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Comments
Although I was considering the coupe, I'm rethinking that as the sedan styling has really caught my eye for an under $20K vehicle. To me, the side view is quite classy looking - evocative of the Volvo S series (S40/S60). The raked windshield also gives it a very modern, aerodynamic look which is probably functional as well in terms of drag/fuel economy.
The only thing I'm not completely convinced of yet is the new Atari Dash, both in terms of day-to-day functionality, and long term reliability.
Two questions:
1. For current 2006 owners, what are your real-world impressions so far regarding the new dash setup?
2. Is anyone else concerned about long term reliability (and repair costs outside the warranty period) regarding the Atari Dash components? I'm planning on keeping the car a loooong time.
Thanks!
Barnee
1. For current 2006 owners, what are your real-world impressions so far regarding the new dash setup?
2. Is anyone else concerned about long term reliability (and repair costs outside the warranty period) regarding the Atari Dash components? I'm planning on keeping the car a loooong time.
Thanks!
Barnee
Barnee, I bought a 2006 Civic Sedan as well....and like you I think it looks MUCH classier than any of the previous Civics. After a week of owning it, my wife and I had run to the store for a few things and when we came out we were walking towards the car and I think my wife forgot what it looked like. She told me as we got into the car, "This car looks HOT....I didn't realize how classy it looked until just now when we were walking up to it. I didn't realize it was OUR car that I was checking out". My wife is an import as well (although she's European, not Japanese...Hehe) and really has an eye for style. (actually, it more of an eye for EXPENSIVE stuff, but that's another topic altogether).
Back to your original questions about the dash...I absolutely LOVE the new dash layout. That's one of the things that really attracted me to the car. It's VERY easy to read everything, and like the other responder said, after using it for a while you'll wonder why all cars aren't layed out that way. It's a matter of opinion, of course, but I love the dash. The cupholders, armrest, etc are also laid out nicely as well. As far as the reliability of the dashboard instrumentation, I'm not concerned (of course I have the 120,000 mile Hondacare warranty too, but even if I didn't I wouldn't worry about it's reliability - it's a Honda after all!).
Hope this helps....go buy one! Hehehe..
Warner
Both Sedan and Coupe are great cars. My Si is on order.
As far as the Atari dash that is a humorus observation. One of my first computers, besides work, was an Atari 800 with memory expanded to 48K. And one of my first game systems beyond Pong was an Atari 2600. Now you can get an Atari retro game system with 40 of the old classic 2600 games, which at the time cost $15-$20 each, for a total cost of less than $25.
I sat in the Coupe Saturday because I had hear so many complaints about the vision of the split display and the parking brake hitting a person's knee. I could easly adjust the steering wheel with tilt/telescopic and the parking brake was no where close to interfering with my shifting or driving. The blue display was very nice, but the red display with a 8,000 redline will be nicer. Oh and by the way to the guy looking for $20k or under, a Si is only $20,540 and will zoom away from a Cobalt SS or a Mazda 3.
Cheers to the new great Civic look!
MidCow
Barnee
Charlotte
With regard to the display......I almost didn't buy the car because I hate digital speedos soo much. Now, after a few weeks of driving with it, I am not sure I could ever go back to a regular speedo set up. It has already saved me from one ticket.
I have no tick. If I did, I'd get it fixed.
Took delivery of a 2006 Civic Sedan LX. Five days later, it blows a code indicating a problem with the "drive by wire" system. Dealer had car all day, could find no problem, reset and sent me on my way.
Will be interested if anyone else has issues.
thegrad
The other thing I noticed was there were a number of units placed way in the back behind the dealership.....which means to me that they are only placing a few up front to make it appear that they only have a few in stock....
At one dealership I went way in the back...passed a "employee only" sign in a big fenced in area and counted 8 Civics all lined up in a row....various colors....5 were the LX models....3 EX models....all sedans....
So it is easy to see that the demand is slowing a bit....hold off a while longer and the inventories will be really packed with new Civics.....
