Several days before dad pulled the trigger on his new (to him) car, he spun his iPad around so I could take a look at his latest find. Upon gazing at the result of his latest automotive search, the car he would ultimately purchase several days later, I grew exasperated. I really thought something like a late model Fusion worked better for his needs. He disagreed, and dropped this bombshell:
“You’re not listening to me.”
Ouch.
Almost one year ago I published a Question of the Day piece that asked readers to recommend cars for papa Snitkoff. The only car on my short list that dad expressed interest in was a current generation Taurus. Of course that was last year. He never mentioned a bull after that. And I didn’t push him towards looking for a replacement car once it dawned on me that unless something broke on his current ride, he was perfectly fine with what he was driving. That moment came last month when the air conditioning in the Taurus suddenly stopped working. The stifling humidity of a New York summer definitely accelerated his decision making process.
“I wouldn’t begin to suggest a car for Ed’s dad. Unless he’s mentally incapacitated, I’m thinking he can well figure it out himself. And then live with his choice, which is the whole problem about recommending a car to anyone.”
Had I listened to what Paul wrote in the comments section of last year’s post, dad wouldn’t have needed to all but say he wasn’t interested in checking out another mid size sedan. So it goes. I’m glad he let his distaste for my pushiness be known, because once I realized he was truly interested in the Civic I began encouraging him to check out the vehicle in person.
And that’s exactly what we did. This specific Civic appealed to him because of the color and the price. As the above screenshot illustrates, similar coupes in the region are significantly more expensive or have more mileage on them. Another positive was the Carfax, which showed the car only having one previous owner, who put a below average amount of miles on the car before presumably trading it in for a newer car of German origin. Said owner also changed the oil approximately every 7,000 miles or so at their local Honda dealer.
The Honda also happened to reside at the Volkswagen dealership that sold him the 2003 Volkswagen Golf he purchased for my sister before she went away to school. On the drive over I told dad that we should walk out if they refused to drop the price down another 1k, so imagine our surprise to find the car with our target price plastered on its windshield (they apparently lowered the price two days before our visit, but the revised figure didn’t show up on their site or Autolist.com until the day after dad bought it).
Since I had finally let go of my desire to see dad in something else, my ability to judge the Civic on the merits was unimpeded. And I liked what I experienced. Although the Civic has twenty less horsepower than my Focus, the Honda hides its power deficit well. It’s when you’re driving at around 30 mph or so and want the car to downshift when that 140 hp comes up short. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. The 5 speed automatic transmission is about as smooth and refined as they come. The 2016 Toyota Camry my friend rented last year was similarly refined, but it did not change gears as quickly as the Honda.
The Civic took corners better than expected. A relatively quick steering ratio and small turning circle contribute to its handling prowess. Unfortunately, the electric power steering doesn’t provide much feedback. Rough pavement didn’t vex the Honda too much but my Focus feels noticeably more composed over road imperfections. Honda clearly prioritized a comfortable, somewhat isolated driving experience, which comes at the expense of the sportiness found in the Ford.
Honda cars and crossovers tend to get criticized for overly intrusive wind and road noise. That doesn’t seem to be the case with this car. In fact I’m pretty sure its quieter than my ride, at least in terms of wind noise. Honda went back to the drawing board after the 2012 Civic got pilloried by the automotive press, and one of their emergency “fixes” involved thicker glass for the windshield and side windows. The Civic also boasts side mirrors mounted on the door instead of in the space between the A pillar and the door. I’m wondering if that also has something to do with the quietness of the car.
The Civic’s biggest weakness is its visibility. Coupes tend to have more blind spots than their sedan counterparts. Dad’s Honda is no different. Due to the steeply raked windshield, its pretty likely you’l encounter visibility issues up front as well.
Once inside the Civic, you’re greeted with a cockpit designed primarily for the driver. The two-tiered dash display and the center stack are angled for accessibility, and while the entire setup isn’t exactly aesthetically pleasing, its hard to criticize the inherent functionality of it all. Audio controls are clearly labeled and font size is perfect for the older demographic. It should surprise no one that interior quality is top notch. The front seats are well bolstered and comfortable.
