I've been given promotion at work and part of the package is a company car. As a life long driver of VAG group cars (and many French vans at work hehehe)I haven't a clue what a Civic would be like. The offer is for a Civic SE 1.6 diesel. I would be looking to sell my VW Caddy (no room on the drive at home for 3 cars, and it only moves once a week), so I would be sacrificing (and saving) a fair amount if I accepted the offer.

Any previous experience of Civics would be great!

Cheers

I have had a civic 1.6 idec ex for the last 4 months and done nearly 10k miles. Really love the car, comfortable, quiet, economical (see the "slow us your mpg" thread).

This generation of civics are well screwed together. I have had Octavias in the past and the touch and feel of the car is miles better. Drove golf hire cars quite a bit in the last year and find civic a more refined drive. Boot space bigger than the golf but smaller than Octy.

One of my main reasons for going with the Civic was that I have a local dealer but it really was the best choice in the end. Don't believe many of the reviews as car mags seem biased towards VAG. Old Civic had a very firm ride but this version is spot on.

Edited 1 February, 201412 yr by slider

I expect your company has been influenced by lease rates. Lease price for my car is £30\month less than equivalent Octavia. Suspect that is down to lower long term maintenance costs.

Thanks for the info! I had a look round one today and was struck by how much room there is in the back, which is good as I lug around a lot of printers / servers (I'm an IT engineer). It'll also be capable of taking my bikes out at weekends which was a worry if I sold the Caddy. Seems solidly built too compared with one or two jap cars I've had as courtesy cars at work so looking good so far... :-)

Did you try out the "magic seats" in the back?  simply fold up to create massive load space - great asset if you lug lots of stuff around and don't want to fold down the back seats.

Yeah - pretty nifty idea! Love the way they flip up to give you all that loadspace, I did wonder at first why my boss didn't just give me another van, but compared to what it's replacing (Peugeot 207 van), the space is a massive plus for us.

The Honda 1.6 diesel engine seems to do very well in road tests, plus it's nice low emissions will keep your tax bill down. A pretty good choice for a company car I'd have thought.

I had the last generation civic, it was really solidly built, light, handled well but leaked a tonne of road noise. Had a great stereo too to compensate but that gets wearing after a while.

Might be something to check on this model.

I had the last generation civic, it was really solidly built, light, handled well but leaked a tonne of road noise. Had a great stereo too to compensate but that gets wearing after a while.

Might be something to check on this model.

is your stereo aftermarket? As in all my years of ownership I've never once heard the oem stereo described as great. Feeble is more often used.

the 1.6 derv engine in the 9th gen is apparently a gem. I just cant bring myself to like that rear end, though.

Edited 1 February, 201412 yr by BobSidian

I wasn't a fan of the space aged interior when I was looking but it seemed a well screwed together car. I know a few folk with them an they have never had anything but praise.

 

Might be a bit dull and the arse is fugle but it's not a bad car.

I did abit of honda training a few years ago and had a 4 day course in nottingham and was given a 1.8 civic for week, usually we get to keep car over weekend if say were going on course monday or returning friday night,

 

After 4 days with the civic i couldn't wait to get rid, i absolutely hated it, noisy, hard ride for a standard car and gutless,

 

On the other hand i had a accord estate diesel a few years back when my pug 406 was written off and didn't mind that altho i don't think i would buy one altho thought it was much better than the civic

Was that the current model or the last volvomeg? Certainly 8th generation cars were rock solid but I can't fault the ride on my 9th gen car, smoother and quieter than my last car ( Mazda 3) or the tooth rattling 1 series BMW before that.

It was the previous shape to the brand new models, think it was a 59 plate

The 9th gen has far superior ride quality than the previous model.

It was the previous shape to the brand new models, think it was a 59 plate

That's understandable then. Ride quality in the previous generation of Civic was shocking. New ones are excellent.

is your stereo aftermarket? As in all my years of ownership I've never once heard the oem stereo described as great. Feeble is more often used.

the 1.6 derv engine in the 9th gen is apparently a gem. I just cant bring myself to like that rear end, though.

I have the Premium Audio in my Civic EX. Find it very good but then I wouldn't describe myself as an audiophile.

I would imagine the income tax(BIK) for the Civic will be much cheaper than a van too. IIRC all vans are taxed at the same rate whether a corsa van or transit.

Edited 2 February, 201412 yr by loskie

http://hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/car-van-fuel-charge.htm

Yeah BIK is a lot lower than if I was given a van, and fuel consumption much better, think it's a no brainer now I've had a couple of days to mull it over. Thanks all of you for your opinions / info on your civic experiences, makes me feel a bit happier knowing more about the vehicle! Will see if I can go for a run in one tomoro at work :-)