1999 Honda Civic VTi Aerodeck from UK and Ireland - Comments

I no all three of you are a bunch of straight liners get on some back roads flat out.

In Europe & Japan a 1.6 167 hp Car CAN be fast, as we know how to engineer buddy!

I think they call it Brains over Brawn.

Nah, 167 hp is not a lot at all. But the thing V8's have over the dinky ricers is torque. Sorry, but this is what gets you off the line and makes you look fast.

Brains over Brawn? haha is that a joke? Id much rather have a V8 or even a V6 over a 1.6L any day, BUDDY.

Mate your talking rubbish. I love V6's V8's & V12's as much as the next school boy, but the fact is you can make piddly little 4pot cars go like stink, you just can! Its called power to weight ratio. I take it your no engineer.

And I never said 167 is a lot, but it is enough to take a Honda estate car to 60 in a little over 7 seconds, that's not bad in anyones book, and it doesn't use up an oil field in the process.

167 is more that enough for a car of that weight. The people who rant about V8 should be honest with themselves, you don't use that power 99% of the time. Especially with the very low speed limits and the number of police in North America. Not to mention most "racers" around here get lame automatics with their huge engines and the only thing they know how to do is floor it in straight lines. The 106 hp Civic I have is more than enough for North American roads. I'm so sick of people here buying gas hogs and never doing anything with them. I'm a European immigrant in North America so I know how things look on both sides of the pond. People in Europe actually know how to use the power on their cars and they have where to do it. They certainly look a lot smarter for driving faster while using less gas.

By the way...one of the cars I had in Europe was a 60hp '88 Mazda 323 that could do 160km/h. I took the Civic to almost 200km without a problem here before I had to slow down. I wonder how many drivers in North America have even been to such speeds with their big, pointless V8? And then they complain about the cost of gas.

First off, it is a matter of opinion whether you like drive fast in a straight line or weaving around corners, which would dictate your choice of car (unless you are inherently rich and can rock a Porsche 911 or something.) I drive an Acura Vigor and my brother a Lexus ES300 (inline 5 (debatable, but close to 200hp) and V6 (225 hp) respectively) while my father has an 05 Civic. I was not a Civic fan whatsoever until driving it. Although less peppy than the Acura and the Lexus (obviously), it was more agile and honestly almost more fun to drive on Vermont roads. With a 5 speed and sunroof, you can't go wrong. For long drives it is a little uncomfortable, but worth it for the money you save is gas.

Overall performance is good however it seemed that the 1.6 Vti engine is now consuming an average of 5.0 liter km in city drive and 7.0 liter on highways after 6 years.

Hi folks, Just got a Vti for the misses and kids, not that quick, but cheap to run and can overtake with it, how ever I have a esi, single cam, 3 door civic with 75Bhp nitrous, de-cat, electric turbo, k&n filter and a Vtec controller, and that moves quickly, somewhere in the low 6's for 0-60, also got a 7.5ltr, ford V8 350 Bhp, and all that grunt does nothing more than cost the planet to feed and keep it going, I have to say Hat off to the yellow fellows, top cars, top economy and engineering, V8's are going towards museums these days...

"it is sometimes a little difficult to start on cold damp mornings (but then, aren't we all)."

I'm not hard to start, and neither is my 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL. 5 speed, 250 HP, 250 lb/ft of torque. This 3.5 engine puts out well over 300 HP in the new Infinitys and 350z. Imagine if I actually riced it out and modified it.

So your VTEC has 1.6 Liters? My Pepsi bottle has 2.0 Liters. What's your point?

All 1.8 VTi Civics come with a Torsen LSD as standard.

Bugatti Veyron is faster then your 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL.

What's your point?

The Honda civic, vti is only a 1.8.

So talk about cars in that class.

And for 1800 putting out 167 bhp.

(Threes,not Marney, 1800 what do.

The 1.8 VTi is very fine car and very fine engine. Treat it calm, launch at 2nd gear and you've got 62 mph in around 9.5 seconds. Equal to all "2.0 140 hp" modern turbodiesels which use 3 gears in a row to get to 62 mph :)

Anyone talking about "flexibility"? Come on

This car rides so effortlessly and easy you can fall asleep. But... If eager to drive hard, take good tyres, push 2.7 bar in front, have a little fuel, no passenger and get familiar with maximum revs, LSD, tightening the bends and so on. This way the 5D VTi is marvelous, much above average GTI 150 hp cars. And I would bet your heavy American V8 would be small in the back mirror faster than you might think.

The cars are not only things in terms of heavy engines as you Americans are accustomed to thinking. The car must be maneuverable, handleable, capable of getting twisty roads as thunder. Your American "cars" are low cost, crappy 2-toners, and a V8 from Chevy does not change it. The 1.8 VTi is prima sort GTI car of very European style, though much different to an Astra or Golf in GTI trim.

Those who talk about V6, V8. BHP doesn't take you any where if you don't have the correct power to weight ratio. That is why a Honda Civic V-tec beats most of you :)

I have a 5 door Civic 1.8 VTi. Many people complain about the steering and suspension; I think you have to learn to trust it. I have driven 10000 miles and am still just getting the balls to push it hard.

I would agree that the car feels a bit boat like if you treat it like a normal car, which can make you a bit uneasy coming up to corners, and it will feel a bit wallowy, but the LSD really forces you round any corner at fairly high speed if you are in the right gear... you don't have to put your foot to the floor, just have to be in the right gear.

DOHC VTEC is designed to give you the exact amount of power at the exact moment you need it; if you're losing grip your foot is a bit to eager.

The suspension is very tough when it needs to be, and is soft when it needs to be.

The only thing that limits this car's capabilities is the driver, and the failure to see it is ultimately a very comfy family car, designed to cart loved ones and shopping from A to B, but also, at the same time, be a complete filthy monster that will humiliate most other cars with much bigger engines.

On a still day on a flat surface, it will do 0-124mph in 4th gear. This FAMILY CAR will do half a million miles happily, eagerly waiting for you to thrash it up to the red line every time without question. The grip is fantastic if you have good tyres and understand what the car is telling you. And its top speed is RESTRICTED to 139mph.

Note; the engine is designed to spin at over 11000rpm, so it won't break as it is limited to around 8500. It uses bhp as torque so it can spin easily without the right control - 0-60 is not needed in the real world, although its time is impressive, similar to mk1 Golf Gtil (even the estate versions) with the same size engine as the Golf, but fully equipped with all the luxuries and safety features available at that time with limited slip diff all as standard.

The sheer delivery of power on the move is comparable to no other in its class. Split second response from the car. Instant power whenever.

For all round performance and practicality it craps on its contenders, but is lacking a 6th gear for cruising; if it had a 6th gear it would be very economical, but is instead a very tiring car to drive on the motorway if you obey the speed limits, and it will munch through the fuel... 70mph = around 4000rpm in 5th gear, so it's gutsy... on the plus side... the 1st vtec hits around 4400rpm, so even in fifth at 70 it feels lively, drop it to third at 70 and you will reach 90 faster than you can fill your pants. Turbo without the disadvantages. A turboed engine without a turbo is just an engine. A VTEC engine is just an engine, VTEC is just how it works... purity.