(First posted 12/15/2013) To those living on the West Coast, imports have been a mainstay of the automotive landscape for decades with Toyota and Honda comprising the two most commonly represented manufacturers. I’d been no stranger to that trend, with the vast majority of my vehicles having been import nameplates. Strangely though, I had never owned a Honda…
I did participate in a car share program a few years earlier which left me impressed with the Honda that I was able to use during it. When a new Honda Civic appeared for the 2006 model year, I was drawn to the styling, I felt it to be quite adventurous for what had become a fairly conservative segment.
Strangely the car this was replacing was my Mercedes 400E, which could not be a more different car. While the Mercedes was a fantastic car, the issues I had (some realistic, some probably more in my mind) had to do with the fuel economy (admittedly not a real issue since I had a short commute), mechanical sympathy (can it be a good thing to fire it up, drive two miles, then shut it down again, then reverse in the evening?), and mainly the fact that nowadays the back seat of a W124 chassis is not very large especially when child car seats are considered. And it had no cup holders. But the reality is deep down I wanted to keep on trying different cars. What can I say, it’s an addiction.
So I figured I wanted something good but not ostentatious, reliable, frugal, and not expensive. At first I thought I’d want an Accord, but after looking at them and the Civic I realized that the Civic had grown to the point where it was larger than the Accord of just a couple of generations ago and actually felt larger inside in some ways than the Mercedes.
Shopping for it at first was a pain, involving typical dealer experiences that everyone dislikes. So I took to the internet and solicited some online prices. Of several dealerships that I approached, the only one that actually didn’t try to play games was in my old neighborhood in Oakland. This was in April of 2008, gas prices were through the roof and anything small (or basically not an SUV) was selling like hotcakes.
I had narrowed down what I wanted to a very specific set of specs, namely an EX-level sedan with automatic without Navigation or Leather (yes, these were factory options on a Civic, how times had changed!). My first choice colorwise was Galaxy Gray with a gray interior but I was amenable to Atomic Blue as a second color choice. The dealer had several in my preferred color on order and named his price which was significantly better than anyone else, so I decided to go for it.
On a Saturday morning at the beginning of May we drove over there, and actually watched them take it off the delivery truck. I drove it around the block, declared it functional, we signed the paperwork and then waited for it to emerge from the detail shop.
Once it was handed over, I drove it back home to the other side of the Bay. I know it’s stupid but it really is nice to drive a brand new car, no matter what it is. The interior is a pleasant place to be with attractive colors and quality materials where everything falls to hand easily and works as expected.
The 2008 Civic was the third year of the eighth-generation Civic and still looked like the first year offering. For some reason I generally like Honda’s styling when they are first introduced and then generally completely dislike the inevitable “facelift” a few years down the road.
The grass is always greener, right?
In the U.S. we only had a choice between the coupe and the sedan, unfortunately we were never offered the 3 and 5-door hatchbacks that are available in Europe which I find to be even more interestingly styled. Over here we had three standard trim levels, DX, LX and EX, with the Si sport model and the Mugen Si enhanced sport model on top of those. A hybrid was also available. The standard EX (as mine was) is the top trim level in the “normal” range, all of which offered the 1.8liter 4-cylinder generating 140hp@6300rpm and 128lb-ft of torque @4300rpm as the sole engine choice. Backing that up in my case was a 5-speed automatic transmission.
I hate to resort to clichés but Honda engines really do remind one of sewing machines, so smooth is their operation. All of the controls were fairly light but positive in their actions, the touchpoints felt good and overall it felt to be a good value. The EX model has several features not available in the DX or LX – some of which such as a better grade of velour upholstery and steering wheel audio controls I very much appreciated, and others such as the moonroof I could have done without. The 16” alloys were nicely styled and complemented the design well.
About that design – This Civic appears to have one of the shortest hoods/engine bays out there on a normal sedan, visually it seems like it is almost twice as wide as it is long. The rest of the car was (to my eyes) quite a futuristic design, everything seems very well integrated and built to a very high standard. Ubiquity breeds acceptance and nowadays I really don’t even notice them anymore since there are so many out there. In fact the month I bought mine turned out to be the biggest Civic sales month ever, with 53,299 of them finding owners making it the most popular vehicle sold in that month (Yes, more than the Ford F150 even). That number just boggles my mind, that is 1719 per DAY.
