I need a new car and had a free hour this afternoon, so went for a test drive in an 08 plated Civic 2.2 diesel. I’m a self employed musician/guitar teacher and use the car for work 5/6 days per week doing just under 20k miles a year 60% or so are on the motorway.

I need something that I can carry a few guitars, big amp and big effects pedal setup in so the tardis like Civic fits the bill. I loved how it drove, but a petrolhead I am not, I drive a Mitsubishi space star and have only really driven vans or cheap small runarounds previously-what are peoples opinions of the car? Reliability, economy, other options? I managed 47.1 mpg on the 5 mile test drive fwiw. Did I mention that I loved it?:-)

Oh an it was for sale for 8k

I had one for 3 years and 100k miles.

The only problem was the harsh ride but I got it new with bigger alloy wheels, if the one you’re after has smaller wheels and more rubber it’s a keeper.

Don’t trust the mph, but that’s the same for all cars I guess when you’ve a heavy right foot

I loved the one I test drove. If there had been cheaper ones at the dealer that week I’d be driving one now.

Had that engine in an accord for 135000 miles. It’s a really nice engine, spins really smoothly compared to all other turbo diesels I’ve driven including the BMW I have now. It went pretty well when you give it a bit of stick too. Chain cam so no expensive belt change services too.

This one had the smaller alloys. What mpg are you chaps getting?

My dash is telling me that I average 49.6mpg. If you do mway miles, you’ll improve on that by a few.

I’ve had mine for 4 years, it’s an 08 Plate, was £13,000 with 8k miles. My dash usually says 47ish but I’m mostly driving short journeys, when I go further it gets over 50mpg. I love it too, it drives well and is quick enough (I’m no petrolhead either). One thing I’ve found is that it needs more oil than other turbo diesels I’ve had (Saab 93 and Golf). It can get through a litre in a 3 or 4 months, the dealer that services it, told me it needs a litre every 1000 miles but I’ve not found it needs that much. The way the back seats fold up is really handy, I can fit 2 bikes, with front wheels off, in the space and still have the whole boot for everything else. I’d get it.

Liked mine a lot, ran for 2.5 years or so and was planning to keep it longer but it got stolen. Super practical, loved how it looked, and that 2.2 diesel is a great engine. Ride not the best, but OK. Rear visibility is often complained about in reviews, but the big van-like mirrors mitigate that and I had parking sensors so no problems there. Easy enough to judge with practice though.

I had it on Honda’s service plan (pre-paid for 5 services at a discount), never cost me anything beyond that except tyres and wiper blades.

Fuel usage over that time: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/kiteless/civic/fuelchart – a mix of London traffic and motorway runs normally, usually hovered somewhere around the 45mpg mark overall.

Good cars, I did strongly consider another but it was just as the new (current) shape was coming in and I couldn’t stretch to a new one.

We got on a few weeks back. Love it. But I would, its new to me and I nearly always buy honda! Got a towbar and rack for bikes 47 mpg with bikes for me (50 without). 45 with no bikes for the wife ?!

This one?
It was the mainstay of a hire car fleet that work had. Hated with a passion….

Rear visibility is appaling, the split rear screen seemed to hide car lights approaching behind and the silly back side windows were not put there to be looked through.
The dash is a mess of random buttons from several other cars, having to reach through the wheel to get to some was stupid.
There are sharp pointy corners to catch your leg on getting in.
The pointless start button – insert key turn a couple of clicks then press start WTF???

As for fuel economy the last Blue Motion Golf TDI I had as a hire car got 55+ in a mix of motorway and lakes back roads.

My brother in law drives a 56 plate one of these with full honda history ………..

The turbo has just blown up on it and done loads of damage to the car, honda originally said it was not going to be cost effective to repair but are now saying it needs a new turbo and “investigation”

they have quoted £1750 just for the turbo fitting alone !!

Avoid the auto version like the plague!

having to reach through the wheel to get to some was stupid.

the only ones would be the dashboard brightness and turning off the traction control?

Side visibility is terrible though, I don’t find the rear window a problem, but those side pillars are atrocious.

I have had one for 3 years, pretty harsh ride, but apart from that i love it. on long motorway journeys its possible to nudge 60mpg at 60mph, but 55mpg is more realistic. Good car for long journeys as well, eats up the miles…

There is a known fault with the clutch on the 08 models (and possibly others) I had mine fixed FOC, but it was under warranty, I believe Honda would still fix it FOC even if the warranty has expired

Yeah I have read about the clutch-the car wasn’t at a main dealer but its something that I’d want doing. Mpg seems better than I’d read in a previous post. Shouldn’t Hora be on here claiming that he’s thinking of buying one? 🙂

Googling the clutch problem would show you that Honda probably wouldn’t pay for a replacement clutch on a 08 plate.You’d probably be looking at over £1000 to rectify.Theres also plenty of reports of discs and pads wearing quick.