From a technological standpoint, Honda’s i-MID system is a bit disappointing. While the system uses Bluetooth for phone calls and music streaming, it only allows voice commands in extremely limited circumstances. You have to “tag” fifteen contacts from your phonebook in order to call someone when driving. Honda ostensibly touts this as a safety feature, but my suspicion is that the system lacks the technological sophistication to do anything more, as any audio device connected via USB is unable to be controlled with voice commands. Ford’s basic SYNC system, which I have in my 2013 Ford Focus, allows me to use voice commands to dial anyone in my phonebook without any restrictions. When my iPod Touch is connected via USB, I can also use voice commands to select the artist, album, song, or playlist of my choosing. Honda’s system couldn’t do that in 2013.
I highly doubt dad will use even a fraction of all the gizmos in the Civic. And ultimately it doesn’t matter what I think about the car since I won’t be the one driving it. This post was supposed to be about him anyway. So what’s his verdict?
He loves it.
Nice color and looks like an amazing deal for a newer Honda. I’m sure it will last him years and years – you can’t go wrong with a Civic!
I was recently shopping for a car in that exact size/age/price range (ended up with a 2013 Focus SE exactly like yours only in black, and a manual) and I gotta say, I think I’ve finally found that elusive “sweet spot” in terms of practical car ownership. At this point I’ve tried leasing brand new, flipping $700 beaters, buying “nicer” $2500 beaters, etc etc and (so far) I’ve gotta say I’m really satisfied with the value a $8k – $10k late model compact sedan offers.
A car like this is recent enough to look and feel basically new, has most or all of the current features, and will give at least a few more years of solid dependable service life regardless of the brand. The payments are dirt cheap if you’re financing, and you don’t have to feel to guilty about dings or interior wear because it’s not actually new and you don’t have to turn the car back in. You’re also not stuck with the bare bones manual-window no A/C model because it’s all you can afford. Maybe I’m just a cheapskate – well, let’s be real, I’m 24 and simply don’t make a ton of money – but I can’t see myself ever buying brand new again when you can get such a nice car for $10k or less. Obviously there’s a higher risk (I leased my prior car purely for the warranty, but in retrospect, it was overkill financially and I wouldn’t do it again) but there’s also not a lot to go wrong with a modern compact 4-cylinder model with low miles, even more so if you can live with a manual trans and find one that’s obviously been well cared for. When I was shopping in May, I really wanted a 2013+ Civic like this but they were well above $10k, so I found a better deal with the Focus. Your dad found a great deal, congrats to him!
The current-gen Focus and Fiesta with a manual is a screaming deal used. The Powershift DCT’s bad reputation (this article’s author can speak better of its’ reality, I’m talking *reputation*) has brought down the resale of the whole line, so you get a car with a flawed major component priced into its’ depreciation, without that component. (Come to think of it, that fits the Good Ford/Bad Ford pattern which probably added fuel to the reputational fire)
The trick is finding one used, despite a higher-than-expected manual take rate in the early years. They’re just reaching the age private owners think of selling, and the low resale probably changes those plans as often as not.
The 2013 Civic Coupe is the same as the 2012 redesign that was criticized. The sedan was modified for 2012, but the coupe was not modified until 2014. The story is that Honda was planning a redesign of the Civic in 2011 to make it a larger car. The Accord was to grow as well. They were going to bring in a new small car from Japan called the Honda city. It would be a coupe and sedan to compliment the Fit Hatchback. When President Obama came in 2009, he raised the CAFE mileage standards and Honda panicked. They were afraid that customers would follow the Civic up in size and the average gas mileage for the fleet would actually be less. Their solution was to abandon the new Civic and do a major reskin of the current 2006-2011 Civic and introduce it in 2012. It delayed the introduction by one year. To drop the weight and increase mileage, they took a lot out of the car. For the first time, Consumer Reports did not recommend the car. Honda did a major redesign of volume selling sedan in 2013. The coupe was redesigned the following year in 2014. The coupe was still a good car but it had some deficiencies based on the 2006 to 2011 model. Horsepower and torque were up a little but some sound deadening had been removed and the car was noisy. The fastback design of the 2012 compared to the more upright roof on the 06-11 resulted in less headroom in the back seat. The car looked like a Hatchback, but it was not. The car model that was really destroyed was the Civic SI. I own a 2010 model. For 2011, they just relabeled the last few 2010 models as 2011’s and the SI was sold out by October 2010. For 2012, they replaced the high reviving high performance SI engine with the engine out of the Acura TSX sedan. They wanted more low end torque. But they got a car without the fun of the previous SI. Sales plummeted for the SI. Sales remained low after the 2014 revision. The Civic was totally redesigned for 2016 but the SI model did not come out until 2017. They ditched the TSX engine and went to a turbo.
