Fun To Look At, Fun To Drive

I own a 2002 Honda Civic EX coupe with an automatic transmission. I have a bad left knee so I prefer to drive an automatic for that reason. I bought it used in April of 2005 after battling with a 1994 Cavalier for 4 years. It was purchased from a local Honda dealer. At the time I was also considering a 2002 Ford Focus ZTS and a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am GT. The Civic was a little more than I wanted to spend but after a week of test-driving and thinking it over, I ultimately decided that it was the car for me.

I bought it with 36,000 miles on it. The only things wrong with it were cosmetic. It had 2 or 3 little chips in the paint on the rear bumper, the silver paint on the inside of the driver's door (by the window switches) had been rubbed off a little, and whoever the previous owner was must have backed up over a high curb because there were a few scratches on the underneath of the rear bumper. However, the car still pretty much looked like new.

Soon after I bought it I had to put new tires on it. I had 4 Goodyear "Regatta 2" tires put on it at about 40,000 miles.

Other than the tires, the maintenance on the car has been very low which is the main reason I wanted to buy a Honda. Other than regular oil changes (about every 3-4,000 miles) I have had to put new front brakes on it at about 55,000 miles as a result of brake pad over-heating and a new battery at about 60,000 miles.

There was one slight problem I encountered shortly after I bought my civic. At about 40,000 miles, I noticed that the SRS (airbag) light was staying on as I drove. I was a little disturbed by this so took it in to the dealership. Side note, I usually have my car serviced by a local mechanic but for Honda-related problems I like to take it to the dealer. The dealership told me that there is a weight sensor in the passenger seat (DUH!) that determines whether or not to deploy the airbag if a collision happens. Apparently, me putting my purse in the passenger seat was "confusing" the system causing the light to stay on. Mmmkay, whatever. So they reset it for free but told me if it came on again, it would cost $400 to replace. Lo and behold, it came on again (and stayed on) after about a week. After failed attempts to convince the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City dealership to replace it for free (it is a safety issue after all) I decided to go straight to the top and called Honda. After a week of back and forth phone calls, Honda gave the dealership the go-ahead to replace it at no cost to me.

I look forward to several more years saving money with my Honda.

Not only is the car low-maintenance, it's fun to drive and nice to look at. The interior looks much more expensive than it probably is. I love how the dashboard is laid out with all of the controls in easy reach. Every button is positioned in place that makes sense. The cup holders are in a logical place (unlike my previous cavalier), the seat adjusts well, and there are manual controls for most things in case the car loses power. ie: moonroof, shifter. Some of the compartments I find unnecessary but I'm sure someone out there uses them. I'm also thankful this car has keyless entry.

The car has enough get up and go for me. Usually the only person in my car is me (my husband LOVES his Jetta so we take that a lot). I find the car's acceleration meets my expectations. It IS only a 4 cylinder with a fairly small engine so you can't expect it to perform like a trans am. I'm absolutely spoiled by the gas mileage. I don't know if I'll ever be able to buy a car that doesn't get as good of gas mileage.

I'm very comfortable driving the car. I have plenty of head room (then again I'm only 5'5"), the seat adjusts forward/backward, but also in height. I find I have plenty of support for my back while driving. Even the backseat is fairly roomy, as long as your not TOO tall.

The exterior of the civic is pretty slick as well. I love the overall design of the 01-05 models. Even the hubcaps are attractive, though I would've preferred the stock rims of the 03 or 04-05 EX models.

As much as I love my civic, I do have just a few negatives:
-It has a bumpy ride. Then again, it's a compact, economical car so I don't expect it to ride like a buick.
-Sometimes when the car downshifts into 2nd gear, it's a little jerky (usually only downhill if I'm braking)
-We plan on starting a family soon and I've heard the backseat is hard to maneuver a car seat into. We'll see though. I don't plan on trading it in quite yet.
-I hate that when you move the front seats forward to get into the backseat, they come back to their starting, upright position. I wish they had memory lock (or whatever that's called).
-The rubber strip underneath the front fender (spoiler?) would come unclipped sometimes. Eventually it ripped off anyway during our rough winter this year. Haven't decided if I should have it replaced yet or not.

Overall:
The car is fun to drive, it has just enough power, it's low maintenance and it's good looking. I would definitely recommend it. If you have a family however, maybe go for the sedan. Or even an Accord.