20th Jan 2005, 19:36

*****************UPDATE***********************

18 Months into ownership, 1 year after writing the review.

Still no problems with the car, it still runs exactly the same as when I drove it off the lot.

I keep excellent track of my finances, so if anybody is interested in just how much it costs to own a Civic, then here are my expenses for the past year. (In Canadian Dollars!)

Yearly Cost of Ownership: Fuel: $1426 (about 24 000km)

Insurance: $2524 (Different from person to person)

Loan: $3885

Service: $378

Misc: $115 Total: $8330

=$700/Month.

I had the car serviced according to Honda's recommended service guide for the Civic, every 8000Km. (Excellent service by the way)

I stand by my previous comments about the suspension and general comfort of the car. If you have driven large cars all your life, you will not enjoy this car or any other car of this size, for that matter. However, I will agree that during long trips the seats are not very comfortable and offer very poor Lumbar support.

Now that I have had a chance to transport some people and luggage, I reaffirm my statements that this car is horribly underpowered.

When I am driving alone in the car, the right front tire often slips under hard acceleration. I believe my weight (200Lbs) on the one side of the car is unbalancing everything because when I have a passenger in the passenger seat, the tire no longer slips.

The tires are not as bad as I suspected in winter driving, in fact, I would say that they are on par with every other all season tire.

The radio reception is poor at times (the civic does not have an external antenna) but if you ask me, the car looks much better without the antenna sticking out.

After 18 months of ownership the car is still solid. No detectable rattles or sounds or pieces falling off with the exception of the holding area directly beneath the CD player. The CD player gets quite hot when in use and I believe the glue holding the two plastic sections together is starting to fail. Still, you can't notice it unless you look really close.

I get gas mileage very close to advertised rates, not quite... but close.

Here is the most impressive thing about my Civic. During Christmas I spent several days in Northern Ontario. I do not have a block heater in my car, it is not needed in Southern Ontario. I left the car sitting in a driveway unplugged in -30C to -40C weather for almost two days. When I tried to start it, it sounded awful and it was sluggish, but it started! FREAKING AMAZING!

P.S. Throwing on a coat of Polish on this car every fall and spring really makes the car look sharp. Honda uses a nice quality of paint in my opinion.