1987 Honda Civic LX review from Australia and New Zealand

The tail gate is slightly rusty (paint bubbles) but nothing that will fail a warranty.

Due to something (accident?) the boot does not shut fully and so rattles abit when shifting gears.

Just had to have the original clutch replaced, but expected that as previous owner (16 y/o male) thrashed it abit so I knew it would die sooner or later.

Dash board rattles slightly.

Wiring is not too good in back of car, but not hard to fix.

Gas struts no longer hold boot up.

I love my Honda Civic LX.

This is my first car and as I am a student the running costs are great (I do 250km a week and spent NZ$20 a week on gas).

As 1300cc motors go this thing is a rocket, it seriously flies, 0-100 km is not to shabby, and it maxes out at about 165 kph. Which is a lot faster than a lot of 1300cc cars I have driven, even newer cars.

Very reliable and have had no trouble with it, it has to be started a couple of times in the morning with the choke 2/3 out and you need to let it warm up for a minute pumping the accelerator a couple of times.

Handling is something this car does extremely well, I have common road tyres on the car and I can take corners very quickly with almost no tyre skid.

Tyres spin very easily on hills when starting or in the wet.

Car is very easy to drive and the factory clutch is very friendly.

I have found that the car launches best from about 3500rpm, this gives no tyre spin and will fly off the line.

The hard edge shape looks good apart from 1 or 2 dents.

Interior is very nice from the drivers seat, nice door paneling and comfy armrests. The cavity on the right hand rear seat side is a great size for storing junk. The instruments are very easy to see and clear as well are the controls. Fronts seats are rather nice, but don't look great in grey. The whole interior can be made to look great with car seat covers, floor mats and a coating of Armour All.

The spare tyre (space saver) should be replaced with a normal tyre and it only raises the wood by about 2 inches and is not a big deal.

This car is great esp. as a first car for me. It has great performance for its engine size, but is cheap to run, very reliable, and when it does fail parts are cheap to buy new and very cheap second hand.