The ubiquitous Honda Civic, along with Toyota's Corolla, more than any other cars, helped establish the Japanese-designed compact and sub-compact car in the American marketplace. Both have been enormously popular over the years and have enjoyed a well-above-average reliability record along with good resale value. Unlike arch-rival Corolla, the Civic entered the U.S. market in 1973 as a front-drive car and has remained so ever since....the Corolla did not convert from RWD to FWD until 1984. The Civic has also led the Corolla over the years in innovation and powertrain technology, such as the CVCC engine in 1975, VTEC engineering in the 1990's, a hybrid offering in 2001, multiple body styles, natural-gas ( GX ) versions for California, high-performance Si versions, and numerous other features. The latest version, which captured the coveted North American Car of the Year award at the Detroit Auto Show, incorporates numerous styling changes.

Due to the significant level of interest I noticed on CL recently concerning this car, I chose it my latest review project. One of my neighbor's daughters was interested enough in it that she made it her first brand-new car.....a coupe. The 2006 model, like its predecessors, is again proving enormously popular....I see them multiplying like rabbits in this area. I don't have any firm sales figures yet ( I'm sure AmethySC and 1SICKLEX will post them when available ) but it is obvious that Honda, like in the past, is once again going to have another sales winner.

Why did I review an EX? Several reasons. I've said before that I didn't think that the even more expensive Civic Hybrid was, either in the short or long run, worth what it costs compared to conventional gasoline or the CA natural-gas versions....you can buy a lot of gasoline for the extra money that the Hybrid, with inevitable dealer markups, actually goes out the door for. Less-expensive and less-well equipped DX and LX models ( see the accompaning web site for prices ) in this area are difficult to find in stock at dealerships...they are selling as fast as they are unloaded off the trucks. The dealership I was at, for instance, had no DX models and only one LX.....but a number of the more expensive EX's to choose from. The new Si is not quite ready on the market yet. And, of course, as i said, the natural-gas GX model is not sold in this area. So, that pretty much left the EX available for general test-drives.......so that, obviously, is what I reviewed. What did I think of it? Well, as you will see, there were things about this car that really impressed me.......and things that most definitely did not. So, here we are........



Model Reviewed: 2006 Honda Civic Nav EX
Color: Shoreline Mist Metallic. Interior: Ivory cloth.
Base price: $20,550
MSRP: $21,140

Drivetrain: FWD 1.8L in-line SOHC 16-valve VTEC-4, 140 HP, 128 ft.-lbs. torque
5-speed automatic transmission.



PLUSSES:

Swiss-Watch build quality and materials...with one or two minor execptions.

Well-above-average fit-and-finish......again, with one or two exceptions.

Good interior space efficiency.....a Civic tradition.

Slick-precision-feeling automatic-transmission shifter and parking brake handle.

Dash-mounted shift-position indicator for easy reference.....something not always found in entry-level cars.

Good handling and agility for a sedan.


Excellent gas mileage figures, even with the automatic, if driven sensibly.
( up to 40 MPG with the automatic, which outdoes even the manual )....One less reason to buy the Hybrid.



MINUSES:


Dull exterior colors except for the Atomic Blue and Tango Red....lesser Civic models quite limited in color choice, another Civic tradition.

Relatively stiff ride with EX tires and suspension.

Not a lot of low-RPM torque and flat response when warm.

Rather spongy, ineffective brakes.....probably from the small rotor size.

Numb, rubbery-feeling power-steering.

Pint-sized Mickey-Mouse steering wheel.

Odd, split-level dash and gauges.

Featherweight hood can be a hazard on a windy day.

Bright-orange all-plastic oil dipstick flimsy and very difficult to read.

Jumpy off-idle throttle response and bumpy transmission shifting whan cold....much better when warm.

No power seats or leather available even on top-line EX trim level.

Compact spare tire.

Limited visibility around the A-pillars in spite of small see-thru windows.

Cheap 3/36 total-car warranty.



OK...the first impression you get of this car as you walk up to it is exactly what it is......an all-new Civic with Acura-inspired styling particularly in the front end. The hood, grille, and front fenders all have some Acura RSX influence to them.From the windshield back the car is much more like previous conventional Civlcs. The exterior fit-and-finish, for a car of this size and price range, has to be seen to be believed. The door panel gaps are so close it would be hard to stick a piece of paper through them, and all four doors close with the muted sound and precision feel of the workings of a Swiss watch. I've seen $50,000 and $60,000 cars that didn't do that, particularly from Europe. Too bad they couldn't have given the otherwise excellent paint jobs a little more flash. Only one or two colors are actually distinguishable from funeral limos.

Get inside the rather space-efficient interior and you find, in my opinion, two completely different worlds. One one hand, you have the precision-feel and high fit-and-finish level evident in the hardware, controls, and switches, the delightfully solid sound and feel of the doors closing, plenty of room for tall and broad people like me, a super-slick automatic transmission lever and parking brake handle, nice suede arm rests on the doors, and the usual Honda care of assembly all around you. Then you have to deal with, again IMO, the not-so-nice features.....a Kiddie-Car-sized steering wheel with cheap-looking flat-silver paint on the two spokes, the same cheap-looking flat-silver paint on the door handles and shifter housing, a two-foot-long dash like in the VW Beetle, but with an odd two-tier level with the digital speedometer, temperature and fuel gauges up front under the far-away windshield and the conventional blue-and-white tach, odometer, shift-indicator and trip computer displays conventionally located right behind the wheel....where ALL of the gauges should be, IMO....and scratch the digital speedo and put the regular analog one back in. The ultra-long dash forces the A-pillars up front of you at an angle...and despite the small triangular see-through window in each one visibility to the front and sides, like in the VW Beetle, is somewhat limited.


On the road, warm-up is less than a totally pleasant experience as the new throttle-by wire engine controls give a rather abrupt off-idle when starting from a stop or at very low speeds, and the transmission tends to shift harsh enough to be noticeable. Both smooth out quite a bit and act much better when warmed up...and the overall drivability is quite good, with moderate engine noise...about average for this class of car. Low-end torque when warm, in the Honda four-cylinder tradition, is not good, but of course this car was designed more for gas mileage than to be a dragster, and, as with most Civics, the gas mileage ratings are superb.

Handling is what you expect of non-Hybrid larger-tired Civics.....sharp, quick, with good steering response and agility, but the same old Civic numb, rubbery steering feel. Brakes, another Civic weak point, more or less continue the tradition here with a relatively spongy, long-pedal travel and weak response. Again, as in the past, small rotors may be the culprit. The ride, as expected of a sharp-handling car, is firm, but not excessively stiff, with little wind noise even at cruise......probably a result of those superlatively-fitting doors that close and seal so well.

Space up front is OK for a person my size ( 6' 2" and 275 lbs. ) and marginally OK in the rear....again, not bad for this size car, and indicative of Honda's design abilities in space-efficiency.

The Verdict? I am aware of the awards this car has received, and took them into consideration while doing this review....but it is clearly not the car for me. It would, however, be a good purchase for a college student, first-time buyer, someone who wants high gas mileage ( for a conventional car ) without having to hunt for diesel fuel or the complexities of a hybrid, someone who can put up with ( or likes ) the odd two-tier dash, someone who wants super-reliability and excellent fit-and-finish at a relatively low price, or someone who wants an sharp-handling inexpensive sedan and is willing to accept less-than-BMW steering feel. For these classes of buyers, Honda has another sure winner.....and once again, as in the past, the sales numbers seem to be verifying that, but EX models are definitely lagging the lower-priced DX and LX models in that department.