Honda Civic 8th Gen soooo disappointed

[Daff_Duck]

Got one of these cars after reading reviews from HJ and needed a replacement car in a hurry due to work.

After owning it for a few months now mixture of motorway and city. I can honestly say I have never come across such a poor performing car not only in actually power but fuel economy (or lack of it)

I cant believe the fact that for a 140BHP engine I am outstripped by nearly every car on the road even setting off I am into 3-4k revs before I am at 15mph if I have more than one person in the car then getting up hills (lots of them where I live) is major struggle its like the car is stuck in treacle.

The car has FSH and has only recently been serviced. So the question is what gives ? If someone asked me about this model or even any Honda I would have to give it a wide berth considering the sheer disappointment I have with this car.
Does anyone else share my view OR is it something mechanical that can be investigated tires oil are all checked regularly.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

What sort of fuel economy are you getting? Also, what model is it?

 

[rjk]

you have a mid sized hatch with a fairly unremarkable engine and power output.
realistically, its a car for people who just want a car. it has no performance credentials at all.

the question is, why did you buy it if it isnt nice to drive or performs poorly?

 

[Luke_Bowman]

May be a silly question but a colleague at work has the same car and had the same issue.

Are you sure you've turned off the 'eco' setting?

 

[rodenal]

I can't help but wonder what exactly you were expecting in the way of performance?

Untimately it's got 140bhp and isn't THAT heavy, so whilst they are far from quick they are perfectly adequate if driven like a na petrol car.....if you didn't find it acceptable on a test drive why buy it?

Economy I'm a bit surprised on as they tend to achieve into the low 40mpg bracket on a run quite easily.

 

[iamtheoneneo]

I liked my Civic when I had it, pretty decent 'average' car all round really but that's all your getting.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

So, you bought a 1.8 petrol, can't be bothered to rev it and don't understand why a turbo-diesel has more mid-range grunt and better economy. Sound about right?

 

[ScottiB]

So, do you have the 1.8 Petrol rather than the 2.2 Diesel?

Having owned the Diesel I must assume this is the case because, despite having the same BHP figure, the torque difference has a big impact on performance.

I have to agree with this lot, why buy it? Shouldn't have even needed a test drive, Honda hardly keep the crappy performance secret, the published 0-60 time is nearly 11 seconds.

Then again, if you think that's bad, you should try the 1.4

 

[rodenal]

11 seconds isn't right - more like 9

 

[Jonnycoupe]

In terms of shopping cars is a pretty smart engine. Decent turn of pace and character with real world economy.

 

[Jono8]

I liked my 1.8 8th gen civic type s

It wasn't "fast" but decent enough if you revved it. Not much torque though.

Fuel economy was great though. Averaged 45mpg most of the time. 50mpg was possible on a long economy run.

 

[slick rick]

Take the handbrake off when in motion.

 

[Jono8]

So, do you have the 1.8 Petrol rather than the 2.2 Diesel?

Having owned the Diesel I must assume this is the case because, despite having the same BHP figure, the torque difference has a big impact on performance.

I have to agree with this lot, why buy it? Shouldn't have even needed a test drive, Honda hardly keep the crappy performance secret, the published 0-60 time is nearly 11 seconds.

Then again, if you think that's bad, you should try the 1.4

It is 8.7 seconds, not 11.

 

[Fluke?]

It is 8.7 seconds, not 11.

I was going to come and post this..
8.7 seconds beats pretty much all mid size hatches inc Golf, Focus (inc the 2l), Ceed etc.

 

[kip02]

I've had a 1.8 8gen Civic before getting a company car and having to go back the diesel route. Still stuck with a Civic though.

I found it fine, but the driving style takes some getting used to. All i can say is don't be afraid to rev it. It may make a lot of noise but all the power is at the mid to top end. I used to drive it with a lot of revs but still got average of 43mpg. High revs don't always mean low economy, you don't sit rev'ing it for ages till you put it in a higher gear whereas a lower gear for longer will be labouring the engine and using more fuel. Although I do agree with the lack of torque is a problem sometimes, try having 5 adults and 5 cases in the boot on a steep hill... 2nd gear was needed!
Honda petrols = no torque, rev it, you'll learn to enjoy it!

 

[silversurfer]

You will need 2nd gear on hills. Is this single or dual cam, because the single cam really are slow and designed for economy even if it says vtec.
Sounds like you never drove a Honda before, you need to use the entire rev range absolutely as much as you can imo

I wish Honda were still unpopular, they used to have a bad rep as cars for old people because they were smooth, sedate and reliable

 

[-Mike-]

So, do you have the 1.8 Petrol rather than the 2.2 Diesel?

Having owned the Diesel I must assume this is the case because, despite having the same BHP figure, the torque difference has a big impact on performance.

I have to agree with this lot, why buy it? Shouldn't have even needed a test drive, Honda hardly keep the crappy performance secret, the published 0-60 time is nearly 11 seconds.

Then again, if you think that's bad, you should try the 1.4

It is 8.7 seconds, not 11.

I was going to come and post this..
8.7 seconds beats pretty much all mid size hatches inc Golf, Focus (inc the 2l), Ceed etc.

You really need to learn to read spec sheets Scotti. They definitely are not 11 second cars.

I liked my 1.8 8th gen civic type s

It wasn't "fast" but decent enough if you revved it. Not much torque though.

Fuel economy was great though. Averaged 45mpg most of the time. 50mpg was possible on a long economy run.

I used to get 42mpg from mine around the local roads going to work and back. I got 47 on a fast run to minehead and back.

I've had a 1.8 8gen Civic before getting a company car and having to go back the diesel route. Still stuck with a Civic though.

I found it fine, but the driving style takes some getting used to. All i can say is don't be afraid to rev it. It may make a lot of noise but all the power is at the mid to top end. I used to drive it with a lot of revs but still got average of 43mpg. High revs don't always mean low economy, you don't sit rev'ing it for ages till you put it in a higher gear whereas a lower gear for longer will be labouring the engine and using more fuel. Although I do agree with the lack of torque is a problem sometimes, try having 5 adults and 5 cases in the boot on a steep hill... 2nd gear was needed!
Honda petrols = no torque, rev it, you'll learn to enjoy it!

I found the petrol one perfectly adequate if a little annoying on some of the hill sections of the a30/m5. The 2.2 I-ctdi doesn't require the gear dropping that the 1.8 I-vtec did which makes for a more relaxed drive.

 

[lemonade]

You don't know how to drive, it's not a turbo diesel, so wont move effortlessly under 2k as there isn't much tourque in that range, you need to rev it, they have enough get go for daily town and motorway driving. If you don't like that style then change cars to one with a diesel or turbo.

 

[Tute]

Assuming it is indeed the 1.8 140ps engine, that thing is a VTEC engine and as such, will need revving to get the power out of.

Did you not test drive it? I took out a 160ps 2.0 VTEC and whilst it was an okay car and engine, the power delivery just didn't suit me. It did feel utterly gutless below about 6K.

 

[sigma]

Are you sure you've turned off the 'eco' setting?

Are you sure you've turned off the 'eco' setting?

Are you sure you've turned off the 'eco' setting?

This.