19th Feb 2017, 16:28

Why not simply offer higher grade seats at higher cost from the factory? As an option. Cutting quality just for a cheap price isn't my idea of a good solution.

20th Feb 2017, 04:44

The reason is that simply offering that option costs Honda money. Their research probably indicates that too few Civic buyers care to pony up for an interior upgrade, for the investment to be cost-effective.

20th Feb 2017, 15:55

Is there any documentation on that? If someone orders less other options, why not?

20th Feb 2017, 21:48

Obviously none of you has purchased or even shopped a new Honda. If you had, you would know that Honda, at least in America, does not offer "higher grade seats" (or anything else) as a stand-alone factory option as Honda does not have factory options at all. You want nicer seats or more conveniences? Then pay more for an EX or EX-L model over an LX.

21st Feb 2017, 03:46

We own a Civic EX (son's). It has the spoiler, alloys and wider, more expensive tires. My point was to offer a better grade interior option and see if buyers would respond to it. Maybe you could buy a DX and not order many options, but be offered an interior upgrade. Bought Acura's leather seats, which are great seats, but obviously not Civics. The Civic seats are deplorable. But kids don't gripe, especially with some parental help.

8th Mar 2017, 13:44

Original poster here, a few updates.

The car has very good acceleration once on the highway; takeoff shouldn't be a problem as the transmission downshifts very quickly and the engine gets quite spirited. Not the same can be said in city traffic where the transmission is obviously set up for economy. Better acceleration can be obtained from a stop if the shifter (automatic transmission) is put in 'S', but then the revs stay around 3000 RPM even when cruising. Also, this 1.8 engine sounds and feels dull, do not buy this car hoping the engine will be fun to drive like the old 1.5 or 1.6 ones. Even at higher revs, this motor sounds boring - no I'm not comparing it to sports cars, it's just not something pleasant to hear.

The front seats are decent regarding comfort. I am tall - 6'1 and I know well many car seats hurt my lower back. While the Civic seats won't win awards, they also don't hurt my back and I don't feel tired after a 2-3 hours driving. I have enough leg room to the pedals, not like stretching in my living room, but my feet are not cramped either. Special mention, you won't get an electric shock touching the door frame when leaving the car, so Honda did use some good synthetic material for the seat cover.

Be aware the lower door frame is very high; I feel like I'm leaving a Lamborghini when I leave the car.

One last thing. This car has electric windows, but not automatic. I was closing the driver's window, and when the window arrived at the top, the whole door cardboard just bent inside the car by about 0.5", like the whole window mechanism was forcing onto the cardboard. Not sure if something is missing inside the door, but it feels like the cardboard will break.

9th Mar 2017, 22:51

Once you factor in economies of scale, a nicer seat costs any manufacturer a trivial amount. The tooling and implementation on the factory line are where the real costs lie.

Additionally, why would Honda sell you only a better seat for a small profit, when they could force you into a luxury package for significantly more?