Mine was built in Alliston, Ontario and I will hand it to the Canadians, they seem to be able to assemble a car to an extremely high standard. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the car when I received it, it was perfect. Now, the design did leave a couple of things that could have been improved on, but that has nothing to do with assembly.
The first thing that most people will comment on is the two-tier dashboard. It looks weird but it works quite well. The lower tier of the instruments has a large rev counter, the gear indicator, odometer and all of the warning lights. The upper level has a large digital speed readout and bar graphs for coolant temperature and fuel level. Very shortly after starting to drive one, you really only end up looking at the upper level as it has what you really need. The design is a complete non-issue beside looking weird at first glance.
A bigger issue is the placement of the handbrake. It is on the driver’s side of the center console and the end of it becomes the resting point for the typical knee position. It is a bit annoying, over time it becomes acceptable and you kind of compensate for it somehow, but it is a definite flaw that did not have to be. This is one car that could benefit from an electrically operated brake instead of this badly placed handle.
One of the things I really liked about it, weird as it seems, are the windshield wipers. These days, most cars have two wipers that sweep in the same direction. However, the Civic had them opposite each other, probably due to the size of the windshield. The photo above shows them folded down and you can imagine how they almost double sweep a large part of the windshield and then go all the way over to the A-pillar on each side.
A couple of months after I got it, we took it on a trip to Palm Springs. Despite only having about a thousand miles on it at that point, the gas mileage still averaged just under 40 for the trip which I found excellent. We were not traveling slowly either, usually around 80mph. The seats were comfortable for the entire trip which was just under 500 miles each way. The car itself was very quiet, just some noise from the tires. We forgot to pack more than one CD so were stuck listening to The Killers’ “Hot Fuss” over and over again. Nothing wrong with that, but to this day when I start that CD it reminds both of us of that trip…
Other than that it was really just used around town and to and from work, we first had the Murano and then the Sienna for most of the kid-schlepping duties. As usual I grew bored of it after about a year so at that point I advertised it for sale with under 6000 miles on it. The beauty of a Honda is that the depreciation seems to be very linear without the large initial hit so I ended up selling it for only about ten percent less than what I paid for it. Who bought it? A young couple with a baby that had a ten-year old Civic with 150,000 miles on it and wanted something newer and safer but still familiar. They could not have made a better choice. By the way, did I mention I love vanilla pudding? (2018 Update – I looked up the license plate in the California Smog Check registry and apparently it just passed another emissions check so is clearly still on the road, not that I would have expected otherwise.)
My brother has an ’08 Civic. It’s a solid, reliable, roomy car. Sure, that dashboard does take some getting used to. But he could do much worse.
I never really liked the 2 story Civic dashboard. For some reason it reminds me of GM dashboards of the 1970s or 80s. I also never understood Honda’s love of interference engines. If you don’t replace your timing belt every 90,000 miles, it’s like a time bomb waiting to go off. I read the newer Civics finally got rid of the timing belt and replaced them with a chain. Hopefully it is true because getting that infamous Honda crankshaft bolt loose is a real pain, either that a $1000+ bill to have someone else deal with it.
I also never understood Honda’s love of interference engines.
My hunch is Honda designs for smoothness and efficiency, and the valves just end up in a position where collisions can happen.
If I recall, the belts are gone. All Hondas use chains now. The upside of the belt, besides being cheaper for the manufacturer, was that it was quiet. My Ford has engine noises very well surpressed, except for that chain, which emits a really irritating whine, something like the soundtrack of a 50s scifi movie.
The belts are gone for the 4 cylinder engines. The V6 still has it.
A family friend bought an ’08 Civic new just like yours, same color/interior/trim. It handled quite well in the snow too if I recall.
I remember when these Civics came out how amazed I was that “this was a Civic?”. Not only had they grown, but they ditched the conservative styling for something much more futuristic and luxurious. These Civics really have a solid and grounded, luxury-car appearance to them – something lost with the 2012s (although 2013 improved this marginally).