As far as I can tell, Honda gave the 2013 Civic coupe all the upgrades that the sedan received, they just didn’t alter the exterior.
+1
Correct. The padded dash bits evident in the photos would have been hard, “rice paper”-patterned plastic in a 2012.
That’s likely the case, except it was as likely to have been caused by the spike in gas prices a year earlier which is still crash-program timing in auto industry terms.
I feel your frustrations regarding recommendations to either friends or family when you are known as the “car guy”. Obviously one tries their best to help your loved ones make informed choices, but sometimes heart will overrule logic. I personally have always asked people who come to me what their main priorities are before doing the ground work, so to speak, just to make sure the end result would be a good fit. That worked great with my sister in 2010 for her Kia Soul, my best friend with her 2013 Hyundai Accent hatch, and about a month ago with my parent’s 2017 Mazda CX-5. My own dad threw me for a loop back in 2012, however. He seemed dead set on a European mid-size sedan. I suggested a then new Passat, and he came home with something vastly different… The heart wants what it wants, it seems:
Honda and Toyota have built a good reputation for many years and they seem to be the main go-to cars for the Social Security set these days. I think some of it is peer pressure (you’re smart if you buy one) and some of it is getting to an age where you just don’t want to play car-roulette.
And of course the Civic is a very good car. As one with multiple positive experiences with Honda, I think he will remain happy with his choice.
I am curious, where was the Civic coupe built at that time? I thought maybe Greensburg, Indiana, but as of the present they build the Civic sedan and the CR-V, so probably not.
My 2015 EX coupe was built in Ontario.
Popular with the social security set… OUCH!
I replaced a Mini Cooper with my EX coupe (2015) because I wanted a drama free (i.e. cheaper to keep and more reliable) car that was reasonably fun to drive and stylish. Two years later, I rarely miss the Mini. The Mini definitely was more fun on road trips, but I lost confidence in the car around 75,000 miles and I actually programmed AAA onto my iPhone’s contact list.
This is a model I do not believe we ever got in Europe but it supposedly shares the same floor pan as the UK-made EU Civic, itself a car you hardly ever see on Austrian roads. I am still not sure how Honda managed to lose the position it held here in the 80s-90s but “Americanizing” that chassis may be responsible. When I went looking for a car a year and half ago I did go to two Viennese Honda dealers with a view to road testing a gasoline Civic (with the same engine as your dad’s car) and a 2.2 turbo-diesel with 150 hp. Both were snapped before I could fix the drive and I have a feeling there is a demand for good 2nd hand cars by a small yet knowledgeable band of Honda adherents who appreciate those elusive cars. Definitely something to revisit when the time comes for the Mazda to go.
The US got only the 4dr sedan and 2dr coupe version of the Civic. Europe and other countries got only the 4dr hatchack. With the current version, the US finally gets the Hatchback. But it’s an awkwardly shaped car.
An awesome read, thank you. I was smiling from the point in this piece where your dad called you out. :). Love his enthusiasm in the last shot.
I think one of the main functions of a car, perhaps the most important function, is to make the owner happy. This car plainly does that. Happy Motoring!!
Postscript: It appears the honeymoon period has already worn off for dad, although I’m thinking he’ll rebound once he gets used to all the technology. I’ve since helped him connect his phone to the car and set up the display to show him the information he wants. One of his gripes is that you cannot shut off the two colored columns that surround the digital speedometer. He just doesn’t like it.
He also tried to give Eco mode a fair shake. As a driver who always tracks his gas mileage, he loved the idea of a dedicated setting designed for maximum fuel economy (this is why I pushed him towards a hybrid). Unfortunately, its irked him quite a bit, as the car pretty much doesn’t downshift once you pass about 35 mph or so. I think I finally convinced him to turn it off.
