(surprising review) 1yr & 19k miles 2012 EX

W

waltah

Well-Known Member
16
16
I see the 12' civics catching a lot of flack. We got rid of a large SUV due to some changes in the last year that have had me traveling a ton. I was not happy about getting rid of it but it was absolutely terrible on gas. To the tune of 14mpg and needing 89 octane minimum (HEMI), fantastic vehicle but terrible on fuel. Using conservative numbers I calculated a saving in fuel of over $3300 in just 11 months. We also saved on insurance and maintenance costs as well. Let me re-iterate that I was not happy about getting rid of the luxury SUV with the big V8 and every option for a relatively basic civic. But alas, I get a great deal on the new Civic that I couldn't pass up.

I got the Civic knowing it got pretty mediocre to downright bad reviews. I didn't care though. It was just a point A to point B vehicle that I got a good deal on. I really thought I was going to hate this car aside from the great fuel economy and a year later I couldn't be happier with it (aside from no manual option on the EX, so dumb).

I really feel like the lower civic models have caught the flack of the failure that is the Si model. Where the Si fails to perform in its segment, the lower models do just fine in theirs. Sure the elantra has 6 speeds transmissions and a handful more hp, but the combined mpg is barely better. woopty doo. and we all know what a 10 year old hyundai looks like next to a 10 year old honda. The options on both cars are also damn near identical. Yea the elantra has edgy looks, but I dont want attention when driving my economy car, thank you very much. The civic easily outhandles the elantra as well, pretty sure the elantra has a wagon axle in the rear, lol.To me, the civic does exactly what its supposed to do. Get you to where your going economically, comfortably, and drama free. No loud road noise, no crappy bouncy suspension, etc. And to top it off, it has a good driving feel, some nice electronics, and a good amount of space. What has surprised me the most is how cheap this thing is to run. In 19k miles ive only changed the oil twice. once at 9k and the other at 18k. both times at 20% and the oil was still gold! The oil has 9000 miles on it and its still clean! This little engine burns cleaner than clean. Its amazing. I may push it to 5% to see if i can get 10k out of it. I have had no other expenses with the car aside from the oil changes and gas. It has done so reliably as well, not even a hint of any issues. Fuel economy has been nothing short of fantastic. The city mileage is the most surprising, I don't think Ive ever gotten under 31mpg in this car even in not ideal traffic or driving conditions. Highway mileage is obviously awesome but city really surprised me.

So here I am a year later and going to surpass 20k miles by the time thanksgiving rolls around and couldn't be happier with the car aside from a couple minor things. This car just runs ...cheaply, comfortably, reliably, and did I mention cheaply? Its a fantastic economy car.

complaints
Major- no manual trans in EX model
Minor- Headlights dimmer than candlesticks
 
Very nice write up. :clapping:

Obviously, Honda is still an incredible automobile manufacturer, especially with regards to economy and reliability. They are hard to beat.

I think that many, such as myself, were hoping to see more strides in their performance segments, which they appear to have abandoned at the moment. Hopefully this will be remedied soon with the release of the NSX, and other purported models. :pray:

waltah said:
complaints
Major- no manual trans in EX model
Minor- Headlights dimmer than candlesticks
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it appears that many manufacturers are abandoning manual transmissions. :sadwavey: Again, maybe the performance segment will uphold the manual, but even that is falling by the wayside.

If you were up to treat yourself (and your EX), there are aftermarket projector headlights and HID's available.
 
Great writeup,... and it's great to hear you're happy with the car a year later! As Ken said, you could go with some better halogen bulbs, upgrade to hids, or go with a retrofit? Basically going in that order from cheaper to most expensive route. If you do a lot of night driving, I would totally do an upgrade. Xenon depot is a vendor here, and they're almost always posting coupon codes and stuff for money off hid kits. You should look through the lighting forum for some of their threads... similar to this below
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/x...kits-automotive-led-bulbs-more-save-big.4155/
 
KennyGS said:
Very nice write up. :clapping:

Obviously, Honda is still an incredible automobile manufacturer, especially with regards to economy and reliability. They are hard to beat.

I think that many, such as myself, were hoping to see more strides in their performance segments, which they appear to have abandoned at the moment. Hopefully this will be remedied soon with the release of the NSX, and other purported models. :pray:
Click to expand...

while kia and hyundai are certainly working towards building a reputation of reliability, honda still has the track record. no arguments. thats why i drove 150k, 230k, etc.. hondas when i was in highschool and college. you can't kill them unless you dont maintain them.Speaking with my wife about the civic, we have basically decided to run this thing into the ground if the family doesnt grow too big.

i agree on the performance segments, honda has all but disappeared in the past 10 years or so. Loved my 06 si and 07 TL-S but I believe they were some of the last of the best from honda aside from the s2k.
 
i need to figure out the headlights soon, my wife and i work shifts so we are ALWAYS driving at night. thanks for the link above.

i assume i want 35watt 9006 hids ??

thanks!
 
To play the devil's advocate, more or less, here are my 2 humble cents:

1. Comparing a Dodge/Jeep to any Japanese economy car is going to be always stunningly in the favour of the latter from the reliability and fuel economy aspect, not to diminish the civic is not a very good choice out of them
2. I do not see the Si as such a big failure for 2012, given the price the MS3 and GTI are 4 to 6 k more, at least in Canada, therefore a different segment. They're also turbo which is not the same thing :) There is no naturally aspirated variant for the price point as far as I see, reliable ones I mean.

And I say this as a real HEMI fan, just never committed with my money to it due to knowing too well the cost of owning one.

This being said we do need S2Ks and NSX like cars from Honda in the future for the real performance segment :)
 
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