It’s funny you should mention how Honda mid-cycle refreshes usually are for the worst. I’ve always felt that way too. They try too hard to the point of awkwardness.
That new car feeling is just unlike anything else – no matter what the car is, it’s always special. Conspiracy theory: the new car smell is applied deliberately to make people buy more new cars…
Last month I visited North America, again I was surprised by the number of Japanese cars on the roads, these Civics in particular. Certainly, the European hatchbacks look cool, but these have much more class to them. We did get the saloon but only with the hybrid powertrain. It actually sold in decent numbers due to tax incentives. That was based on the non-NA Civic/Acura CSX so looked slightly different – weird, why did Honda bother to create a NA-specific version not substantially different from that for the rest of the world?
Steady as she goes…
I, too, prefer opposing action windshield wipers like the Civics. My 1993 Regal GS 4-door had them and I did not realize it until the first time I turned them on. Through the years, I never had another car with them until I bought my 2013 Buick Verano this past summer, almost twenty years exactly to the day of the purchase of the Regal. Again, I did not notice this until the first time I turned on the wipers. Talk about deja vu…..
Mr. Bill
Yes, It is a superior design. An added bonus is that there is no need to change anything in that regard between left and right hand drive. When every penny matters these days I am surprised that more cars are not like this.
I have owned two Hondas. The first was a 2000 Civic Si that I purchased with 92,000 miles in 2004 for $9500. In less than two years, I’d put another 40,000 miles on it. It never needed anything but preventative maintenance, and it had the legendary B16A engine. DOHC VTEC, 16 valves, and an 8,200 RPM fuel cutoff. It was the smoothest four-cylinder I ever owned. Below 5,500 RPM, it was nothing to write home about. Above that point, where the VTEC system switched over to the more aggressive cam lobes, it sounded like a sport bike and really took off. I traded it in right before Christmas 2005 on a 2004 Mazda RX-8, and was very pleased to get $7500 for it. Not bad!
Two weeks later, some kid bought it, and was caught out by lift throttle oversteer, slid into a telephone pole which split the car in half. He narrowly escaped with his life.
Anyway, fast forward to 2010. I needed a winter car and since I had enjoyed the 2000 Civic so much, I got a 2007 Civic Si coupe. I really liked the styling, it was ostensibly quicker than my 2000, and it was a Honda; what could go wrong?
Well apparently I got a Monday morning car, because it turned out to be pretty lousy. The transmission would occasionally grind going into third gear (which naturally didn’t happen on the test drive), and the power steering sometimes would fail to work when starting the car. The manual actually had directions to shut off and restart the car if it happened. Honda Civic powered by Microsoft Windows? I was flabbergasted, and naturally the dealer “couldn’t reproduce the problem.”
It never quite drove as well as the 2000, though the limited slip differential helped put the power down coming out of corners and made it much better in wintry conditions.
The final nail in the coffin came when rust started bubbling up in the wheel openings by the end of that winter. It got traded in on my Dodge Challenger R/T Classic (my first new car ever). At least I only lost $1500 from what I paid four it about six months previous.
I like to think I got a rare bad apple, but since I no longer have a need for a winter car – I moved from the Coal Region of Pennsylvania to Southern California last January – it’s unlikely I will own another. If I ever buy another Honda, it will be an S2000. Those DOHC VTEC Honda engines are still my favorite four-cylinders ever.
“…power steering sometimes would fail to work when starting the car. The manual actually had directions to shut off and restart the car if it happened.”
Must be computerized electronic steering. When the government forced GM to recall the Chevy Cobalt because the electric steering randomly quit, GM protested that random power steering failures were no big deal, just pull off to the side of the road, shut the engine off, then restart.
I own a 2009 Civic LX and I absolutely love it. I hate how Honda messed up the back end design. The bladed taillights resemble eagles.
My dad leased a 2010 for a couple of years, and he actually custom cut a foam “sleeve” to put over the parking brake lever so he could rest his knee on it comfortably. I thought he was just being overly finicky (as usual) so it’s funny that someone else noticed that issue too.
I was really impressed by that car, it rode well, was built exceptionally well, got amazing gas mileage, and was just so functional. The sales are not surprising because it does what 95% of people need a car to do, and it does it very well.
