Rep Power: 412

I test drove an LX MT today

here's my take:

Pros
- I thought the seats were more comfortable
- I absolutely love the styling
- The rears are actually double wishbone, however the shock and spring are separate (not that it affects performance)
- They have a normal tie rod end up front!
- The engine seemed responsive all the way through the powerband but you have to shift at a higher point than on the 7thgen
- The steering response was excellent and the suspension seemed good, except I really didn't get to test it
- The electronic display looks good, but takes awhile to get used to

Cons
- The engine and interior doesn't look mod friendly
- I'm not sure how well the suspension will do in autox/racing
- The shifter was ok, but it wasn't great
- The engine doesn't look like it will be easy to do maintenance or repair work on for all your DIYers.
- The steering wheel was a bit odd and your hands don't really conform well to it

Overall the powerband was better, but I felt like I had to shift at a higher point just to get a good shift. The interior was comfortable and seemed welcoming. Things were very easy to use. I don't like that the engine is so cramped and seems hard to work on. In addition, the interior seems like little things (guages, dash kits, etc) won't be able to be used. The smallest tire you will be able to fit is probably a 15 inch.

I don't like the fact that all trims come with the same engine and ABS. With the EX you only get little extras like a sunroof, audiocontrols, etc. If I was a tuner I would get the DX because it is cheap and gives you everything in performance the EX does. All the little extras aren't worth it.

Anyway, that's just my two cents.

 
Rep Power: 348

 
Rep Power: 340

lol scott every post i see this is all you post

 
Rep Power: 348

i love you too

 
Rep Power: 0

I went to the dealership yesterd to to see what info they had on the Si. The salesman was an idiot, didn't know hardly anything. The manager there said they are now expecting them January 06, which sucks cause I am without a car as of yesterday. Also said expect the msrp to be around 21-22k w/out navi

 
Rep Power: 412

My take is get the DX and mod the hell out of it, or get the Si. Anything in between isn't worth the extra cash. All the frills are bullshit considering they all have the same engine now.

 
Rep Power: 319

The only real advangtage to the EX over the DX/LX is that it comes with 4 wheel disk brakes. Other than that I think they are all the same, I got the LX, but it's for my fiance, so I'm not looking for a car to mod, if I was going to mod a car.

 
Rep Power: 293

if you want power windows, the lx is the better value.

dx comes with power locks, but no pw.

 
Rep Power: 293

MSRP should be 19.5-21k. Any more is going to be dealer markup.


All the info on the Si you need is on vtec.net.

 
Rep Power: 304

Fully equipped = better resale

 
Rep Power: 412

If you are like me and plan on either or both 1) beating the **** out of it a few times a year and 2) running it into the ground, then who cares about resale. By the time I will sell my car it will only be worth $1-2000, so adding audio controls won't add much to the price.

 
Rep Power: 304

true, true. The LX and DX comes with a lot of standard features already so you make a good point what the hell diff will audio controls make.

 
Rep Power: 319

This isn't true. As time goes, those features depreciate faster than the car because in the case of Honda, the car will outlast most of those features. If you don't believe me, look up the resale of a Civic EX (it around 45% after 5 years) where as a Civic DX is around 55% after 5 years. Sure the EX might still be more, but the more options you have the more you loose in depreciation. Those numbers are off the Honda show room floor at my dealer, they posted them next to the other cars to show how Honda's hold their value better.

You can also go look at 5 year old civics, you'll notice there is not that much price difference between EX and DX models, maybe $500 difference? The MSRP difference was around $3000 5 years ago between the EX and DX, and that gap shrank quite a bit. If you do that math, 2500/3000, you’ll see your options depreciated around 85% of the original value, while the base car only depreciates around 50-55%.

If you want less depreciation, go with a base model, holds true for almost every car/truck.

 
Rep Power: 811

if you want resale, buy honda accessories. the dealer knows they can charge the next guy $1k+ just for that lip kit, and another $800 or so for alloys.

 
Rep Power: 412

Besides if I am ripping off the wheels, suspension, and other ****, why pay for it?? For the price of the EX you can get the Si with 197hp or for 4k less you can get the same car without alloys, sunroof, rear disks, and frills.

 
Rep Power: 304

I guess cars have different resale values in the United States and Canada. Fully-loaded Honda Civics and VW Golfs, tend to retain there value better in Quebec, Canada. In canada the value of a ex coupe without AC "used" is drastically lower than the ex coupe with AC. An EX coupe for some reason resales higher than sedan and non-VTEC civics in Quebec, Canada. Given both cars are in equal condition I think the individual will prefer to by the fully equipped to the base model. But maybe this isn't true for higher mileage cars. After 100,000km(60k miles) cars seems to loose a lot value.

 
Rep Power: 811

i think i would've been happier with a dx instead of ex. only extra i would have to do is power locks and paint the black trims.

 
Rep Power: 319

Yeah... I'm refering to car with more than 60k miles on it. A/C is about the only thing that can drastically change the price, but almost every car here in the US has A/C. The EX/LX all have A/C and half the DX have it too. As for the Vtec, I don't know if that is directly related to the price or not because if it has the VTEC engine, it also has the CD player, sunroof and a buch of other little things, that even though they are not worth much, do add up to slap an extra $500-1000 on the car. Personally I wouldn't pay more for the VTEC motor, unless it was DOHC VTEC, I just haven't noticed that much of a difference when drving a non-VTEC to VTEC civic for me to shell out more money, but once agian I am a real cheap ***.