Hey guys. Glad I found this thread.
I just sold my 2006 Civic hatch. Great car. Must say though, the drive by wire throttle is noticeable - especially when cruising in 3rd. Small touch of the throttle gives a little bit of a jerk. But the throttle on the whole is so nicely responsive when you want it, and your driving style can adapt to it pretty quickly. Brakes - yip, they go quickly, but you can get brakes from MechArm or one of those that cost HALF as much and last longer. Then take them to a supaquick or someone and they can fit them for you for R50 or so. Wiper blades - you can get Bosch wiper blades, or you can jippo some rubber out of other blades and swap them. Not too hard.
Watch out for the discs though. Those can get replaced quite often.
Man, that gearbox is awesome! Short throw, not notchy or rubbery like a BMW - I found those terrible. The clutch isn't so great, but it's not terrible and you can live with it in everyday traffic and it works just fine when you want to give it a bit of a go
Nice short travel. And it's appreciated when you want a quicker change. But, the clutch and gearbox somehow don't like each other. You should change gears very slowly (at low speeds) or very quickly (at high speeds), but not in between - you can go through the windscreen sometimes...
The Civic hatch is also quicker than most cars with similar outputs. In gear accleration is nice. They say that true petrol heads like to rev their cars, and the Civic will let you do just that, while using much less juice than rivals.
Road noise isn't great, but turn the music up
And then get some low-noise tyres.
Biggest problem with Honda - parts. PROPERLY expensive! They whack you on labour. But shop around at the dealers, because they operate independently, so you can get better prices. A front fog light will cost you anywhere from R2000 - R3000 without labour!
I could go on forever. But the drive is much like a go cart. You feel close to the road, with a small steering wheel, responsive throttle and an engine that you can hear. So it depends what you are looking for. It ain't a family cruiser (suspension is too stiff for that), but you can have a lot of fun in it
Enjoy it man!!
I just sold my 2006 Civic hatch. Great car. Must say though, the drive by wire throttle is noticeable - especially when cruising in 3rd. Small touch of the throttle gives a little bit of a jerk. But the throttle on the whole is so nicely responsive when you want it, and your driving style can adapt to it pretty quickly. Brakes - yip, they go quickly, but you can get brakes from MechArm or one of those that cost HALF as much and last longer. Then take them to a supaquick or someone and they can fit them for you for R50 or so. Wiper blades - you can get Bosch wiper blades, or you can jippo some rubber out of other blades and swap them. Not too hard.
Watch out for the discs though. Those can get replaced quite often.
Man, that gearbox is awesome! Short throw, not notchy or rubbery like a BMW - I found those terrible. The clutch isn't so great, but it's not terrible and you can live with it in everyday traffic and it works just fine when you want to give it a bit of a go
Nice short travel. And it's appreciated when you want a quicker change. But, the clutch and gearbox somehow don't like each other. You should change gears very slowly (at low speeds) or very quickly (at high speeds), but not in between - you can go through the windscreen sometimes...The Civic hatch is also quicker than most cars with similar outputs. In gear accleration is nice. They say that true petrol heads like to rev their cars, and the Civic will let you do just that, while using much less juice than rivals.
Road noise isn't great, but turn the music up
And then get some low-noise tyres. Biggest problem with Honda - parts. PROPERLY expensive! They whack you on labour. But shop around at the dealers, because they operate independently, so you can get better prices. A front fog light will cost you anywhere from R2000 - R3000 without labour!
I could go on forever. But the drive is much like a go cart. You feel close to the road, with a small steering wheel, responsive throttle and an engine that you can hear. So it depends what you are looking for. It ain't a family cruiser (suspension is too stiff for that), but you can have a lot of fun in it
Enjoy it man!!