Happy Motoring!
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Trust me, I know all about the car buying business, and the things you are telling me is a no brainer....I know exactly what they have to do to "prep" a car before placing it on the lot....and the space issue is a non-issue. All kinds of space....even with the hundreds of Accords and Pilots sitting all over the place.
Bottom line is this, Honda has a hot product, and when you have a product that is hot, you either make the product at a pace they will get you top dollar, or if the sales slow a bit, you place the product out of public eye so it may appear that the product is in low supply. Simple business practice.....I didn't say that there is anything wrong with this by the way.....they will milk this for all it's worth.....the supply will increase, the price will go down....that's business 101....and as far as these civics being pre-sold....notta....all are available for a nice Christmas delivery....the guy who has sold me 4 hondas pulled them up on the screen for my viewing.....and why would he do that....because I work on a military base and work with many people who are in the car market....maybe 3 a month...and they come to me for a little advice and depending on the make I point them in the right direction...especially if it is a Honda....I get nothing for doing this, except a killer deal when I am ready to buy. I have been doing this the last 4 years....and let's just say I get GREAT deals on my cars.....
Thanks for your comments as this is what this forum does....helps spread information.....
On the other hand, if the dealer knew that more cars were coming, he could sell at just a little over cost just to move the cars.
Bottom line - it's capitalism. The sellers make up the rules. If people play by them, those are the rules. If people don't play by them, the sellers adjust the rules if they can.
If you do not like the vehicle then buy something that you do like. As for me, I love the styling of the exterior as well as the interior. I get great gas mileage and my engine is not noisy at all. It is actually quite quiet inside my Civic.
Sorry your test drive was disappointing.
I wasn't noisy and was quick enough for daily driving.
I wouldn't pay the full MSRP price they are still going for today knowing that in a couple years they will be selling for invoice and that will add depreciation cost to people who pay sticker now.
me: What's the problem? Some engines can sound really good; if you don't like the sound of a particular car's engine, why not turn up the stereo? I'd lean towards the coupe just to get the better stereo.
FYI - at the dealer the other day, the price-tag hanging from the mirror on a 5-sp EX coupe was a little over $1K discount.
Wanted a Si, but dealer would not move off MSRP. So no deal there.
I love this car. Not a fan of silver but this car looks good in silver. Fit is good. Paint is orange peeled just a bit. No crap in base coat or clear coat. No sags or uneven areas in base or clear either. Only 130 miles on the car. There are no rattles, squeaks or unnerving bad habits I can see yet.
We own a 05 Accord EX Sedan, I4, 5AT. Its a great car! The Civic is even better for the money. Im 6'3" @ 255 lb. I fit in the Civic just as good as the Accord. The Civic rides just like the Accord and handles the same. Its amazing how well behaved the Civic really is. The seats are comphy. Everything is right where you need it. The dash is wonderful. I have full line of sight to the dash and can see everything very clear. The two tier works out good for me. Materials are top notch. No squeaks or rattles. The engine is quite and peppy. I have no doubts the Civic when broken in will out run the Accord. Ive sinned off the bat... At about 50 miles it got WOT thru 3rd gear, redline shifts. It went zip, zip, zip. :shades: Had to stand on the brakes not long after that rip. A deer on the side of the road in sighted panic! The ABS worked fine. I slowed down at a very fast pace.
I got 37 mpg for the drive back home on the dealer filled tank. 90% hwy at speed from 45 mph to 90 mph. when I got back near the house I refilled till pump clicked off at 2.8 gal. Then stopped at 3 gal. 37 mpg aint bad on a new, newly abused car. Car had 10.7 miles on it when I picked it up.
The clutch and 5MT work great. Shifter was kinda rubbery feeling when I pulled out of the dealer. Just in the miles put on since then its firmed up and has got a better feel. No issues with the parking brake hitting my leg wrong as I lean my leg against it and the center consul.
The Navi is nice. Only complaint I have is there is no trip computer. Or i havent found it yet. That SUCKS!!! The Audio is ok. Navi is a breeze to use. Its been spot on with its directions and prompts.
