Faults:

A/C no longer works, although it just needs to be recharged.

Interior light is out.

Tripometer reset button doesn't work.

That's it. Really.

General Comments:

First off, full disclosure, I'm a Toyota guy. I have owned basically nothing but Toyota's all my life, because of their reliability.

However, I have to say, I love my 2002 Honda Civic Coupe. It's black. It's sexy. And best of all... It's exceptionally fuel efficient.

I do have one complaint though. The LX/DX model is underpowered. I know this is an economy car, but I had the privilege of driving the Si model before buying the LX. The Si engine should have been included in all models. It's 127 HP (compared to 115 HP for the LX), and you can definitely notice the difference. The Si had great acceleration, whereas the LX/DX engine can be sluggish at times, especially when you have passengers or heavy cargo. So if you're looking for a little more performance, I would recommend the Si model.

There are 3 basic things I love about this car: It's very fuel efficient. It is super reliable. It looks sexy.

As mentioned, I have a black 2 door coupe. It's 2013, and there's no rust to be seen, anywhere. It looks sleek and executive-like. I absolutely get checked out when pulling into the mall or grocery store or beach or wherever. This car is sexy for a compact car.

I won't touch on the reliability too much. You can read that in other reviews. All you need to know is that it's probably going to be the most reliable car you have ever owned.

I LOVE HOW FUEL EFFICIENT THIS CAR IS! This is the main reason I love this car. On a mix of city/highway driving, I get about 35 MPG. On the freeway, I definitely get 40+ MPG. It's hard to believe that this car is fun to drive and still very fuel efficient. I actually feel bad for the owners of pickup trucks and full size vehicles sitting beside me in traffic. When I think of what they must spend on gas just to sit idle in rush hour traffic... I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

One other point I should make... I was flat out shocked at how much cargo room was in my Civic. This is a "compact" car, but the trunk can handle a shockingly large amount of cargo.

Anyway, to wrap up... I plan to own this car for as long as I possibly can. It's sleek. It's sexy. It's cheap on insurance. It handles great. It is very inexpensive to run and maintain. Unless you have a huge family... Why would you want to own anything else?

Faults:

Knocking from front suspension - not traced, believe it is a common complaint.

Electric power steering is stiff in the straight ahead, and occasionally heavy when parking.

Anti-roll bar drop link for MoT in January 2012.

Other than that - nothing! Just tyres.

General Comments:

Bought this car in August 2011 for £1500. It looked really smart and had only 68k on the clock, but had little service history. However, a quick look through the old MoT's seemed to corroborate the mileage, and after a quick drive, there was no doubt in my mind it was completely genuine.

Well, all I can really say about the car is that it is totally functional and reliable in a very Japanese hatchback sort of a way. It's not a car with a lot of character, but it is a totally faithful machine. I have done 14,000 miles since I purchased the thing 16 months ago, and there has not even a murmur. It's almost boringly reliable and efficient. It's even more economical than a 1-litre Micra.

For a 1.4 of its time, it goes quite well and it's certainly not what you would term slow. It's nippy about town and actually performs at its best on the motorway between 60-80 mph; unusual for a small engine. It's also incredibly quiet, and the engine would be inaudible going up through the gears gently if it weren't for the slight gearbox whine. That said, there is a ton of wind and especially road noise when you are cruising, probably caused by the flat floor.

The car also has a nicely appointed interior, the dashboard is a paragon of logic and ergonomics, all the switches feel robust, and the seat fabric feels hard-wearing. The seats though aren't very supportive and give me terrible backache on a long journey. Recently I did an 800-mile round trip in the Honda - it never missed a beat, but Jesus was I cursing the car when I got back! There is an absolute ton of stowage in the car though, and some of the touches, like the cup-holders that push away to reveal a cubbyhole, make you love this car.

However there is a major flaw with these Hondas, and it's hard to ignore if you love cars as I do. No matter what people to say to you, for instance "never sell this car, it's the best car you've ever had" or "you'll never get anything as reliable as this again" - it's just boring, and you feel you have to dig your heels in and ignore them. Completely and totally boring. There isn't any enjoyment to be derived from driving it. I mean, it obviously isn't unpleasant, but it's so vague and understeer-y that you can't feel anything but frustration at constantly braking your hardest and gingerly fumbling your way round a tight bend in a mass of tyre squeal and understeer. My previous car was a 1998 Fiesta, and dynamically it was VASTLY superior to the Honda. There are pluses to the driving experience though; the ride is quite comfortable, and it will cruise all day at 80 without any fuss at all.

Maybe I'm being too critical of this car. I mean it is really practical for a small 3-door hatchback, and has a massive boot, loads of storage space, and despite its blandness, I suppose it looks quite neat when it's polished up. It's totally reliable, and to exemplify Honda's quality, is still on its original exhaust, front to back! It's not exciting and it doesn't handle well, but I'm loath to sell this car. I've thought about buying a classic as a daily driver, doing my own maintenance, but always in the end had to ask myself if all the temperamentality would ever be worth it. The answer is probably no. My advice: If you are after a reliable car and see one cheap, snap it up.

It truly is the Ken Barlow of cars!