Test drove a . . .

DarkShadow

DarkShadow

DarkShadow

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Honda Civic 1.6 VTEC SE Exec version today :D

Went to a relatives wedding earlier, me and my dad sneaked out and browsed a few garages and this car had caught our eye. It's done 59k on clock and only has one owner from new, it also has FSH etc.

I must say, I was fairly impressed with how smooth it drove. I have a 00 plate Corsa so I can't really put a decent comparison but the pickup and drive just felt amazingly good. During the test drive, the garage owner had given me permission to romp up the speed, I pushed it to 6k rpm and it felt very responsive! I negotiated with the chap at the garage and he's accepted our £4k cash offer price. I'll be getting an insurance quote tomorrow but hopefully it should be affordable!

It does have a few cosmetic marks and a very small dent but it's only visible if you try to look for it.

Overall, it was in very good condition and my dad thinks I should go for it along with a few friends. The gearbox and the space in between the driver & passenger is weird and It does look like a shopping trolley, but meh, I thought it was fairly nice.

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What do you guys think?
 
Had one of these as a courtesy car once, thought it did what it was designed to do....ferry old people around in comfort until the car or they ceased to be (most likely the latter) :p
 
don't think you should have any doubts when spending £4k on a car.

it's not like there isn't any choice for £4k. it's a lot of money to spend on something you merely seem to be 'OK' with.
 
paradigm said:
What is your budget? You MUST be able to do better than a 5-door blandmobile?
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£3k ideally but £4k is my absolute max. I've just turned 19 and IG must be around 6-8 mark.

I looked at all my options and I can't seem to find a decent car.

Here's my shortlist:

Honda Civic 1.6
Ford Focus 1.6/TDCI
Seat Leon 1.6
Toyota Corolla T3 1.6
Golf TDI/1.6

Insurance is rather high on Audi A3's/Alfa 147's and they're not very cost-effective.

I've been looking for a few months but been putting in more effort into the hunt as of recent and as usual nothing seems to crop up when you want a car :\
 
I'd rather have a Focus purely based on the fact that the Civic looks like it was designed by a group of people from Age Concern.
 
Two questions:

1) You have listed the Golf TDi 1.9, but not the Leon 1.9, only the 1.6... any particular reason? Also, the 1.8 20V (non-turbo) is within insurance groupings (not that I find groups make a huge difference unless you are talking groups 18-20)

2) Have you considered the Bora/Toledo? Same cars as the Golf/Leon, but generally cheaper for what you get.

Personally I'd go for a VAG car out of your list (so golf or leon, but wouldn't get the 1.6). A3 isn't worth considering over the Golf or Leon IMO, you're just paying for the badge, and will get a very poor A3 for £4k.

EDIT: My mate has a Type-R (facelift), and the build quality difference between my Leon and his Civic is astounding. The Leon is a decent place to sit, and a comfortable drive on long journeys, the Civic is built out of the cheapest plastics in the world, rattles so much you wish you were deaf, and really isn't a pleasant place to be when you have to be there for some time. Granted the seats in the exec will be better, but the rest of the interior will still suck beans.

I checked out the Type-R when looking at the Cupra-R, and the choice was clear, the honda just wasn't going to be somewhere I wanted to spend a large amount of my time.
 
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paradigm said:
Two questions:

1) You have listed the Golf TDi 1.9, but not the Leon 1.9, only the 1.6... any particular reason? Also, the 1.8 20V (non-turbo) is within insurance groupings (not that I find groups make a huge difference unless you are talking groups 18-20)

2) Have you considered the Bora/Toledo? Same cars as the Golf/Leon, but generally cheaper for what you get.

Personally I'd go for a VAG car out of your list (so golf or leon, but wouldn't get the 1.6). A3 isn't worth considering over the Golf or Leon IMO, you're just paying for the badge, and will get a very poor A3 for £4k.
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1) Must have turned a blind eye on the 1.9 diesel. Thanks, I'll look into that. I quite like the 1.8 20v's but the insurance would be painful. From my experience 1.8's have been much more pricier than 1.6 counter-parts.

2) I have looked at the bora, it's okay but I can't say I'm a fan.

Agreed on the A3 comment, it's overpriced for my budget and I won't find a nice example for that price either.

The Exec's interior wasn't shabby imo, much nicer than focus and other cars I've tried, the drive was very smooth, that has to be the strongest factor. I found it to be very comfortable!

I love the Cupra R, such an awesome car :)

Any other suggestions?
 
Ooh, wheels off of an FR+, they aren't cheap assuming they are OEM. Just a 17" version of the Cupra-R wheels.

I do love that colour, although I'd be inclined to facelift it with cupra (not R) bumpers from 2003 onwards.
 
SpeedFreak said:
I have to agree I'm afraid.
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The Type R's are sexy! ¬.¬

Might view this car tomorrow, it's near the civic:

2001 51 Reg SEAT Leon 1.9 TDi 110 SE

5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Diesel, Metallic Blue. ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Alloy wheels, Climate Control, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Foglights, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Remote locking, Radio/Cassette, Side airbags, Rear headrests, Sports seats, Traction control, Full service history, Metallic paintwork. Insurance Group:7.

£4,000 Strictly No Offers.
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The wifey has got exactly the same car as posted in the O/P except with the 1.4 engine (which is horribly underpowered for the size of the car).

We've had it for three years now, and it hasn't skipped a beat - onto 70k miles now! For passenger ride / space the Civic is VERY hard to beat. With the drivers seat all the way back (room for a 6ft+ driver) there is still enough room to fit a suitcase behind it! For trundling up and down the motorway, it's more than suitable and I should imagine that the 1.6 is powerful enough to keep you happy for a while.

So, in summary - cheap as chips, some useful toys, reliable, oodles of interior space not found in the Focus.
 
I have to agree. The £4.3k example with those alloys does set off the cat nicely. I like it a lot.

I havn't really looked into these cars. Insurance group 7 seems very reasonable.
 
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