 5 door variants ( plus saloon in the Mazda), I'd imagine all are on a similar performance level with comparable engines and they're all fairly reliable. The civic should break less than the ford but consumable type parts can be eye wateringly expensive
 
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Just to point out, just because it's got a bigger engine (1.8 vs 1.4) doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be worse on fuel. The 1.4 will be working harder all the time to pull the car along, especially when accelerating, whereas the 1.8 will be working less hard so it's able to achieve a similar MPG.


Also, practically speaking a 5MPG difference over a year is relatively little depending on your milage.


Your best bet is to shortlist a few cars you like the look/sound of - go and have a look at them in the flesh and try to test drive some at dealers.
 
1.8 petrol engine in the Civic is really underrated, will do 40mpg with normal sort of driving and decent flexibility. 1.4 would ruin the car.
 
ci_newman said:
A 140bhp Mk4 Petrol Mondeo :)
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