subtle “de-contenting” has crept into (or out of) the Civic, and some of its exceptional driving dynamics, once due to its unique double-wishbone front suspension, have been lost to the more cost-effective strut-type hardware… the Civic isn’t off the pace as much as we anticipated—on paper. The lack of steering isolation, the way bump-steer affects the car, and the Civic’s less assertive turn-in, however, are noticeably changed. Most people probably won’t notice in everyday driving, nor would they have the opportunity to drive the 2000 and ‘01 Civic back-to-back, but there’s definitely a difference. It’s too bad, because sporty handling was one of the Civic’s hidden talents and secret pleasures. If one liked an active, sportier driving experience, it was always easy to recommend the Civic over more common strut-suspended cars. Now, there’s less to rave about, and little to distinguish itself from the crowd. – Motor Trend
the test car, to our great surprise… had some major rattles, and the metallic paint had more shady spots than the Coconino National Forest. We thought the panel gaps were rather wide, too, and certain details of the dash fit poorly… the ride has gotten harsh. Noisy, too. The engine, as well, is plenty loud in the high revs, and wind noise is apparent at speed. Moreover, path control on the freeway is nowhere near as sharp as Civics used to be. – Car and Driver
Given the greatness we’ve come to expect from Honda, we have been disappointed that the seventh-generation Civic is not quite the step forward we’d usually expect from such a veteran. We[‘ve] chastised Honda… for some bad decisions made with this Civic; the rear suspension, its trailing arm discarded in the quest for better space efficiency, doesn’t feel as well planted as the great setup on the previous car. The steering is also light to the point of precluding much communication of what the tires are doing. In both the 2000 test and this one, we found the car less confident through tight turns than both the previous Civic and, more importantly today’s opponents… small dimensions, a lack of power, an uninspired interior, and suspension faults have taken this car out of the spotlight. There are simply more exciting cars than the Civic at this price. – automobile
This entry was posted
on Friday, June 23rd, 2006 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Honda, errata.