1990 Honda Civic GL review from Australia and New Zealand

Head gasket blew twice. Appears to have been a poor repair from before I had the car.

Power steering rack is leaking, which has caused further problems by oil leaking into the distributor.

Problem with the rotor arm left me stranded once.

Burning oil and blowing smoke above 5000rpm. Probably needs new rings.

The civic is a very well balanced front wheel drive with plenty of power. It's the most agile car of it's size that I've ever driven.

The engine doesn't produce much torque below 3000rpm, but it gets up to speed very quickly and goes like a rocket at 4500rpm. It doesn't go very well with a heavy load.

The interior is very well designed. The bucket seats are very comfortable. Not as deep as the Honda Prelude's and, in my opinion, just right. The rear seats are easy to get into for a 2 door, and quite comfortable. With the back seats folded down flat, it can carry a very large load.

The suspension is just right, and keeps your passengers happy without sacrificing any handling, but the back end gets a bit light at high speed.

The power steering is very nice in the city, but much too soft on the highway.

It might just be because of the age of the car, but it's not an easy car to drive. The clutch and accelerator are very temperamental. If you lift off the accelerator while the engine's loaded the car will hop. Once you get the hang of it it's a lot of fun and lets you squeeze the most power out of it.

Being a Honda, it's expensive to service and stupidly expensive to do any panel work.

I've been very demanding on my car, and despite the various mechanical problems, it just keeps going.