Honda Civic EX sedan, image from the brochure.
Honda products in the American market had generally been so class-leading through the ’80s and ’90s, that when updates arrived the question came: Can it get any better?
And to many critics and buyers alike, the answer was generally ‘Yes’. And such was the case with the Civic’s 6th generation that arrived for the 1996 model year.
Honda didn’t work in a vacuum when coming up with the 6th generation, and the company ran an extensive market research program to check the public’s opinion before proceeding.
As such, the new Civic’s progression was mostly evolutionary. Those who enjoyed the model for what it had been would find little challenging in the new generation. Instead, updates arrived in areas that mattered; yet more refinement and other upgrades to suit buyer’s expectations.
Some of those updates appeared in the car’s styling. While being an evolution of the Civic’s then characteristic low cowl profile, there was an effort to make the styling less alike between its variants. As such, the hatchback, sedan, and coupe became more distinctive. An effect achieved mostly through differing headlight and taillight lenses, and other minor trim details.
(And while it’s hard to imagine in our age of overdone aggressive styling, the Civic’s enlarged headlights of 1996 were a mild cause of anxiety at the time.)
On more substantial areas, the Civic had grown in length (by 2 in. on coupe and sedan, and 4.3 in hatchback) and height (about 1 in. in sedan and hatchback, half that on the coupe). Only the model’s width decreased slightly to upgrade side-impact protection.
Some of Honda’s penchant for novelty showed up in the Civic’s engine department. At launch, three horsepower levels of the corporation’s 1590cc engine were available. The 106 bhp non-VTEC base one was the first mass-production gasoline engine to meet California’s Low Emissions Vehicle standard. The 115 bhp VTEC-E variant was just above, tuned for lean burn and high fuel economy. Last, the 127 bhp VTEC version with emphasis on performance.
Trim options across the Civic range were varied. Starting with the base CX (in hatchback only), and going up in order: DX, HX, LX, and EX. At launch, the EX was the top-performing model and, appropriately, the one fitting R&T’s interest. (The Si trim was missing in ’96, but would reappear in ’99).
All models could come with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic. An optional CVT was also available, but only on the Coupe HX. The option’s limited availability to that sole model a curious decision in the reviewers’ eyes.
Structural integrity for the Civic had increased, while the suspension –mostly unchanged– got updated tuning. At idle and revving, Honda’s efforts at “reducing noise and vibration… throughout the body…” had clearly paid off. And on the test track, the new model “felt utterly unflappable and noticeably more complaint.” One complaint; a more detached feel at the wheel due to the updated torque-sensitive power-assisted steering.
Needless to say, this generation of Civics was just as successful in the marketplace as any that had come before it. On a personal note, the model was a fixture among the young professional colleagues in my California office during the late ’90s. And few had complaints about them (none as I recall).
It’s in retrospect (and thanks to hindsight), a Civic generation that was pushing the model away from its zippier early days, to something more substantial and plusher. But they were the right moves at the time, and after all, who doesn’t settle down a bit as they age?
Related CC reading:
CC Driving Impression: 1998 Honda Civic LX – My Two Weeks With A Curbside Classic
I have a 2000 Civic EX, looks just like the ’96, I’ve had it 25 years this September, 320,000 miles, can it get any better! Still rolling along. Never troublesome. Still looks good too.
Had three 97’s a DX coupe and a sedan and an LX sedan all three were superb for our family of three teen agers. I think this generation was peak Civic. the styling of later models was overwrought and the effort to appeal to younger people does not appear to have broad appeal. Too much following Toyota not enough continuity with the brand’s success
Honda still hadnt learned how to really improve handling yet, the side profile laid bare shows why, the FWD handling kings had the crankshaft on the front axle lines and the engine weight within the wheelbase by canting it, minimum weight ahead of the crankshaft, Honda engines were great, but FWD tarmac rocketships were built elsewhere.
I had a 2000 HX I bought with 80k on it and enjoyed several trouble free years. It remains one of my favorite cars ever.
My current daily driver is a 13 Hyundai Elantra with six speed manual. Aside from the non existing engine immobilizer fiasco it’s…. ok. I still miss my 97 Civic EX Coupe with manual transmission. That civic engine and drivetrain was such a joy to drive and it loved to live in the V-Tech zone, Yo! The sound was reminiscent and of a poor mans four cylinder F1 engine. Regardless of how hard it was driven it always returned 30 MPG in the city. Highway cruising at 60 MPH returned up to 44 MPG. Crash testing produced good to adequate results for that time. The reason I sold it was only after I saw a crash test video of how poorly it held up in a frontal crash.
