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first post, found these forums in my search of a new car to buy. i had always liked the civic sedan, but after test driving an ex 5 speed model yesterday, i was surprised at how loud the engine noise was.

at first i was shifting at 3k, which still produced a louder engine noise than i expected. windows and moonroof were closed. then later, i start shifting at 5k then 6k+, and the noise then was sweet but obvious. and i didn't notice the vtec pulling much (there were 2 other male adults in the car). but when i tested the mazda 3i 4 door, i actually felt it pull around 3-4k. the shifter sucked hard though. as for the matrix xrs, geez that thing has a lot of torque. flooring it during turns makes a lot of tire squeel, although the suspension is solid. and the short shifter was hard to shift and made sounds when i shook it, which is how i guess those things work. the only other short shifter i'd driven was on the previous gen eclipse, but the gates were still well defined.

i wanted to test drive an altima 2.5s, but they didn't have any 5 speeds in stock. and from reading the altimas.net boards there seems to be a lot of issues with the new gen still.

after all is said and done, i guess my question is, should i get the civic? the shifter and cockpit are the best without question. although the mazda 3's was very nifty almost to a fault. mazda's 4 year warranty, 24-hour roadside assitance is awesome though. and i'm kind of anti corolla/matrix. should i try an altima? the main reason i'm considering it is that it's priced similarly as a civic ex. (yea i know it's a nissan).

sorry for the long post. perhaps somebody who's going through the same deliberations could give me some pointers. (it's going to be mainly a commuter, no major mods, but would like to floor it occasionally).

 
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Duh! thats called Throttle induced understeer and basically just eats tires and makes you slower in and coming out of corners. (and makes you understeer a whole lot!)

The civic would be the safe choice, may not have the best power but it will run forever. I've allways been a fan of Mazda, the Protege was allwas a good chassis, and the 3 is the update so it should still be good (Im talking about handling and such)

 
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Neither, get an SRT-4

 
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VTEC on a SOHC engine isn't going to send you in your seat or pull at all. Its meant for fuel economy rather than performance.

If your looking to mod the car, basic bolt-ons won't do much. The D17 responds great to F/I though.

 
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makes sense. so what gives with the engine noise? maybe it was the car? should i test another one?

edit: would the accord's dohc i-vtec provide more pull upon flooring?

 
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if you are referring to the I4 accords, then depends. In theory, yes. However, i'm thinking about the accords weight compared to the power the engine produces.

Btw, the accord I4 engine is known as the K24. RSX/Civic SI use the K20. The K24 produces more torque than the K20 because of the increase in displacement. This should mean it should "pull" more, but you also need to factor in gearing and such.

 
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Our engine is loud, even compared to older "less refined" Civics. I bought mine for the reason stated above - because it was the "safe" choice. Just so long as you aren't buying it to modify, it's a great little car.

 
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I've driven the 03 Matrix and 03 Corolla (share same engine) and the engine is loud and buzzy.

 
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No 4 banger will sound very good. They just don't lend themselves to silky smooth harmonics. Combine that with a car thats basically an upper entry level car and you're not going to get the silence of a BMW or Lexus cabin. Just a fact of life. As far as power... Honda's are torqueless wonders... so don't plan on it pulling, and the car makes adequate power for rat racing.
The motor also tends to be a little tempermental as far as good days and bad days for pickup... some days its much more excited than others, and it takes a couple thousand miles to break it in fully and get it running at full strength.

 
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yea i guess i was expecting too much coming from an 1988 accord lx ha. then again, i think i will test the new accord i-vtec i4. anybody care to comment on the civic's vtec compared to the new i4 accord, engine noise-wise?

i don't need it to sound sweet, just not obtrusive.

 
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The Accord is a lot quieter... and a lot stronger. You will notice that easily. Also it is meant to carry more than the Civic is (passenger & weight wise).

If you want quiet, go for a Camry or a Lexus, because they're quiet. VERY. Sporty goes to Nissan. However, I truly believe Honda has a good blend of quiet and sporty.

 
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I test drove the 3s. That car was quiet(not quiet like bmw but quieter than the civic and has much more pickup. I could easily get to 70 mph w/o huge engine noise like the civic. The shifter was not bad too. You should give the 3s a try.