Faults:

At 53K miles, the left front axle had to be replaced, and in 2003 it had new front brakes. Except for those two things and regular work, this car has been great.

General Comments:

Accleration is a bit lackluster, but the car gets great gas mileage, and sounds sporty. Everything else about the car has held up well over the last 10 years, and I can promise my next car will be a Honda.

Faults:

Power steering pump at 54,000 - replaced under extended warranty.

Heat shield removed due to excessive rattling at 60,000.

Muffler at 91,000.

Tires at 91,000.

Distributor & Spark plug wires (90K service) at 100,000.

General Comments:

This has been an excellent car for the 6 years that I have owned it.

I have never been left stranded by this car and it has never failed to start on even the coldest of days. I did notice that if I don't start it regularly (say for over a 2 weeks), it takes a few cranks to get the engine to turn over. Also the acceleration is lackluster compared to my old Chevy Berretta, but that's to be expected in a compact car. Aside from the slow acceleration, I love this car. It's dependable and looks good.

Faults:

Driver's side power window came out of the track.

Exhaust rusted out, needed complete replacing.

Clasp for the cup-holder lid broke. Repair of this small piece requires replacement of the whole cup-holder unit.

Gasket for the sunroof is showing age, but still seals. To replace requires replacing entire sunroof unit.

General Comments:

Peppy engine with excellent pickup, high gas mileage (35 mpg/average). VTEC gets good power out of the four cylinders, runs quietly, and doesn't sacrifice gas mileage to do it.

Loves to be driven in the twisties. Might not have the image of a sports car, but it definitely has the heart of one.

Remarkably comfortable backseat for adults, considering the overall size of the car is pretty small.

Precise, smooth manual gearbox; second best I've ever worked, and doesn't miss first place by much (best was a BMW 316, so it's in very good company).

Monochromatic interior is pretty drab. I dressed mine up with stick-on trim appliques.

Just a lot of fun to drive, and easy on the wallet to do it. I don't think I'll ever own another car that's not a Honda/Acura product.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong except for the usual wear and tear issues.

General Comments:

This is the most reliable car I have ever owned. I honestly feel like it is the car that won't die. I haven't always taken the best care of it, but it hasn't let me down, EVER. Truly reliable and well worth the buy. I would buy another in a heartbeat.

Faults:

Bad? Nothing.

General Comments:

Car runs like new after 140 tkm. All you need to do is change oil, filters, anti freeze and that's it.

Faults:

Not a thing.

General Comments:

Four drawbacks to the Civic EX automatic: not much pep especially when merging onto the highway; at highway speeds it gets noisy; interior is very plain and nothing special; and on rough roads you feel every bump.

Other than that this is an outstanding car. Safe too! I totaled my '96 when I hit a patch of ice and spun out on the highway. The car was completely destroyed and I walked away from it without even a bruise. Airbag didn't deploy though---weird because the front was nearly ripped off.

I would absolutely buy another one. I own a 1998 Civic EX now, but my impression is that the 96 model was zippier.