GF had a Civic 2.2 CDTi for 4 years from new. Really nice car – very practical, fast and ~55mpg. Rear visibility isn’t great, but it never bothered me when I drove it. I had the same engine in an Accord a few years ago and liked it.

Interesting comments re: engine, I’ve only had petrol Japanese Cars (Accord, Shogun * 2, Yaris) as I have a view that their petrol technology is superior to diesel, you don’t really see diesel cars in Asia.

With the folding rear seats the Civic is quite Tardis like

OP I would do your sums re petrol/diesel costs – fuel price v economy and also look at the service intervals and vehicle purchase price. It might be quite close in terms of costs.

OP why not a Accord diesel? Cheaper as well.

I’d not considered the Accord…..I’ll have a Google. The only reason I’m interested in the Civic is because I’d heard people say how spacious they were, and it just so happened that the car garage that I visited yesterday had this one on the forecourt.

I think theres a fair few STW who own the Accord. This may help?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/car-opinions-accord-or-passat

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/honda-accord-saloon-4-dr-get-a-bike-in

Cheers man!… I’ll have a read at lunch. Just seen a nice 59 plate civic too 9.5k but only 13k on the clock *warms credit card* 😕

Both the Accord and Civic of this age can hav problems with cracking manifolds (they sound a bit wheezy), clutches waring (if they are remapped) and occasional turbo actuator problems. Although they don’t have DPF – a good thing. I had two Accord diesels and I think that they were more reliable than most diesels.

Just to echo the warnings above, we have the 2.2 CTDi engine in our 07 FR-V: new clutch under warranty at 42k and 25k later it’s slipping badly again – but now well out of warranty… Turbo whining and getting louder too. It’s a lovely engine to drive but it sure does have a few weak points.

Accord could be a good value for money option. I didn’t consider them because the fuel economy figures weren’t good. However my parents’ friends have one and they get 60mpg on long trips.

I got 47-47mpg average in about 140k miles over two Accords. Mostly faster motorway driving. 50mpg is quite possible if driven carefully.

I’ve looked at a few accords online, they seem nice but are a litlte too expensive. The clutch problems on the Civic diesels are really putting me off. Were they sorted by 09?

According to the Civic owners forum problems with the 09’s clutches are starting to appear,even at fairly low mileages.
The clutch plate itself is not over expensive,but the DMF is.
Usually the clutch plate itself is not worn.I was told that it fails gradually as it has a self adjusting system that continues to take the play up until it runs out of adjustment.
I was looking at a Honda,either a Civic or a FRV,to pull a caravan,but this issue has completely put me off them.

Accord could be a good value for money option. I didn’t consider them because the fuel economy figures weren’t good.

A good reason for why only focusing on one cost is a bad idea…, when folk are shelling out £1-2k for repairs that’s a lotta fuel.

My brother had an 09 2.2 and loathed it .

Tramlined , torque steer , nervous when overtaking going over the camber / white line in the road. Stupid space saver , Odd sized tyres too , or an issue with supply , so he bought a spare to keep in his garage in case of a weekend emergency . Had major issues with potholes and he found it tiring to drive on long journeys.

It was a company car , and hes back in a Golf TD which he likes alot more.

06 plate from new, replaced April with 162k on clock.
Engine never missed a beat.
Ridiculously roomy for class, though lack of spare worried me.
Flimsy build (eg relative to Golfs).
Number of niggly little faults – handbrake, fuel flap, rear suspension.
Best I ever managed on a single trip was 69mpg – so yes, economical.
Interior understandably got very tired latterly.

56 plate Diesel ES
Love the engine / dash / panoramic room
And mega flexible seating

Cheap to run for a 2.2 diesel And it’s got bags of power
Even fully laden

Plus it’s interesting ( unlike boring old golfs)

Downsides, rides a little choppy, not great in snow
On the standard 205/55/16 turanzas but remedied by
Bridgestone a001 all season tyres 🙂

I’d buy another Honda in a heartbeat
In fact new crv could be next on the list

Edited to add I binned the tyre foam and got a
Space saver second hand – worth loosing a little boot space for