2003 Honda Civic LX review from North America

So far, the only thing to date that has been faulty is the driver side map light. It actually is a very trivial fault as it would only get stuck sometimes and not all the time.

Ownership of this car has been top notch since day one.

Gas mileage is excellent, especially in comparison to the car I used to have (1998 VW Beetle). I average no less than 30 mpg overall and hit a high of about 506 miles on one tank with 1.8 gallons of fuel still remaining in the tank.

Handling is okay, considering Honda is probably one of the few car manufactuers equipping their cars with 185/70/14 tires!

Tire pressure is very important with this car I've noticed. Even being a few pounds over-inflated can cause very noticeable adverse effects to the car. Like upon purchasing there was roughly 35psi front and rear, but the factory recommended setting is 30psi front and rear. Upon lowering the tire pressure to the factory setting, the car handled much, much better - much more Honda-like to say.

The updated gauges in the 03 Civic are so nice that I feel bad for anyone who purchased a Civic prior to the 03 model year. It gives the interior a much more fresh and upscale look in comparison to the 2001-2002 model years.

One minor gripe I have is why did they totally omit the ashtray? Okay, I can understand the lighter being that after a few years it gets pretty trashed if not non-operable or may usually just use their own lighter to light their cigarettes. Also, to get an ashtray, it's the cup holder style, which I find totally lame because it occupies one of only two cup holders in the front of the car. If they removed it because they felt it would save money in production costs or perhaps to discourage smoking while driving, they should at least put another cubby or tray where the astray normally would be if it came straight from the manufacturers in Japan - where of course an ashtray in the car is without a question a must!