I put about 40 miles on the car over the weekend and still think it was a good purchase, but a couple of things concerned me. Visibility, as I mentioned in the post, is very compromised out back and in the front. The Civic’s steeply raked windshield forces the A pillars to block more line of sight than I’m used to. If the upper tier dash display didn’t exist the car would feel very imposing from the drivers seat due to the design. This was the first time I put some substantial time behind the seat of the car, so its entirely possible I could get used to it given enough time.
I had the same gripes with ECO-mode and the color bars (high-tech vacuum gauge MPG indicators) on my ’15 Fit. I tried ECO for a few months, and turned it off (except in winter on snow/ice, where the dulled throttle response is a benefit). There was at best a 1-2 MPG difference with it on, and then only in town – no difference on the highway.
I abandoned the ECO mode because the cruise control holds speed much better without it. I’m still doing as well as 42.6 MPG!
To the person who posted about the touch screen radio controls on Honda’s, they are starting to add those physical buttons back to the radios. They redesigned the CRV and put the buttons back. Rumor has it that they will get added back to other models as they get redesigned. Those touch screens have an early failure rate.
The “coaching bars” beside the speedometer can be stopped by shifting the auto into “S.” They’ll still be on, but won’t change colors. They’ll just be a solid blue color.
I wonder which was more fun for your dad? Getting the Honda or finally getting to return the “you’re not listening comment”
Which I’m sure we were all guilty of using on our parents way back when.
“Look, I’m just saying that you should take another look at the Ford. Don’t be too impulsive.”
“You’re not the boss of me!”
“Now look here, mister. While you’re still living under your roof, Dad, you’ll follow your…um, my…er; okay, this isn’t working. Let’s just go for the Honda.”
“Thanks, son. How about a game of catch later?”
It’s interesting how the “normal” roles are completely reversed here. At your respective age ranges, usually it’s the elder who is coming up with reasons why something is not as good, practical, efficient, user-friendly etc. Here it’s the other way around and you’re both adults, it’s not like you’re the 9-year old pushing for the purple Camaro convertible.
Am I correct in thinking this is the first non-US branded vehicle in the Snitkoff family? I thought it was all Ford up until now. What specifically was it that turned him off of Ford for now? From purely a size perspective it would seem that a Focus hatch would fit all the criteria that the Civic does. Or was the coupe aspect the big draw?
He does seem to be correct though. Not that I know exactly what he uses the car for, choosing a Honda coupe over the Fusion that you thought was exactly what he needed does suggest a completely different set of needs/wants on the other side of the table. If it’s mainly transport for one or two, if fuel economy was a concern, if not a lot is going to be hauled in it, if perceived longevity is a factor, and/or if a more youthful image is desired, then yes, the Honda would seem to fit the bill.
The whole connectivity thing is overblown to me, for at least my generation. Sure, it’s conceptually nice to be able to use a voice command to call anyone in the phone book, but usually it’s not much more difficult to either dial while stopped at a light or just wait to call. 99% of the calls are to the same very few people anyway, (less than five?) and that number gets smaller and smaller the older one gets. I have voice commands in my car and had it in the last couple as well and I rarely use it. To me it’s weird to command the car to dial the temperature to 68 degrees as opposed to just turning the knob a little or telling it to turn the lights on (since superceded by excellent automatic headlight settings). The only thing I find it useful for is for navigation, much better than hunting and pecking an address into the system. Although even that’s still hit or miss, my Mercedes (2011 vintage so not exactly ancient) is often dreadful at it as witnessed by Mssrs. Jason and JP this summer as the system seemed to be talking back to me like a petulant teenager. It’s hit or miss. Our Toyota is a lot better in that regard but still not flawless. Maybe I mumble too much, I don’t know.
It’ll be most interesting to see what the next one is for him (which may be a long way down the road of course. He may be another one lost to the home team for good although the way the domestics are abandoning the whole small car market it doesn’t seem that they care anyway Here you have the holy grail, someone who seems to have stuck with the manufacturer for a long time and passed the gene on to his offspring (which they all seem to tout as the long-term goal) and then, boom, abandonment.