A number of my cohorts in my early career days also had one of these (or the earlier first generation of Civic Coupe), they were everywhere in NorCal. And why not, extremely good-looking, inexpensive to buy, even more inexpensive to maintain, fun to drive, and they held their value. In my mind, these are peak Civic, and I can well understand why the Si version in particular is quite sought after these days, although I’d certainly be happy with an EX. I don’t think I ever saw one with the wheels this tester had though, I suppose they were from the Honda Accessory catalog, most just had the surprisingly attractive hubcaps.
I would much prefer one of these Civics in like-new condition than a brand new Civic. With a stick shift and one of the better engines, of course. The problem with the newer Civic is it’s not a small car anymore, it’s not driver-centric, and the styling is aggressive without being particularly attractive – not what you need in a basic transporter. Honda really shot themselves in the foot by only offering the Civic with a CVT – save for the Si. At least there is that option, but it’s a hollow victory: for a car guy’s basic transport, you need enough power to not be a slug, and a stick shift; autos and pretend-gear CVTs especially need not apply, even if they’re just as quick.
What was great about the Civic, once it reached maturity at least, is that it was a great budget choice that didn’t make you feel like you’d cheaped out when you were driving it (ok, maybe some of the base engine models – especially with a slushbox – but none of us would pick one of those, right?). That’s because the steering was tight and responsive, the shifter was as precise as you could get without direct linkage, the engine sounded decent for a four, and the clutch, brakes, and throttle were well-thought-out. The interiors were bland, but reasonably well laid-out, and Honda spent a little money on half-decent plastics. They didn’t let the bean-counters run wild, which was why the Civic was never the cheapest, but worth the money.
It’s worth noting that Ford learned from Honda, and went from the ho-hum Escort to the Focus – that was designed to be an engaging driver. Meanwhile, Honda was headed the other direction: they let the bean counters kill the more sophisticated suspension, then slid down the “bigger, softer, quieter” path over the years. You have some basic ingredients in building an economy commuter that doesn’t suck. I’ve pretty well covered them above, and we’re only talking about a thousand dollars or so difference in cost here; seems like a no-brainer, but the bean counters will shut that down in an instant if they’re running the show. And yes, those costs translate to at least as much, maybe as much as double the difference on the sticker price, and some people will always choose the cheapest one – but there’s a reason people flocked to Civics as a first car or something to customize in the 90s/00s, where you could hardly give away a Cavalier or Escort.
I’ve had extensive experience driving two Civics. The first was an 87, 1.3L, four-speed, basic two-door hatch. I drove it back and forth to college until I ran it into a trailer hitch… It was getting close to used up by that point though – burning some oil, and it had a few quirks. Some friends ended up buying it and ran it a bit until it was side-lined. I didn’t love it: it was too under-powered (the 75 MPH speed limit took a while to get to), and still had a bit of that “cheap car” look and feel that Honda mostly worked out with the follow-on model. The other was an ’01. Similarly, it was ok, but the slide in the wrong direction had definitely begun. The shifter wasn’t quite as precise, the instrumentation and interior was more elaborate, but overdone and didn’t feel any better, quality-wise, than the ’87. At least the basic engine at the time was adequate to the job.
Honestly, as basic transportation, I think this generation (6th-gen, it seems; 96-00) is the one to have. The earlier ones were a little too basic and unrefined, although probably just as fun to drive with the better motor and stick-shift. They also looked pretty unremarkable; that’s probably the biggest criticism of the 5th-gen (91-95), the looks are just too featureless. I’m not a Japanese car guy at all, but I’ll admit that the Civic was a world-beater, and this generation in particular stands out.
We had the EK4 1.6 VTi 3-door and it was simply superb.
Super engine, super-adjustable handling and a perceived quality above most of its Eurotrash rivals.
The only caveat was a slight lack of body rigidity (and the EK was reinforced over the EJ pictured here!) did for the ride on bumpy roads. The suspension was slightly too stiff for the shell.
I agree with the others – Honda really ought to have evolved the theme and made it more of a quasi-A3 rather than the baffling bland-boxes that came later. And Euro-Civics were increasingly inexplicably bizarre…at least the bland-boxes sold over there.
Having said that, the current Civic is something of a return to the form of the EJ-EK series.