Toys4RJill

I have test driven the Civic, I tried out the turbo 2 door and it is an excellent car. The infotainment system was easy to use.

MattyG

CR bashers talking smack about a consumer testing agency that buys their cars rather than the usual horde of suspects shilling on free comps... on a Lexus forum

I love the Civic sedan but no means is it above being critiqued. We have a poster who took pics of a Lincoln Continental to point out a panel gap issue. CR just pointed out that you can't have that Civic at dealerships. Did any of the usual shills tell you that? No because Honda won't tell you that either. CR did.

Htony

I have been a long time Acura MDX driver. Since they moved assembly plant from Ontario to Alabama their build quality and driveability nose dived. I purchased 2016 MDX in Feb. and ditched it within 2 months replacing it with RX450h. Probably I'll go back to Acura when they put their acts together.

mmarshall

What do you mean by "hordes of suspects" on a Lexus forum? Most of us here can be considered car enthusiasts....or, at least, interested in the auto industry. We wouldn't be here if we weren't.


Again, what are you trying to say? I agree that Jill found some less-than-perfect gaps on the Continental she looked at (I found the one I looked at much better). But panel-gaps, even if somewhat unsightly, aren't likely to leave you stranded somewhere...they certainly wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me. In fact, I once owned a plastic-bodied Saturn SL2 (and loved it) which had gaps wide enough to drive a truck through. Those wide gaps were actually needed for the expansion/contraction of the plastic doors in hot and cold weather.

MattyG

Even you must know that I meant the usual rags that test cars/trucks/suvs with the usual comps. Nothing to do with anyone on this forum. You sound guilty

My own Lexus has perfect panel gaps. It has seen ridiculous conditions in Canada. Minus-whatever and boiling hot. There is no expansion or shrinkage. Are you saying cars are back in the horse and buggy era?

mmarshall

No problem. Thanks for clarifying. I just didn't quite follow what you were saying, that's all. And, yes, I do plead guilty to being a car enthusiast....I've been one since before I was a teen-ager, still in grade school.

On the example of the Saturn I mentioned, Saturn engineers were forced to design the cars with wide gaps because of the physical properties of those specific thermo-plastic body panels, which expanded/contracted in heat and cold significantly more than conventional steel or aluminum. On a hot summer day, without those gaps, the doors could swell to the point where they would bind up and not even close or open properly. Your Lexus, using steel body panels, does not require that kind of gap.

And, no, we're not back in the horse-and-buggy era.....those vehicles did not have doors or windows at all.


This thread, BTW (and CR's comments), has my curiosity up enough that it's worth a trip to the Honda shop to check the new Civic out.....might (?) do that tomorrow.

SW17LS

Not the expanding doors theory again lol

mmarshall

Theory, my foot. Read it for yourself.

http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?doc_id=230543

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

let's get back on topic.

cr hates civic
i hate cr
therefore, cr is wrong.

mmarshall

Well, they have their criteria, and generally stick to it, whether we agree or not. I don't always agree with them myself, especially on vehicle reviews, but IMHO it's hard to beat their reliability figures. I generally place more credence in theirs than with J.D. Power, the other major source.

Their criteria, BTW, involves a number of factors......reliability, road-test results, static-review, and NHTSA/IIHS Safety ratings.

Sulu

Here we have more proof that Hondas are the darlings of the "enthusiast" crowd, even on a Lexus forum. While so many will criticize Lexus and Toyota at the drop of hat, Honda Civics and Accords seemingly are above reproach, and cannot be criticized for fear of being ostracized forever.

Get over it! Even Honda can make bad vehicles.

MattyG

Exactly. This is what I am trying to say. If CR has trouble finding a Honda Civic on dealer lots than that's what the average consumer is going to run into as well. If you are a car reviewer from one of the Big Blogs and car rags, of course Honda is going to give you the shortcut VIP tour. What about average consumers who love the Civic? It's one of Canada's best selling sedans.

Toys4RJill

CR rated the Tacoma with a 20 for reliability. Really?

mmarshall

It used to be BMWs....and, I have to admit that, at least with past-generation BMWs, there was a fair amount of truth to the "Ultimate Driving Machine" moniker. They did have remarkable steering and suspension systems.

Car and Driver, though, as you say, always liked Hondas along with BMWs...and had the Accord (and sometimes the Civic) on their 10 Best List for decades, up there with the BMW 3-series.


Yep...the Acura ZDX was a joke that reached almost the level of the Pontiac Aztek.

SW17LS

I don't have any bias toward Hondas. I'm surprised because I know firsthand that this Civic is a great vehicle, not a bad vehicle. My cousin out 16,000 miles on his in 4 months, not one issue.