Jim,
I think its a situation where the student has become the master. Dad is the one who got me into cars, but now that I’ve spent time in the biz he tends to defer to my “expertise.” I think in almost all situations where a friend or family member asks for car buying advice, what they’re really after is reassurance that their choice is the right one. Things were different with dad, but only on the surface, and I didn’t realize this until he told me I wasn’t listening.
Before my sister and I were born he owned a Toyota Celica and Subaru GL. Shortly before my birth he purchased a Volkswagen Golf. In the 2000’s he was given not one, but two Toyota Cressida, and he liked them quite a bit, but they were at the end of their useful lives. That’s why he ended up buying a 2003 Golf for my sister. When his older brother passed away in 2011 he inherited a 2004 Toyota Camry, which he promptly put some miles on before letting my sister borrow it. She eventually purchased it from him and still uses it today. So our family has had quite a bit of history with Japanese and German brands. Keep in mind none of these cars were bought new, so your definition of “supporting” an automaker may not fit mine.
Dad wasn’t turned off by any Ford. He still talks about missing the opportunity to buy a 2015 Taurus and has done so as recently as last weekend, while he was behind the wheel of his newly purchased Civic! I think he just wanted a change of scenery in the form of a blue, front wheel drive coupe. Its actually the second he’s had within the last ten years. After giving me his 1989 Taurus wagon in 2003 (the car that made him like the Ford brand) he bought a 1990 Buick Regal coupe as a commuter car and put about 100k on it until 2010ish, when he junked it due to its age and damage from a collision with a deer.
The reason why I included all the talk about tech stuff is because both cars are from the same model year, meaning they could have been cross shopped when new. This was basically my review of the Civic as much as it was his COAL, and for a tech oriented shopper in 2013 I think the little things make a difference. I think you make a fair point about phone calls and driving. My main issue with the Civic in terms of tech is the lack of voice commands for a dedicated music device like an iPod. If I was cross shopping the two in 2013 that would have made me cross the Civic off my list.
I think my dad tends to just have good instincts when car shopping. I don’t think he’s ever gotten a bad deal. And he just likes what he likes, so when he needs a car at a price he likes he’ll go for it, which is what happened last week.
Ah, I see. Somehow I had formed the mistaken impression that you were a “Ford Family”. No criticism intended either way, we’ve certainly gone all over the map and had a string of Fords in our extended family as well!
I think one can still “support” a manufacturer even if only buying used as that purchase is in fact demand. The more demand for a used car, the higher the resale value ends up being. That higher resale value then helps sell more new cars. The converse is also true of course.
I suppose the “tech” ends up being a very personal issue. As you said, if you always use an iPod while driving then not having good functionality is a major turnoff. I prefer satellite radio myself and it’s definitely something I look for nowadays and some features are great – i.e. in some cars (FCA specifically) you can “tag” a song or artist and it notifies you if it is playing on any station as it occurs. Some other manufacturers don’t have that feature and I found I missed it when I sold the Chrysler 300.
Anyway, I hope he enjoys it, I’ve had a couple of Civics myself and they do the job very well!
No criticism perceived!
Tell him he is not missing much on the 2015 Taurus. Had he been in the market for a 2008-2009 Taurus (aka the Five Hundred with more fake wood and chrome and a bigger powerful engine), then I would have said go for it as those were powerful and roomy. My folks love their 2009 and I loved my 2008(till a drunk totaled it) but the 2010+ seem to be more cramped and narrow inside. The big ass center console makes it feel like you are in a canoe or a bathtub.
I think your Dad made a great choice with the Civic. Hondas tend to grow on you the more you drive them and the longer you own them. They simply don’t change as the miles add up! If something does fail (which isn’t very often) you repair it and move on. The fear of second guessing in a Honda is basically non-existent. I have owned many of them and loved them all.
Here’s to many happy miles in the Civic for your dad!
Thank you very much Paul!
The criticisms of the 2012 Civic sedan and 2012 – 2013 Civic coupe were never about the reliability of the engine. They were based on the interior. Small Hondas have always been noisy. So to take out sound deadening materials in 2012 was crazy. Toyotas are quieter.
