2003 Honda Civic CDTi S review from UK and Ireland

Well, other than poor quality trim and the usual cheap plastic breaking in the night the car has been fine.

I complained to Honda about the EPS (Electronic Power Steering) not functioning properly. They in return told me that I was talking rubbish and left it at that. I further complained about the fact that you literally had to fight with the wheel to get the thing to turn, which almost caused me to crash on an emergency avoidance situation when a pedestrian walked out in front of me.

They eventually admitted that there had been a recall several months before. this happened at about 15k miles.

The alternator has also been replaced. That was only a few months ago now, so around 24k miles. When I was driving down the road, the dash board lights and exterior lamps would be flashing like a strobe in a nightclub. Fortunately this was covered on warranty, which I can thankfully say is covered for 3 years.

When you turn the ignition on now, there is a strange noise which sounds like the pumps on a Volvo headlight wash/wipe system. I have no idea what it is and it does sound like its coming from the ABS system. But with all the problems I have had with the dealers, I just don't care anymore.

Generally, I'm happy with Honda's first diesel. My only comment is, having previously owned an '89 Civic Auto, is that they're not built like they used to be.

My new 2003 Civic looks nice with the 16" Axe alloys that I put on it, but the looks really do not match the performance!

The performance is OK, but essentially, it only has 99bhp, and could do with another 51bhp or so. It falls by the way-side with the Audi and VW diesel equivalents.

Fuel economy is great. It usually costs me £47.00 to fill up a tank from virtually empty and I can usually get 595 miles out of a tank. I do a lot of long distance stuff, hence the high mileage and on long distances this car really comes into its own, although to be honest its not all that comfortable.

The dashboard layout is the best part of the car. It is fantastically ergonomic however there is not enough storage space without the optional centre consol which runs between the 2 front seats.