Rep Power: 811

I woke up early this morning in anticipation of the big day. I was driving down to the dealer to test drive the latest civic creation from Honda. I give the sales person my license, and we're ready to roll. He gets in to move the car off the show steps. After 10 cranks of the motor, it starts up sure and steady while puffing clouds of black smoke from the exhaust.

Finally I am in the driver seat spending a few minutes getting comfortable. The dual layer dash is very strange to me, as is the fact that the dash is about 5 feet from the front of the window. It felt like I was sitting in the back seat. As I look around, I see the gauges, lit up but not very bright, but enough to see. The dash was very interesting to say the least. Lots of shapes and corners, pockets with no apparent function, and a radio/climate control combo that was very hard to figure out. I ended up leaving the radio off, although I doubt it would have sounded decent anyway after looking at the small speakers in the rear and the cheap door panels. Well I decide to put the horrible dash behind me and move on. I grab the auto shifter with my entire hand and move it to drive.

I start driving. But something again doesn't feel right. There is a plastic piece blocking my foot from sticking straight up while pressing the gas. So I am forced to tilt it to the left for the rest of the trip. I finally pulled out and took it slow until the car warmed up. If I didn't have my glasses, the temp gauge in the front would not be visible to me. We're driving along a straight road now, speed limit around 45. I get up to speed and feel the ride. Very smooth and stable, the car knows the road well. But as I hold the training-sized steering wheel in my hand, I feel as though I'm not in control at all. The car is in control of me. I lie back in the supportive, comfortable seats and look out in front of me at the 50:50 view of the dash and the road. I feel safe because I can at least tell we're not driving on both lanes of traffic. Finally I sit up and see a red light up ahead. The rear view mirror is useless at this point and looks like there is a large box blocking the view. So I decide I don't need that for now anyway. I press the brakes and they are so soft, I felt like I couldn't stop. But I did. The light turns green, and I press the gas slightly. The 5-speed auto tranny picks up speed quickly and shifts at 3500rpm each time. The shifts are sloppy and undefined, although smooth at the same time. Low end is good, however now I find that the gas pedal is so loose, I can't rest my foot on it without pressing down further. The spped limit changes to 55mph, and I press the gas to compensate. Nothing happens. I press more and finally the car picks up speed after downshifting. I decide to close the windows, and silence results. A very quiet cabin due to the upgraded bridgestone turanza tires. Now the dealer says why don't you punch it? I reply, well the car is new and I don't want to ruin the motor. The highest I took it up was 4200rpms. It felt like it could go more, but I doubt the power would have been noticed.

Well now the dealership is closing in, and my ride is almost over. I park at the gate and get out, thankful that I will never have to drive this car again. Something I will compare to my experience in a pontiac grand am rental car I once had. I say goodbye to the sales person and take one last look at the car. Accord mini grill, van style wipers that open from the middle out, mirrors on the actual door, a tiny triangle above it that served no purpose, hubcaps, and a tiny chrome exhaust finisher.

I walked back to my 7thgen auto civic and sat inside, immediately feeling like I was home again after a long journey. The gauges were bright and visible, stereo/climate console exactly where it should be, the perfect car for me. I drove off feeling better and better about owning a 7thgen civic.

 
Rep Power: 297

nice review, We need a review with the si when it comes to a dealership.

 
Rep Power: 0

heh, of course what do i expect. your car is the "BESSSSSSSTTTT" everything else is ****.

well i know one thing, 8th gen is SUPERIOR to our 7th gen no ifs and buts. people just need to accept the fact that our car is OLDSKOOL and realize that... out with the old, in with the new!

7th gen= outdated
8th gen= IN

 
Rep Power: 0

Nice review, as for the "Why dont you punch it?" Before that car actually went out to the dealership its tested as you would probably expect. I work at Honda of Canada in Alliston and well i've actually heard a teamleader say "Drive the car like you just stole it" And man do they ever drive the sht out of the cars, becuase if you want something to break, you want it to break in the factory than in the customers hand right ? But yeah great review, very in depth, i'd like to see what best motoring or top gear has to say about the 06's..

 
Rep Power: 303

how can you say the 8th gen is superior when you might have not driven it yet...please open your eyes and determine if the 8th gen is the **** after you have seen,riden, and also driven it instead of reading,seeing, and wishing it from a magazine

 
Rep Power: 276

nice review.

 
Rep Power: 0

damn good review gearbox, I couldn't agree with you more about aour 7thgen cars, I haven't test driven an 8thgen, nor would I want to get in that funky car.

 
Rep Power: 0

well i for one is openminded and knows how to appreciate better things when i see one. i don't bash it just to pretend that my 7thgen is better, which is outdated.

 
Rep Power: 811

You're funny. I went there expecting the 8thgen to outperform my car in every way. Yet I was still disappointed. You can't deny facts and the newer gen is crap plain and simple. It doesn't even have that honda look and feel anymore. Like I said before its like any other rental car out there. Btw have you even driven it or just basing your assumptions on what you see in a book?

 
Rep Power: 0

hey gearbox, how's the turning and cornering of the vehicle. Is it stiff and is the steering loose or tight. I just paid off my 7thgen in 3 years of financing and looking forward with the 8th gen, maybe the second year. If you compare your stock 7thgen and the stock 8th gen what would you say about the pros and cons of both vehicles.

