1998 Honda Civic 1.4iS 1.4 from Norway

Summary:

A fair buy

Faults:

No faults to date.

General Comments:

Very smooth engine, with little power at lower revs, but fun from 4,500 to 7,000 RPM.

Driving position nice when adjusted carefully.

Good braking - anti blocking system (ABS) effective even on sheet ice.

Power steering has unpleasantly little feedback - the one point that would probably stop me buying another one.

Quite a lot of tyre noise.

The 3 door model looks nice and gets lots of complements even from younger drivers.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th April, 2002

3rd Nov 2005, 13:37

Anti blocking is actually anti locking, browsers should make sure they know the difference as ignorance can kill.

1998 Honda Civic EX Sedan 1.6L VTEC from North America

Summary:

Great gas mileage, high price

Faults:

The alternator failed as soon as I got it, also the moon roof curcuit breaker would overheat when I closed it, I would have to wait to reopen it.

Recently the power lock broke on one of the rear doors. Everything else is great.

General Comments:

Not very comfortable for long trips. The car gets outstanding gas mileage and it runs like a top. The bad thing is everyone seems to own one.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st August, 2001

1998 Honda Civic VTi 1.8 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A mistake to buy

Faults:

The engine has a major fault. It makes a nasty noise when changing to VTEC and misfires badly whilst in the VTEC range. I suspect the bottom end of the engine to be at fault.

The brake discs have warped twice, now causing them to remain seized on.

General Comments:

I had heard much of the fabled reliability of Honda and their VTEC engines, but I am very unhappy with this particular car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th August, 2001

2nd Sep 2001, 13:52

Never had any problems with mine - I screw it from cold, and its never had a service since 36k - its now done 97k.

10th Oct 2001, 09:32

I've had one for 3 years. Nothing gone wrong. Marvelous car. Keeps your mother happy and drives like a demon. Name another car that can do that?

14th Feb 2004, 15:59

I've found the 1.8VTi to be highly reliable. I'm about to sell my late '97 model with 158,000 miles. In that time I've had a wheel bearing (45k, under warranty) and a rear suspension bush at 90k. Clutch was replaced at 100k though would have gone another 10k. Honda rear boxes go every 50k. Used to average about 34-5mpg though my journeys were mostly long 80mph on motorways. Front tire wear was quite acceptable for the power, up to 25-30k when I mostly did long runs.

Very dependable car, will be sorry to see it go.

13th Aug 2004, 07:10

All Honda engines and especially the higher BHP V-tec types need regular oil and filter changes when they are due or they will suffer badly. I drove a 2.2 Prelude V-tec for 90,000 miles without any trouble what so ever and it did get thrashed on a regular basis. I am just about to buy a 1.8 Civic VTi. When buying a used V-tec it is a must that it has continuous service history, if it doesn't, walk away.

8th Dec 2008, 10:51

I had a 2.2 Honda Prelude with 130,000 miles, rolling road tested it and it had 200 bhp, that's 18 more than when it was new, and it had no mods. I think that explains how good Hondas are :)

1998 Honda Civic 1.4i petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Handy hatchback

Faults:

Wheel trims are very brittle - club one on a kerb and it's toast. Not expensive to replace at 15 quid, but a pain nonetheless.

Remote central locking has no range.

Door trim rattles if the front window is up.

General Comments:

Nicely made, although the wood trim across the dash is a bit tacky.

Needs to be spinning at 4000rpm to go anywhere - 1400cc is not enough for a car this size. Could have had a 1.6 VTEC SR for the same price, but it was 18 months older and twice the mileage.

Suspension seems to amplify the bumps quite a bit.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th July, 2001

12th Oct 2002, 15:47

I know what you mean about the remote central locking having no range. On mine I have to physically aim the remote at the receiver. The performance is unbelievably slow at low revs, but when you really rev the VTEC it absolutely charges.

21st Feb 2006, 13:49

I agree that the door trim rattles with the window up. There was a repair done on the door, so I thought it was a dodgy repair job, but it looks like it might be more common.

I find that just lowering the window a little (so it isn't in contact with the door), will stop most of the rattling.