Calling all Civic Drivers

[HauteCoug]

I'm in serious need of a new car as my current ride is quite literally falling apart (Viking and Papa Viking went ahead and removed some sort of under-cover the other day that had started falling off so I could go ahead and drive to work) and the biggest contender is the Honda Civic.

My real question is if I should spring for the Hybrid instead. Do you have one? Do you like it? Do you wish you had gone for one if you have the other?

From what I can see in my research is that I'll save considerably through fuel economy, but I'm nervous about battery life and cost, as well as transmission cost.

In the end is the standard Civic still a strong enough buy, therefore rendering the Hybrid an unnecessary one?

[Commando]

This probably won't help, but Civics haven't exactly enjoyed a flawless reputation. You know how there are different designations for groups of animals? A pod of dolphins, a pack of wolves, army of ants, etc.. well another grouping that cropped up when I was a teenager was a "Civic" of hoodrats.

[TripletDaddy]

collective nouns

[HauteCoug]

Booooo - I'm serious here! I need to figure this out!

[Shaka]

The newer Civics have had some issues. Go look at the Toyota and Hyundai equivalents.

[pellegrino]

The newer Civics have had some issues. Go look at the Toyota and Hyundai equivalents.

what do you mean by newer and what types of problems are you talking about?

HC, all I can say is that when we first got married we bought a brand new 2001 Civic. The car has been great. It has completed a coast to coast and numerous 600 mile plus trips. We have now filled it to capacity and will be buying a larger vehicle in the next six months. This is a good thing because after 170k miles the transmission is starting to go out. The mechanic said that this is a little earlier than normal, but the car is almost 12 years old and has climbed many many mountains.

edit: I wouldn't buy any hybrid. I think that the technology is gimmicky and that it really doesn't help the environment or your bottom line in the end. I would buy a diesel and fill it with biodiesel as often as possible.

[Shaka]

what do you mean by newer and what types of problems are you talking about?

HC, all I can say is that when we first got married we bought a brand new 2001 Civic. The car has been great. It has completed a coast to coast and numerous 600 mile plus trips. We have now filled it to capacity and will be buying a larger vehicle in the next six months. This is a good thing because after 170k miles the transmission is starting to go out. The mechanic said that this is a little earlier than normal, but the car is almost 12 years old and has climbed many many mountains.

edit: I wouldn't buy any hybrid. I think that the technology is gimmicky and that it really doesn't help the environment or your bottom line in the end. I would buy a diesel and fill it with biodiesel as often as possible.

Civics are historically fantastic. The latest edition has some issues. I can't remember which publication I found this in nor am I going to look.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

When you guys are talking about the latest edition, are you talking about the new 2012 redesign or the one that started coming out in 2006?

I have a 2006 and it's been fine and Consumer Reports says they've been good overall. The 2006 was waaaaay better than the 2006 Toyota Corolla, maybe not so much with reliability, but performance, looks, handling etc.

The 2012 redesign was not good, however. They cheapened the interior, and the previous model looked better than the redesign. I think they're putting the same engine (albeit tweaked to produce about 10 more HP) and the same transmission in the 2012s that they started putting in the 2006 when that redesign came out.

Back to the original question regarding getting a hybrid -- don't do it. The regular one will do just fine. You'll get around 30 in town and about 36-37 on the freeway and that's good enough. You have to do a helluva lot of driving and keep the car for a long time for the additional hybrid cost to be worth it.

BTW, I may be selling my car at the end of next month. It has 84k miles, it's the LX sedan and it's the graphite/pewter color. I have to sell one of my cars because I'm getting a minivan, I just don't know which one yet.

[TripletDaddy]

I would go with the Honda CVCC.

[pellegrino]

I would go with the Honda CVCC.

that car was pure awesomeness.

[old_gregg]

I would go with the Honda CVCC.

Maybe she can get a prelude with the rear wheel steering. Ballin! Hottie, generally pulling things off the bottom of a car is a bad thing.

[mtnbiker]

Hottie, generally pulling things off the bottom of a car is a bad thing.

I gather it was just the air dam under the front end. That's not a big deal, if that's what is was. I understand the 2012 was a major dud, and Honda is going to try to redesign the car right away, rather than wait a couple of years. Big expense to them, but they messed up and have to fix it. Previous iterations have had very good reviews.

[HauteCoug]

I'm looking at either the 2009 or the 2010 model. My best friend has the 2010 Civic and has loved it, but I was curious about the possibility of the hybrid. I know the acceleration of the hybrid is terrible, but seeing as my car sputters as it accelerates, a bike would be an upgrade at this point.

And yeah, taking things off isn't so good, but it was just a piece of plastic probably protecting the bottom of the car. At this point my Audi is worth MAYBE 1000, so I'm not too concerned anymore. I'm truly driving it into the ground.

[Viking]

what do you mean by newer and what types of problems are you talking about?

HC, all I can say is that when we first got married we bought a brand new 2001 Civic. The car has been great. It has completed a coast to coast and numerous 600 mile plus trips. We have now filled it to capacity and will be buying a larger vehicle in the next six months. This is a good thing because after 170k miles the transmission is starting to go out. The mechanic said that this is a little earlier than normal, but the car is almost 12 years old and has climbed many many mountains.

edit: I wouldn't buy any hybrid. I think that the technology is gimmicky and that it really doesn't help the environment or your bottom line in the end. I would buy a diesel and fill it with biodiesel as often as possible.

My hybrid was awesome. 44 MPG. I paid 20k and saved a ton in gas.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I would go with the Honda CVCC.

Some kid that works in another office at my group of office buildings has one of these that's either been kept up pretty well or that's been restored. It looks surprisingly good.