Always wondered what the tight engine bay would be like to work on years down the road, but he never owned it long enough to find out.
I kinda of think this is the perfect car. Reliable, durable, inexpensive to maintain and I always liked the design. I know it was somewhat polarizing but I found it sleek and modern. Averaging almost 80 mph and still nearly getting 40 mpg, really? on regular gas? Really wish they would bring over the hatchbacks. Saw a fourth-generation Accord wagon last night and it was still running strong and looked great. Honda studies what other car makers do wrong and make it right.
Yes, the gas mileage was amazing. It probably helped that we drove mainly at night on that trip and thus were able to really minimize speed changes, not much traffic and not much throttle needed to maintain the speed.
I think Honda is fairly conservative with their milage estimates. My old 98 Accord 4 cylinder and auto combo would consistently average 32 mpg in a mostly even mix of city and highway driving. The best I ever got was on a road trip, nearly 37 mpg. My parents have noticed this with their 05 Acura TL as well. If you don’t have a heavy foot, it isn’t hard to get 30mpg out of a tank in that car.
Funny that you mention the annoying placement of the hand brake. I had a leased 2009 Acura TSX with the hand brake position exactly where my knee would rest. Never got used to it, it was alway there, always annoying. Poor design.
The hatch looks awesome; the sedan is a snoozer. Honda lost me when they stopped selling a Civic Hatch in the US.
We looked at one in the summer of 06. Problem was lack of headroom in the back seat for tall kids, then in high school. We ordered an 07 Fit instead, which we still have. I will admit to being put off by the digital speedo.
I am jealous of your gas mileage. I find it strange that the larger, more powerful and smoother riding car gets better highway mileage than my Fit does. Aerodynamics matter, is my lesson here.
I think it is a combination of aero and gearing. I don’t recall what the ratios were but I do believe the Fit is spinning much faster at say, 75mph., than the Civic. Also the larger engine is probably working much less than the smaller one. In town the mileage was not nearly as good, a combination of usually not being totally warmed up, some hills, and a few stop lights…I’m sure the Fit walks all over the Civic in that regard.
Wow, I can’t believe my car made it to CC! I drive the same “Galaxy Gray” LX sedan, only a 5-speed, and while I lament its boring-ness, I admit it just does it’s job too well to consider replacing. It’s very good at needing no attention. The clutch and shifter still work perfectly at 65,000 miles. Back seat passengers have no complaints. The trunk is big enough for 4 peoples’ crap. It’s invisible to police and unattractive to thieves.
I am an outspoken fan of the two-tier dash, it lets you read your speed in your lower peripheral vision and it let Honda fit a smaller-diameter steering wheel, which is a great wheel, though I wish the ratio was tightened up to match. It understeers, predictably, but so does everything else. The engine will hum along at 4,000 RPM all day long without issue (okay, maybe for less noise I could do with a sixth gear like the Si’s get), still getting 30-36 mpg no matter what you do to it.
Anything that malfunctions (minor stuff: weatherstripping, door locks, blower motor, sun visors, all likely due to Houston’s pitiful summer climate) never truly breaks, it just requires some minor DIY skills. It’s done exactly what I need it to do thus far…sip gas, never get washed, and never go back to the dealership. I expect it to perform well enough under kid-hauling duty in a few years, it’s certainly safe enough in crash tests.
I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a used car with low operating costs. It’s not going to dramatically drop in value anytime soon; in fact, in the event of another Katrina-sized gas cataclysm, the value might even go up! I wish it weighed about 250 lbs. less, though…but you can’t win ’em all.
My leased 2006 Civic was this exact car! Galaxy Gray EX, 4-dr automatic. My biggest pet peeve of that car? THE EMERGENCY BRAKE HIT MY KNEE AND DROVE ME INSANE!!! Other than that, I loved that Civic and hated when the lease was over. Excellent gas mileage, great build quality, and handled like a dream. If the newer Civic doesn’t have the brake lever issue I will consider another one in a heartbeat.
Another thing that’s rare: a two-spoke steering wheel, like the one above. You just don’t really see them anymore in consumer cars. For the eighth-gen Civic, the coupe had a three-spoke, and at some point (I think it was during the facelift) the sedan also got the three-spoke.
