2003 Honda Civic DX-G from North America - Comments

Nothing so far.

Everything you need to know about a Civic.

Pros:

Average priced economy car with well thought out equipment options. My model DX-G is the base model, with the G option package. AC, CD player, body coloured door handles.

Excellent gas mileage, but only if you don't drive at more that 110 km/h. At around 120 km/h the mileage goes way down.

In my opinion, it is tied with the Mazda Protege for Second in terms of interior looks and quality. I think the Corolla has unmatched interior quality.

Has many nice security features that you don't find in other models.

Somehow the engineers eliminated that large hump in the middle of the floor in front of the back seat. Nice touch for your passengers.

Has a good mix of tight suspension for corning and loosness for bumps and potholes. I've notice some people complaining about the rough suspension over bumps. But they've all owned gigantic cars in the past, I noticed one guy complain how terrible the suspension was, but then in the next breath say his last 5 cars were Cadillacs, Olds and big Fords... It's a small economy car, the suspension is fine.

Transmission is by far the smoothest and smartest in its class. Absolutely brilliant feat of engineering if you ask me.

Has a nice punch from 0 - 40Km/h, fun to drive around town.

Cons:

Nice punch from 0 - 40 but after that the engine really shows its tiny size.

Engine is very very noisy under hard acceleration and you'll notice it a lot because you need to floor it just to get decent speed. Noise is still better than other small cars.

Service department is well run... but you pay through the nose to own a civic. Recommended maintenance is very pricey at Honda dealerships and I hear parts are expensive too.

Car is much lighter than other models, which helps the small engine and gas mileage, but causes the car to swerve a lot in high winds.

Big complaint: Tires. The wheel covers and the tires themselves are surprisingly cheap looking. The tires also have poor traction I find. This car does not handle well under icy conditions.

You are right!

It is a small econobox, priced like a mid-size car!

You are making a mistake here. A car is not comfortable or uncomfortable based on what cars you drove in the past. This is car salesman's logic, they always ask me "what cars did you drive before" (it is so annoying!). A car is uncomfortable when after driving it for an hour or so you feel achy and stiff all over your muscles, when you dread the long trips or when you cannot find a position that lets you drive somehow relaxed. I think Hondas are not comfortable cars at all based on the quality of their ride and not on what type of cars I had in the past!

*****************UPDATE***********************

18 Months into ownership, 1 year after writing the review.

Still no problems with the car, it still runs exactly the same as when I drove it off the lot.

I keep excellent track of my finances, so if anybody is interested in just how much it costs to own a Civic, then here are my expenses for the past year. (In Canadian Dollars!)

Yearly Cost of Ownership: Fuel: $1426 (about 24 000km)

Insurance: $2524 (Different from person to person)

Loan: $3885

Service: $378

Misc: $115 Total: $8330

=$700/Month.

I had the car serviced according to Honda's recommended service guide for the Civic, every 8000Km. (Excellent service by the way)

I stand by my previous comments about the suspension and general comfort of the car. If you have driven large cars all your life, you will not enjoy this car or any other car of this size, for that matter. However, I will agree that during long trips the seats are not very comfortable and offer very poor Lumbar support.

Now that I have had a chance to transport some people and luggage, I reaffirm my statements that this car is horribly underpowered.

When I am driving alone in the car, the right front tire often slips under hard acceleration. I believe my weight (200Lbs) on the one side of the car is unbalancing everything because when I have a passenger in the passenger seat, the tire no longer slips.

The tires are not as bad as I suspected in winter driving, in fact, I would say that they are on par with every other all season tire.

The radio reception is poor at times (the civic does not have an external antenna) but if you ask me, the car looks much better without the antenna sticking out.

After 18 months of ownership the car is still solid. No detectable rattles or sounds or pieces falling off with the exception of the holding area directly beneath the CD player. The CD player gets quite hot when in use and I believe the glue holding the two plastic sections together is starting to fail. Still, you can't notice it unless you look really close.

I get gas mileage very close to advertised rates, not quite... but close.

Here is the most impressive thing about my Civic. During Christmas I spent several days in Northern Ontario. I do not have a block heater in my car, it is not needed in Southern Ontario. I left the car sitting in a driveway unplugged in -30C to -40C weather for almost two days. When I tried to start it, it sounded awful and it was sluggish, but it started! FREAKING AMAZING!

P.S. Throwing on a coat of Polish on this car every fall and spring really makes the car look sharp. Honda uses a nice quality of paint in my opinion.

Agreed about the feel of the car. If in the past you have driven ligger cars than there will be a problem adjusting to the little Civic.

The engine does lag in power. A 2.2 litres sunfire has more punch, but then again it's a bigger engine and big on gas.

***********Update********************

2 Years of Ownership.

Nothing mechanically or structurally has gone wrong. A few creaks and rattles have been poping up, but then disappear. Its very strange, i'll drive in to work in the morning with a slight rattle coming from the back speaker housing when I hit bumps and then when I leave work in the afternoon, the rattle is gone. I'm sure its related to expansion and contraction of the parts when heated during the day. Either way, far fewer rattles in this car than in other 2 year old cars I've been in.

Gas mileage still solid. Although I find the low fuel warning light comes on very early in civic models. Often I fill up when the light comes on and I still have around 8 litres left in the tank. That translates into almost 100km of driving before I really run out.

Still one of the peppiest cars around town. Still a dog on the highway and up large hills.

Transmission still the smoothest and most intelligent in its class. Proof that you don't need huge horsepower and torque numbers if you have a well tunned transmission. The only odd point about the transmission I could find is that when reaching the bottom of steep hills it will drop into a lower gear to add engine braking power. However that drop down in gears is quite sudden and rough and really spoils an otherwise silky smooth ride.

I had to replace the windshield a few months ago. It developed a large crack. Definitely not a factory defect, I could feel where something hit the windshield. Probly a golf ball or rock.

There are now several scratches on the rear passenger side due to my wife backing into a bush. I don't need to mention this, however I thought I would embarrass her just a little bit. With a little bit of elbow grease and car wax most of them buffed out and the deeper ones you can't see unless you really look close.

Oh and the more I think about that first comment on this page the more it doesn't make sense. The civic is not a economy car priced like a mid size. If you look at the prices of all the cars in this class there is only about $1500 difference between a Kia and a civic or corolla or mazda. Let me tell you, there is no midsize car anywhere in the world that is the same price as a civic or corolla unless you compare a fully loaded civic and a bare bones mid size. Stupid, Stupid comment.