Faults:

From what I see I am not the only one with front suspension problems... I personally am on my 3rd set of front struts on my 01 civic coupe, and yes the vibration at 50 to 65 mph is a joy to figure out... I love my car and I love Honda's don't get me wrong. But If Honda USA is reading any of these comments Please could you do something about it... I don't want to have to by a FFFFFord...

Faults:

Rear suspension squeaks slightly when going over large bumps. Left windshield washer sprayer trickles out when used. Minor problems.

General Comments:

I've owned this car for 4 years now and it has been nothing, but a reliable and comfortable car that has saved me money on gas. I've had a couple minor problems, but that can only be expected over time.

After test driving this, a Corolla, a Focus, and a Protege, I chose the Civic because of its comfortable ride characteristics and its unmatched interior quality for a car in this class.

My father has a 2000 Nissan Sentra SE and I've personally owned an older Saturn SL1, and haven driven both of these cars, I can tell you that the Civic comfortably defeats them both. At 60,000 miles the Sentra feels as if its going to rattle itself to pieces even though I prefer its engine and transmission to the Civic. The Saturn was simply built poorly with interior pieces I could peel off.

I honestly don't understand the people that have qualms about this car and say that it will be their last Honda. I can understand that there will sometimes be problems with certain models, but take a ride in a GM vehicle and you will learn all about costly repairs and shoddy build quality (I know, I've owned one). This doesn't mean I would never buy a GM vehicle in the future, just that their current strategy is one of extreme cost cutting at the expense of quality. Just because one car of a certain vintage in a maker's lineup gives you problems why would you suddenly dismiss all of their cars to come. That is simply idiotic.

Faults:

Where to begin! Rear wheel geometry misaligned causing lurid tail slides on dry tarmac for no reason. Interior scratched on delivery and centre console silver facing warped. All wheels replaced due to heavy corrosion. Second set already corroded and Honda UK will not replace a second set, even within warranty period. Front struts both replaced due to faulty bushes. Paintwork on both sills and rear spoiler badly flawed and repainted. Bonnet, front wings and front bumper badly stone chipped after only 3 months of ownership. Suspicious of poor paint quality and commonly noted on owner's forums, but Honda UK refused to accept warranty claim. Driver's seat replaced and seat belt mounting replaced twice due to persistent knocking. Been into dealers 6-7 times to sort rattling from dashboard, front door trims and A pillars. Not sorted yet! Gearbox decided it didn't like 5th and locked me out for 2 weeks only to inexplicably resume normality!!! Driver's window constantly jams on the rubber seal when going up- awaiting replacement.

General Comments:

For the money, this is a very quick car, but you really have to use all of the 8000rpm. Below 6000rpm it isn't any faster than most 2.0 litre hatchbacks. Thankfully the shift action is superb and rewards use.

The sound of the engine on full chat is stunning, though it can sound rather rough when driving normally. Not enough of the good sounds reach the cabin, you have to open the windows!

The ride is very jittery at speed and harsh around town. Thankfully the high quality seats cushion you well. Wouldn't like to be a back seat passenger though, with no support and thin cushions.

The steering is ridiculously lacking in feel, but a lot of the road messages reach your feet and bottom so you're not entirely robbed of feel overall.

The handling is very good, but not quite in the Integra Type R's league I'm afraid. Part of this is the high driving position and centre of gravity causing too much body roll, and part is due to the mismatched front and rear damping. The front is good, but the rear lacks wheel travel and is far to nervous to be confidence inspiring. The original tyres (Bridgestone RE080) do not suit the car at all and give very poor wet grip/traction, a lot of tramlining and a high level of noise. I switched to the Toyo Proxes T1-S (going from 205/45 to 215/40 in the process) and all these problems are resolved. A worthwhile change and gives a far better balance to the handling as well.

My car was an early production model and the dealers were not to blame, but Honda UK have been very unsupportive too many of the complaints.