Mercedes-Benz had something like that with the current (W222) S-Class, as well. The 2014-2017 sedans, with the exception of the AMG models, had a two-spoke. For 2018, the S-Class received a three-spoke that appears to be the brand’s new corporate steering wheel.
The only consumer car I can think of that has a two-spoke wheel is the BMW i3.
As for the opposite-sweeping windshield wipers, they’re starting to get more common. My ’16 Cruze has them. So did my best friend’s ’13 Fusion Energi and his current ’17 Volt.
My sis has an 08 that was handed down to her from my father. It’s been a good car, but it looks worse and worse every time l see it. I’ve never been a fan of anything modern, and refuse to own anything built after 95. These Civics are so common in my area of Texas, l get so tired of seeing them. I’m glad it does her well, l just hope she picks a car with some soul next time around.
I still drive my silver 06 EX coupe daily. I loved the car so much when I got it that I had the seats reupholstered in black leather because leather interior was not offered in 06.
The car has been dead reliable with no issues other than routine maintenance. At only 75K I plan on keeping the car until it gets run into the ground and is too expensive to maintain.
The car is extremely well made and the coupe has a definite sporty look to me. Best car I’ve owned to date!
I’ve owned a 4th, 5th, and 6th generation Civic (have never owned the same body style twice) and was quite excited when this generation debuted. For starters, Honda had been on a cycle that saw a radical style change with every odd numbered generation….until the 2001-2005 model Civic which looked too much like the 2 previous generations. And the car itself looked so futuristic, it was rumored that Toyota had to hold off a year before introducing a new Corolla after seeing the 2006 Civic. And in my opinion the Corolla is a very stodgy looking car compared to a same year Civic.
As for this particular generation, my brother owned one that he gave to his daughter after it had accumulated a few thousand miles. It served her well for many years and was only traded when she became a new mother and it was impractical to haul the new baby and it’s associated “accessories”.
I came close to buying one a few years ago but the very low roofline made it a non starter for me.
Hot Fuss was a good album, it just petered out after the first few songs.
My wife and I owned a hybrid version from this generation. it was a 2010, found on, and purchased from, the List of Craig. The styling of this Civic is some of the best that
Honda’s designers ever produced – they still look a bit like something from the future.
Our relationship with one particular Civic didn’t last very long. one afternoon, my wife was stopped for a light, when she was unexpectedly knocked clear across a big intersection by an inattentive schlub in an old Dakota. She was less than a half-mile from our usual fuel stop, where she had planned to fill it up for the second time since we’d registered it. we got home to find the license plate for the Civic in the mailbox – it had been registered for thirteen days. I would buy and drive another – it was an interesting car.
Wait a couple more weeks…you’ll see.
The styling was excellent, it still looks fresh without being over the top like the new ones seem. Clean and tight design without lots of extraneous flourishes but far from boring too.
” I know it’s stupid but it really is nice to drive a brand new car, no matter what it is.”
I don’t think it is stupid at all. A car is a big purchase, why not buy new if you can? My folks always buy a brand new car as they want to be the first owner of that car. As they typically buy a new car and keep it for 10 to 20 years, depreciation does not really matter to them so the advice to buy used because it a new car will take a hit coming off the lot does not apply since in 20 years the car will be worth spit
I have never found the split dash to be bothersome. I did however find the center cluster on my 2nd generation Scion XB to be something I did not get used to.
How was the air conditioning on your trip to Palm Springs? I ask because I think I might like an 8th-generation Civic, and the a/c in my current 2005 Civic is marginal.
If I may butt in with my own anecdotal evidence, the A/C in my ’08 is a touch undersized. You have to raise the revs on your own, or be traveling more than 30 mph, to get it to work well enough not to melt in the Houston summer.
Issues with the blower motor and the air conditioning compressor clutch (just look up “removing a clutch shim” to keep these compressors in service) are still the only complaints so far…five years after my post above.
WOW I have been reading Curbside Classic for a long time
I’ll defer to Leroooy, he seems to have much more experience with the AC…I don’t specifically recall an issue but it has been about a decade. Many cars under the bridge for me….:-)