Regarding color, the top colors for all cars are White, Black, Silver and Gray. Every parking lot is a field of boring. I love that this guy bought a car with color. I bought an orange Civic and people think I am insane. Go color.
+1 on the color!!
Working in an Acura store and seeing white, black, silver and gray all day long is TIRING, to say the least! The trouble is manufacturers make what people will buy. Let’s face it, in the 70’s it was all browns, greens and golds. I bet if I were writing this in an Oldsmobile dealer in 1974 I would be saying, man, am I sick of these brown, green and gold cars!!
As I’ve mentioned before here, I bought my first Honda a little over a year ago, when I decided to ‘retire’ my Mustang from the daily grind, and use it as a pleasure car.
So far my experience with the new Civic has been a positive one. Since it’s my daily driver, I’ve got just about 18K on the clock, having first test driven it at the end of August last year with a mere 7 miles on the odometer. This was my first car with that few miles on it, as I usually buy slightly used. For example my 2007 Mustang had 1127 miles on it at CARMAX when I found it in early 2008.
Pet peeves and positives too:
1) Road Noise. Again, this is the most down market I have gone since my ’79 Futura. Most of my cars have been MUCH quieter than this one. I just took this car on my first road trip (to see the Eclipse last month) and that got a little old. Solution: Turn up the tunes. This car has an amazing 10 speaker sound system that can be configured in so many ways (iTunes, USB stick, Apple CarPlay, HD Radio, and it came with Sirius XM, but I never used it.)
2) The electronic interface needs occasional rebooting. Sometimes, just when you think you need to take it back to the dealer to reset it, the Forums & YouTube come to rescue. Now that I know how to reboot the infotainment system, that helps. Hopefully, by next year at this time when I am out of warranty, this kind of foolishness won’t rear its ugly head.
3) The carpet seems really cheap to me. While it still looks good, I am concerned about its longevity. On a more positive note: the rest of the interior seems to be made of really high quality stuff. More than I expected for a Civic. Perhaps the Civic has moved more upmarket than I had originally prejudged it…
Positives:
This car is FAST. Surprisingly fast. Its little 1.5L Turbocharged I-4 is a hoot to drive. Even with the CVT, which I never thought I would like, it is an awesome performer for such a little car. On the highway, I think it may even be faster than my V6 Mustang.
And the gas mileage… WOW. EPA Rated at 29/41/35 (city/highway/combined), this car does not disappoint. On my daily grind, I average a little over 33 with my spirited driving style. Since I bought the car, for the past 18K, I’ve averaged 34.0 according to the computer, but the best was that Eclipse Road Trip I mentioned. The computer called it 42.3 MPG for an average over this 1080 mile epic ride. My “REAL” mileage calculation was 41.25. This is the first car I’ve owned to BEAT the EPA numbers, albeit slightly.
Anyway, it’s been a good year with this car and I really like it overall. Like Ed’s Dad, my Dad just traded his 2014 Mustang in on a 2017 Accord and likes his car very much. But in his case, technically he has owned Hondas before. He had an Acura RL, MDX and an RDX (the latter of which he still has). He has completely moved on now from his once ‘buy American’ mindset that so many of his generation had back in the day. He likes his Accord EX-L, as it reminds him of his Acura RL that he had and totally enjoyed.
I’m glad you’re enjoying your Honda; they are a blast to drive, from all accounts. The carpet issue, though, might be a company-wide problem: we looked at a brand-new Odyssey a few years back, and the carpets were already fraying.
Thanks, Paul. I’ll need to check my Dad’s Accord now that you said the Odyssey has carpet problems. His car being more up market than mine should have nicer carpet… Perhaps he is a bit premature in comparing it to his old Acura RL.
Yes the carpets are crap. My 2013 Accord had a hole in the driver’s floor at at <10k miles, and the carpet under that had a hole at 12k miles. I got a set of Weathertech floor liners and like them much better than the cheap ass carpet. Everything else on the car works perfectly and the 6sp gearbox is a joy to use. I only wish the car had been available in a color other than black. It wasn't until 2016 that this gen Accord coupe with a 4 cylinder and 6speed tranny could be had in something other black.
