1989 Honda Civic Si hatchback review from Australia and New Zealand

The car had an ongoing problem with intermittently not starting - traced to the (apparently classic civic problem) of dry solder joints in the main relay. Easy fix with a soldering iron.

Rear suspension bushes replaced at 140000 km.

Various belts replaced at 165000 km.

Beginning to rust in a couple of places and the bonnet paint has oxidized and peeled off, but this adds to the 'character'.

The civic has been my daily driver for 6 years and goes surprisingly well for a car that's almost as old as some of my workmates...

I have only serviced the civic once in the time I have owned it. I have taken it in and out of paddocks, transported half a tonne of firewood in the back, basically given it constant abuse - and it still keeps on going.

Fuel economy is great and the car has been really reliable overall. Performance is lively enough to get into trouble, the civic is actually quite fun to drive and handles well (kinda like a go-cart), but is uncomfortable on long trips.

Th civic doesn't offer much in the way of street cred and my girlfriend refuses to ride in it, but I'm pretty happy with it overall and I'd happily buy another one.