 
Rep Power: 811

Here's a quick summary. I didn't get to test the cornering that well, but it did turn okay around corners and stuff. A baby could turn the wheel. But you really need to drive it. That will tell you right away whether you would want it. When I first test drove my new 02, it felt perfect and everything just felt right. I wanted to drive and sit in the car all day. With the 8thgen, I never want to sit in that again unless I'm a passenger and even then...maybe not.


8thgen pros

-better tires (bridgestone turanza like the ones I have on mine)
-weight activated side and pillar air bags
-slightly faster than previous gen
-seats are much more comfortable, almost like race seats
-better suspension (but a modded 7thgen susp is better)
-quiet cabin

8thgen Cons

-sloppy auto tranny, shifts too much
-huge dash, hard to read instruments
-confusing center console
-not much gas pedal room to rest foot
-tiny (and I mean TINY) steering wheel
-Not very user friendly, hard to find stuff
-Almost NO visibility out rear and side windows
-Cheap interior
-Feels like the car is in control
-Rental car quality

7thgen pros

-decisive auto tranny
-Well laid out interior, everything where it should be
-luxury interior, trim
-better gauges 03-05
-lots of visibility out windows

7thgen cons

-bad seat support
-terrible stock suspension, cornering
-very noisy

 
Rep Power: 383

when you say a modded 7thgen suspension is better, waht do you mean like the hfp suspension or what? i mean most say springs will blow your shocks, and most say full coilovers will be a harsher ride, so what are you referring to?

 
Rep Power: 300

It is just like everything else. Once something new comes out, you hate it at first until you have it for a while. After that you start seeing how it is better than what you had before. The best example of this is when 7thgen changed its site layout twice from when it began. I HATED the new site for several weeks but slowly realized how much better it really was.

 
Rep Power: 0

8thgen cons will def. grow on you, once you own and drive it for 1 year...lol

anyway, a true review by gearbox!

 
Rep Power: 393

I don't expect much out of the 8thgen from the beginning. The styling is not all that great either.

 
Rep Power: 811

I'm telling you its not something that can grow on you. Either like it or hate it after driving and I hate it. I would not drive it ever again.

With upgraded suspension, I was talking rsx rear sway, neuspeed upper strut and lowering springs. I know my car corners alot better with just those things.

 
Rep Power: 307

Im guessing this was an LX auto??? The sedan, specially in auto, wont really turn my head. The SI will have me staring though. I think the si is sexy from the right angles!

 
Rep Power: 297

mmm, these are probably waht the 6th gen owener said to us as well.

So now there will be a war between 7th gen and 8 th gen???? wth

why don't you guys just switch to neon or cobalt

 
Rep Power: 811

the si and ex coupe are the same car, except the si has better motor and red lighting. But you are correct, lx auto is what I drove. The si won't be there til december.

 
Rep Power: 0

8th gen Sedan > 7th gen Sedan, appearance wise. I just got back from the dealer and the only thing I did not like was the big chrome piece in the front. Everything else looks awesome, the interior is nice also, although the 2-spoke steering wheel looks weird. I did not get to test drive, the car was the only one there and they wanted me to run a credit check and trade in my car to test drive. Im sure by next month a test drive will be easier to get .

 
Rep Power: 307

I believe the ex coupe and si are very different. I think the si will have a sportier susp setup, along with lsd and six speed. Granted the only difference to the exterior will be the amber halo in the headlights and the non lip trunk spoiler. I think a coupe would have been more enjoyable and the si would have been completely satisfying but then again I dont know.

 
Rep Power: 0

IMHO, it'll be either grow on you......or....it's just gonna be like 6th gen owner hating 7th gen civic...

 
Rep Power: 811

okay let me add a small detail. I was AFRAID to drive the car faster than 55mph cause really felt like I couldn't see the cars around me. It was like I'm in my own little bubble. I'm sure the si is nice and fast, but most important is being in control of the car and I just wasn't with the way the car was designed.

 
Rep Power: 307

hmm....I'll have to test the si but every test review of it I've seen says that it puts the driver in control except for the drive by wire..

 
Rep Power: 811

ya you really have to test drive for yourself.

 
Rep Power: 0

tru dat

 
Rep Power: 0

hahahaha, u know what, guys........

now 6th gen is really on the path to be outdated...

 
Rep Power: 811

I would still love to have a 6thgen lol.The new one is just like a regular car now. If I were shopping for cars now, I wouldn't have a civic more than likely. Prolly a tc actually.

 
Rep Power: 0

Come one dude, it couldnt of been that bad.

How long did you actually spend behind the wheel? did you really think it was sufficient time to conclude that our 7th gens are better? I'm pretty sure you've driven your 7th gen way longer than you've driven that 8th gen. I bet more time behind the wheel would've changed you're opinion.


I bet that new car smell was mmm...mmm...good.

 
Rep Power: 811

thats why i made that other post. The first time driving the 7thgen it felt perfect. This new car well...it was bad. You really need to drive for yourself to see what I mean. I would not drive it anymore than a minute. Heck my old jetta was even better. I'll even say the pos grand am was better cause at least I had some visibility to see the road and cars.