new(ish) shape civics - they any good?

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Soldato
Joined
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looking at a circa 2007/2008 civic for the missus,

anything iffy about them or are they ok?

petrol/diesel- its going to be a choice between a 1.8 petrol or a 2.2 diesel any reason to go for one over the other? most likely car will be bought on colour and having x y or z toy rather than anything sensible like it having the correct fuel for her needs, so is there anything that makes one better than the other?


any options worth having and is there any major differences in the trim levels?

oh and final Q what do i need for ipod connectivity
 
Just seen this - Mine is great, mapped 2.2 diesel. The clutches before 2010 are made of chocolate (on the diesel) so check if it's had a change for a 2010 honda part or an aftermarket part. If so all should be well. There really isn't a lot more that goes wrong with either the 2.2 or 1.8 - check civinfo some excellent information available there.

I personally think the 1.8 is a bag of sheeet to drive but there seem to be plenty of happy owners out there. Get yourself an EX - comes with pretty much everything you could want apart from leather as standard. GT adds the glass roof iirc
 
Good point, there are lots of buttons (too many imo). I had good fun figuring everything out but the mrs doesn't know how to do much other then change the radio! ( to be fair she drives it maybe once a week for a few miles)
 
I may be able to answer any questions that you may have.
I owned a 10 2.2 type-s for a year but due to my finances had to get a cheaper car, I currently drive a 06 1.8 EX.

I must say that I preferred the 2.2 even though they are roughly the same power and 0-60, it depends on the driving style you or your wife prefers.

The 1.8 needs to be revved hard to get going, feels hard work sometimes when you want a relaxing drive or effortless overtake which the 2.2 would do.
MPG wise I used to get about 48 from the 2.2, A roads and motorways mostly on the commute to work driven quite hard sometimes, managed 61mpg once but was pretty boring! Same journey in the 1.8 42-43 so its not bad in that respect, but needs to be nursed to do this otherwise its more like 37. On a long run it will get in the high 40s.

For ipod connectivity, it was introduced in the facelift on the 2010 models onwards with a USB socket in the armrest compartment. It wasn't easy to use due to not much information that could be displayed on the screen and it wasn't easy to browse especially if you have a large music library I would recommend an aftermarket solution. Although if you get one with sat nav (EX) then it accepts mp3 CDs and because of the larger screen it is much easier to use. Also the speakers are pants.

Reliability wise, not had anything go wrong. My 2.2 was new and I had it till 15k miles and my 1.8 was bought last July on 62k which now has 71k and has been great. Feels very sturdy and solid still even though it is 4 years older.
Which one is best to choose, I'm not sure it depends on whether you want toys or looks. My EX is fully loaded with optional leather seats and 18" alloys.
As a minimum I would go for the ES, the SE or S are too low in spec I think.

One last thing, I'm sure honda thought they were making a van when they designed this car then got sidetracked. The boot, more so with the magic seats down is absolutely huge for a car of this size.

Any questions feel free to ask.:)
 
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I have a 2010 Si 2.2CTDI. I use the USB and dont have a problem with it although the majority of the time i just have my mp3 selection on the USB and have it on random play, i agree that you dont get a great deal of text displayed but its not the only car i've had like that.
Other than that its been fine, there is the usual "loose" sound from the front windscreen which is the plastic cowl at the bottom rubbing but thats a known design fault and easily fixed with some thin foam.
 
will be looking at an 06/07 plate ideally something with a few toys maybe an ES or similar
 
never mind, just bought her a 56 plate focus diesel.

for those who are itnerested its a 1.8tdci zetec climate
 
£4495 its a 1.8tdci with climate and sports suspension zetec trim 80k miles and ffsh not the cheapeast but its spotlessly clean.
 
Mines got 75k FSH, New MOT, Service and Tax, I did notice when looking that further north you could get a lot more for your money, But i havent got time to travel far at the moment :(

Choose a Petrol in the end after hearing Diesel horror stories, Enjoy your new car :)
 
cant complain about ours ffsh and the dealers flung in a 3 yr warranty 1yrs MOT and 6 months tax. pick it up tommorow once he taxes it
 
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