I will take the dealer sticker off and shave the civic badge off Friday and give it a good claying, polish and waxing. Scotch guard the seats and carpet. Detail under the hood and get it ready for winter. Also going to raise tire pressures to 40 psi front and 38 psi rear.
We are now a happy two car Honda home. Wife has her 05 Accord and I a 06 Civic. Two new Hondas in 6 months,, wahoo!!!!
psy
I too will have a 2005 Accord and a 2006 Civic, both 6-speeds.
Midcow
Honda needs to get their ducks in a row, find out what is causing this issue and then fix it for all existing drivers.
Honda needs to get their ducks in a row, find out what is causing this issue and then fix it for all existing drivers.
If you turn the radio all the way down, and concentrate on listening for the "growling" noise, you can hear it, and you're right, it's exactly at 1500 rpm. It's SIMPLY a matter of the engine lugging a bit at that rpm (in top gear only). I'm certain this is NOT a problem and not harmful in the least. I have the 5-speed auto and simply pushing the teeniest bit harder on the gas pedal causes the trans to downshift into 4th gear - the engine RPM's come up slightly and the noise disappears. This "growling" noise only happens when the car is in 5th gear and it's turning 1500 rpm's. I'm 100% confident that it's meaningless and will not hurt anything. One could probably duplicate this noise with a manual transmission (pick any car you'd like) by shifting to top gear too soon and pushing the gas pedal down, therefore "lugging" the engine. Honda probably has their downshift point set just a *bit* too low for 5th gear....likely for gas mileage reasons. Again, this is NOT something that I worry about or even think about because I know exactly what's happening to make the noise.
Warner
Midnightcowboy, I'm certain that it is. It's like I said...they chose an RPM range a bit too low for the downshift from 5th gear to 4th gear in the auto. I would suspect that the only way to rectify it would be to reprogam the computer to adjust the shift point down from 5th to 4th....probably somewhere around 1700 instead of 1500. The noise doesn't bother me a bit - I can hardly notice it in my car. I'll be interested to see what type of response others get when they bring their cars in for it. I can't imagine that the dealers will be able to do a thing about it. Personally I don't view it as a problem, but others do so they should definitely follow up on it if it bothers them.
Warner
Really? Interesting. How does that whole thing unfold? A bunch of complaints and then corporate mandates a program change? Or is this something that a dealer would be able to do without instructions from corporate? Either way, this is something that can be done at the dealer, correct?
Thanks for the info Backy,
Warner
Hard to give advice on that list of disapointments. The big dash and short hood is Hondas version of cab forward designing. I think the short hood is fine if not down right cute. No reason for a hood to be as long as a carrier flight deck. The dash is large to say the least. But flows right together with the rest on the cabin space. As for the cabin styling boring. Thats a head scratcher. The door panels and arm rest at wonderful. Trim accents are well done. Compared to out Accord its very well styled and has great function built in.I dont see the engine as loud at all, Lets face it. Its a Honda 4 banger that likes to rev. Ive been hard on it from the 50 mile mark of ownership. Now has 500 miles on it since Thursday evening. Off idle to 4k its silent just like our 05 Accord. Hit 4k and you best be yanking gears. ( yes its a 5MT ) It does start making noise and the exchaust note comes alive when you hit v-tec. Very typical for any 4 banger Honda.
A very good friend of mine bought a 5AT EX Coupe in Silver not long ago. His has the engine lugging rumble when its locked in 5th when down to 1500 rpm. Not to mention the 5AT just rips the heart and soul out of the car. After 17k miles of life with our 05 Accords AT. I would not have another 5AT in Accord or Civic.
Just for grins and giggles my buddy and I took our new Civics out for a sprited drive on a lonley rual two lane blacktop road. My sedan with 5MT spanked his 5AT Coupe something awful.