Are you saying that the Accord coupe only came in one color, black? I have never seen that to be the case. The coupe has not sold well for a few years and it has been cancelled for 18. But it always came in a few colors. Finding those car may have been difficult, but they were out there.
Rick: What I’m saying is that the Accord EX coupe with a 4 cylinder and 6 mt was available only in black from 2013 – 2015. Other engine/tranny combos were available in other colors, but it wasn’t until the 2016 refresh that this specific model and drivetrain were offered in a color other than black. The choice is still extremely limited; you can choose from Still Night Pearl or Crystal Black Pearl.
I had never heard about that limited choice. I wish they made an Si version of the Accord couple to compliment my Civic SI coupe. I would have like a larger car.
Nice looking car! And a very happy looking Snitkoff! 🙂
Love that color! “Dino Blue Pearl”
Reminds me of my 2012 Civic EX sedan with its sweet 1.8 L engine and 5 speed automatic.
I’m a big fan of the iMID display. Just the right amount of tech. When the lease was up on my ’12, I went to a Civic LX with iMID because the touch screen audio in the new EX was just too distracting.
I’ve since driven an Accord Sport loaner with its slightly different / refined touch-screen and was favorably impressed.
Interestingly enough – we have the same car (a 2012 EX sedan in Metallic Mist). Yes, it’s the much maligned model – but my wife likes it fine. Drives fine and it’s been very reliable, but the interior materials are kinda cheapo looking compared with earlier Civic models (we had traded in a MY 2000 Civic EX on it).
Alas, the blue ’12 Civic EX was a lease, so is no longer in our driveway.
The ’14 Civic LX I replaced it with was a pretty good car, but I’ll second the comments about substandard carpet. The cheap spun fiber material that Honda used in my LX looked more like carpet underlayment. than carpet. Also in an attempt to upgrade the base LX interior, they switched to a “panty cloth” type of material that was never as comfortable as the velour type cloth in the ’12 EX.
Fortunately, I can’t remember very many other gripes about the LX.
Love the color of his Civic coupe. He will enjoy driving the Civic.
I just returned a 2014 Civic LX sedan from a 3 year lease. I got a 2017 Fit and thoroughly love it. The Fit carpeting is frayed in several places, however, and it has less than 3000 miles on it. My random impressions of my 2 Hondas (as well as my daughter”s identical 2014 leased Civic LX and my brother’s 2015 Civic EX) are as follows:
After using ECO mode and experimenting with it, I just leave it off. Gas mileage is only slightly improved with it on and performance deteriorates, especially throttle response. It does help having ECO on in the winter, for a wee bit less touchy throttle response from a stand still, but it’s not a game changer.
All 4 Hondas have the CVT. In the 3 Civics, we all found acceleration lacking. There is a definate dead spot between 18 and 24 mph that can be annoying. I’m a conserative driver who values economy over performance, but the performance in my Civic was underwelming. My Fit, however, with the CVT and 1.5 really has guts. A real thrill to leave a line of cars at the green light. Mid range response is also significantly better in the Fit than in the Civic.
I loved the digital speedometer in the Civic and really miss it in the Fit. The gauges in the Fit are not very well lighted and I constantly find myself “studying” them instead of just being able to glance at them.
Visibility over the hood in the Civic and Fit is horrible. Can’t see then end of the hood no matter how hard you try. A pain when parking close to a wall. Back up camera is weak in the Civic (too small and gets washed out in bright lighting). Fit has a great camera. Daughter backed into a Jeep with her Civic the night before it was to be turned in-go figure.
The Civic averaged 31.5 mpg over the three years of ownership. Better than my brother’s (28) and my daughter’s (27). Driving style makes a difference. The Fit is great, averaging between 34 to 37 so far, depending where I drive.
My Civic was almost flawless. Never any major issues. BUT the driver’s height adjustable seat would always sink towards the floor!. I am a short 69 year old man so I keep the seat up high. Every two or three days I would have to pump the seat up five or six pulls to get it back to the top.
