2003 Honda Civic VTi-S review from Philippines
"If you want comfort, space, and excitement, then this car is for you, if you can afford it"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Seats are rock-hard. Seats have been changed immediately after I bought this Civic.
4-speed auto gearbox has shift shocks on uphill climbs.
20,000kms- Brake feel suddenly becomes vague and braking distance travel is long. Problem: Front disc and rear disc becomes unbalanced. The problem took 2 days to fix. They changed both discs.
General comments?
I like this car because it's sporty, easy to drive, and has fruity engine noises.
What I DON'T like is the engine-
Output: 130hp/6,500rpm
Input: 149Nm/5,000rpm.
It's thrashy, very thrashy. I always have to rev it past the 3,000rpm mark just to gain around 20km/h.
It also took forever to reach 90km/h on the highway.
Auto gearbox has shift shocks when going uphill, but it's good on straight roads.
The chassis absorbs humps, bumps and potholes well. I only feel a thud in the car. But as the potholes and humps are the worst of its kind, the car subjects the cabin up to the point when the it quivers violently.
The steering of this car is great!
It has excellent feedback and shows almost no understeer. It's easy to maneuver too.
It also has almost no body roll in slaloms or in gently leaning curves.
Seats are rock-hard, so I changed them immediately after I bought it.
Driving position is very good and comfy. The controls are logically placed and easy to operate. There's lots of space in the front, and a much bigger and wider space at the back, because of the flat rear floor, instead of the other cars' center bulge, but this sacrifices luggage space.
The car is also too expensive- priced at 825,000 Philippine pesos.
If you want a car that's spacious, comfortable and exciting, then go for this, if you can afford it.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model year | 2003 |
| Year of manufacture | 2003 |
| First year of ownership | 2004 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.6 liter 16-valve, inline-4 SOHC Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 10 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 0 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 30000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Nissan Sentra |
| Date of Entry | 7th June, 2005 |