Sorry your disapointed. Many of us are elated! Even the one that got spanked. LMAO
Heres a pic of two of a kind.
http://www.psyshack.com/twoofakind.jpg
psy
Thanks
mcam
They made excuses for the 3 by saying things like "At first, the $2,400 difference in cost between our test cars was a major concern, but then we realized we could do without the $1,335 moonroof/CD changer package on our 3. Without it we'd have a car that cost only $1,000 more than the Civic."
The Mazda3 had a bigger engine that has more power and uses much more fuel. The car costs much more new and depreciates much more than a Civic.
They chose the Mazda based on track performance and their opinion on looks.
What sense does that make when comparing economy sedans?
It would be different if the 3 performed much better with no cost penalty, but that isn't the case.
They were so biased and eager to justify the added cost of the Mazda that they didn't even mention that since the Mazda is a much older design, it is available at bigger discounts new than the Civic will be for some time.
That does nothing for depreciation or fuel economy though.
They made excuses for the 3 by saying things like "At first, the $2,400 difference in cost between our test cars was a major concern, but then we realized we could do without the $1,335 moonroof/CD changer package on our 3. Without it we'd have a car that cost only $1,000 more than the Civic." The Mazda3 had a bigger engine that has more power and uses much more fuel. The car costs much more new and depreciates much more than a Civic.
They chose the Mazda based on track performance and their opinion on looks. What sense does that make when comparing economy sedans? It would be different if the 3 performed much better with no cost penalty, but that isn't the case.
They were so biased and eager to justify the added cost of the Mazda that they didn't even mention that since the Mazda is a much older design, it is available at bigger discounts new than the Civic will be for some time.
That does nothing for depreciation or fuel economy though.
My sentiments exactly, Jaxs1. Here is what I posted in the acutual forum for the comparison:
So, they took 2 economy cars and liked the one with better performance? WHAT? I bought the Civic because I was looking for a safe family car to cart my wife and 3 kids around in. If I wanted a performance car I'd buy a Corvette, not a Mazda 3, thanks. And as much as they didn't like the Honda's dash layout, I MUCH prefer it to the traditional layout; so that certainly becomes a matter of taste. So too with the styling, which I really like as well. It sounds like they didn't like the looks of the car and it couldn't compete with the other ECONOMY car on the skidpad or racetrack. How many people are going to buy an economy sedan based on it's skidpad and racetrack performance again? I'd think the 25% better fuel economy might make more of a difference than 7/10ths of a second over the course of a quarter mile, hmm? I have an idea, let's compare two high performance sports cars and then pick the one that gets the best fuel economy. This follows the same logic as this review. Oh, and after you get done using your Mazda 3 at the track (yeah, right!) and are ready for a new car, let us know what kind of trade in value you've got on the Ford...oops, I mean Mazda.
Warner
The Mazda3 does NOT depreciate much faster than the Civic. Comparing '04 Civic EX and '04 Mazda3 s, the Civic is worth 83% of original price and Mazda3 is worth 82%. Very close.
I may be the oddball, but the Civic EX and Mazda3 s were the two cars at the very top of my shopping list. Both had a lot of appealing features, but I made the same choice as Edmunds.
Anyone see a contradiction in that sentence?
I really don't like how car reviewers talk about value of the vehicle solely based on sticker price. Depreciation, fuel economy, and maintenance also factor in. If you use the Cost to Own feature on Edmunds.com and you will see the Civic costs less to own than a Mazda 3.
The comparison was quite stupid in my opinion. First, the difference in price of the cars is very large. Second, the reviewer is a driving enthusiast who wants the faster car. Obviously he'll choose the Civic. Would would happen if he chose the Civic Si to compare. It would be closer in price and power?
What I am saying is the Mazda is a great car, no doubt about that. But this review seems to be comparing apples and oranges. I would choose the Civic if I wanted a car that costs me less money and has more room. I would only choose the Mazda3 if I want more power. But seriously I would go with the Si if I wanted a fast car. Only reason I'd choose the Mazda is if I needed a wagon or 4 door and more power.