And, last but not least. I have picked the LX trim levels in both my Hondas because of the touch screen radio in the EX and higher trim levels. The reason being is my wife is totally blind (since birth) and loves to play with the sound system in the car. However, she cannot operate the touch screens in the new cars, thus the base level is mandatory. By our next car (if there is a next car), she’ll have to stay at home whenever I go any place because she won’t be able to navigate the infotainment system!!!
I averaged a hand-calculated 37.5 over 52K miles in my former ’15 Fit EX CVT, including occasional autocross events:
I had an aftermarket axle-back exhaust and a CAI, plus springs, rear sway bar and aftermarket wheels & tires (with a track alignment). It was a hoot to drive.
Nice color, good price and your Dad really can’t go wrong with Civic.
Dad would sometimes ask my advise on a car purchase, but his mind was already made up. If I didn’t have the answer he wanted to hear, I didn’t know what I was talking about. He bought an ’84 V6 Cherokee, I advised him to look at a later model with the inline 6, he said this one had a rebuilt engine, I told him that proves my point. He bought it, and the engine had to be replaced about a year later, I told him it wasn’t running right on the test drive. Never got a “you were right” statement, which was no surprise.
Do we have the same father? There was always his way and the wrong way for everything.
Seeing the same thing with my girlfriend’s dad right now: he doesn’t drive much and his 09 Mercedes A-class doesn’t really need replacing, but he just wants that new Seat Arona. Because he likes it. Nothing to say against that!
” Ford’s basic SYNC system, which I have in my 2013 Ford Focus, allows me to use voice commands to dial anyone in my phonebook without any restrictions. When my iPod Touch is connected via USB, I can also use voice commands to select the artist, album, song, or playlist of my choosing. Honda’s system couldn’t do that in 2013.”
Ford’s Sync system was the reason I wound up my 2012 Fiesta to Carmax. My 2012 Fiesta was probably the best driving car I ever owned. Great responsive manual transmission, good quality materials a wonderful car except for that damn Sync system. Even speaking in perfect concise English, the Sync system still tried to call every contact BUT the contact I wanted. Asking it to play the correct artist that I requested was a exercise in keeping cool because it never played the right artist, I had to select it manually. I got rid of the car because it raised my blood pressure and stress level from yelling at the damn thing all the time.
I finally sold it to Carmax (and made a $1000 profit) and bought a 2011 Chevy Colorado. It also had bluetooth but non of that Sync bullcrap, after the phone is initially paired up, you push a button next to the headlight switch, the system dings and a voice says “command”, I tell it to call such and such and boom it calls the correct person. It is as simple as that.
My grand daughter has one. I have to say this is a totally overrated car. It’s slow, buzzy, noisy, hard to see out of. Has a hideous giant dashboard that is ,2 levels like a Toyota echo but more elaborate. The steering wheel is to thick and the electric throttle feels weird. The body is flimsy. If you have one don’t sit on it or lean against it. My daughter has a Kia spectra and it is way better. Perhaps not as nice to look at outside but it’s faster by a lot, better on gas, rides better and body is sturdier. It’s easier to work on and more reliable. The Kia also is easy to see out of and is roomy for a tiny car. It is way more pleasant to drive and the dash is normal. If uninspired. The Honda is the way worse of the two. Next time try a Kia. Im not a small car person but even I can appreciate the Kia. The Honda is just awful. The Kia does its job well and really exceeds expectations in how it drives, it’s comfort and quality and fact it’s extremely reliable. The Honda is just unpleasant all around. Awful to drive, awful visibility, awful interior and painting work on and beyond flimsy.
It looks that I’m about your father’s age and I was looking at 2014 Civic over the past few weeks. I was ready to buy one although I found them sluggish and overpriced. Fortunately for me the local Honda dealers love there pre-owned models so much that they are unwilling to budge even a little on the asking price. I was so upset by the dealers that I found myself at Toyota and a far superior product was readily available for purchase. My 2014 Corolla S Plus might lack the spaceship interior that I thought I wanted, but it flat out performs every Civic I test drove, Better pick up (even with a 10HP disadvantage to the Civic), better ride, handling, looks and the seats are great. I am forever grateful to the stubborn Honda dealers for causing me to seek out the Corolla and the friendly dealership who still understands how to treat customer’s and is will to deal.