[model-t]

Congratulations sarathlal,

You have brought yourself a great looking beauty. The pictures speak highly of the condition the car is in. And white looks amazing in the "nature shot "

Hope you have an excellent time with her and enjoy the ride !

BTW , is it between the 8-9 l bracket you mentioned?

[cityvic]

Congratulations on your new purchase.
The civic is a lovely car,you will totally enjoy the experience.

Btw,amazing photographs too.

[iTNerd]

Sensible purchase for the hour, I must say (as long as the running is within 1K kms a month). Congratulations and here is wishing you a dreamful ownership experience!

[arvi86]

First of all, I don't believe you. I just can't trust what you are saying. More so, after looking at the pictures of the car. Yes, I don't believe this is a pre-owned car.

Jokes apart, hearty congratulations Sarathlal. You have got yourself an amazing car that will ensure smiles on your face every time you drive or even look at it. I can understand the emotions that went through your mind as I have experienced it myself. Just like you, owning a Civic was my dream too and it has been a great experience ever since I bought one. I am sure its going to be the same for you too.

You shouldn't have disclosed that this was a pre-owned car. That way, I am sure most of us would have believed this to be brand new. Your car is that good. Wishing you miles and miles of happy ownership!

[F150]

Boy oh boy ! The pleasure of owning a HONDA and that too at a fantastic price.

Frank's conversion to CNG has made the Civic a serious buy in these days of aversion to petrol powered cars.

I am thinking. Hhm.

Please keep us posted, will watch your thread closely. Subscription added.

[_raVan_]

I must say, you have got yourself a splendid deal! And your photographs are stunning to say the least

The first photo seemed like somebody painted white on it using MS Paint Your car was maintained very well. Do keep us posted on the running costs. And I suppose I missed it, what is the current mileage you are getting? Also, is CNG conversion on the cards?

[TaureanBull]

There are several pre-worshipped Honda Civic ATs in the forum. Looks like its creating a lot of value.

The car looks brand new and you have got a good deal. The why/why nots have been brought out very well.

Happy ownership and ride!

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by model-t

Congratulations sarathlal,

You have brought yourself a great looking beauty. The pictures speak highly of the condition the car is in. And white looks amazing in the "nature shot "

Originally Posted by cityvic

Congratulations on your new purchase.
The civic is a lovely car,you will totally enjoy the experience.
Btw,amazing photographs too.

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Sensible purchase for the hour, I must say (as long as the running is within 1K kms a month). Congratulations and here is wishing you a dreamful ownership experience!

Thanks a lot for the words, model-t, cityvic, iTNerd!

Originally Posted by arvi86

First of all, I don't believe you. I just can't trust what you are saying. More so, after looking at the pictures of the car. Yes, I don't believe this is a pre-owned car.

Just like you, owning a Civic was my dream too and it has been a great experience ever since I bought one. I am sure its going to be the same for you too.

He he, thanks a lot arvi86. Yes, even though its been some months, I am yet to believe in this 'dream'
Luckily, the previous owner has taken good care of the Tiger. Had to hunt for long though.

Originally Posted by F150

Boy oh boy ! The pleasure of owning a HONDA and that too at a fantastic price.
Frank's conversion to CNG has made the Civic a serious buy in these days of aversion to petrol powered cars.
I am thinking. Hhm.
Please keep us posted, will watch your thread closely. Subscription added.

Originally Posted by _raVan_

I must say, you have got yourself a splendid deal! And your photographs are stunning to say the least

The first photo seemed like somebody painted white on it using MS Paint Your car was maintained very well. Do keep us posted on the running costs. And I suppose I missed it, what is the current mileage you are getting? Also, is CNG conversion on the cards?

Thanks F150, _ravan_.

Indeed, the pleasure of driving this marvel, is indeed infectious. Thanks to the Diesel mania, the prices for such petrol’s are really low.

With normal city driving, around 9-10 is achieved, and on clean highway runs, it returns a decent 15kmpl.

One thing that i noticed is, irrespective of us driving it spiritedly or not, the mileage is not showing too much of a difference. To note, i meant spirited driving, and not ripping the car

This way, the car is a fun to drive, without compromising on the driving enthusiasm. Maybe the sweet spot of iVtec kicking in is at 1.5k and keeping it there all the way upto 3k be the reason (Thanks to Dot's experiment, we could correctly derive at these RPM values, and they are indeed true)

No, I do not have plans for CNG, even though Frank's detailing is too tempting.
Basically, am trying to keep the car as stock as possible for the time being and will venture in, once I know the Tiger, inside out.

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

There are several pre-worshipped Honda Civic ATs in the forum. Looks like its creating a lot of value.

The car looks brand new and you have got a good deal. The why/why nots have been brought out very well.

Happy ownership and ride!

Thanks TaureanBull. Glad to know that the whys/why nots was found useful. Will try to add as much as info as possible from my end.

[sarathlal]

Hi, sharing some of the interior pictures as requested.











And here is one when the Tiger went to the beach

[tacho9000]

Nice pics sarathlal. I really liked the way your tiger is looking. As I said to you beforehand too,you've got an awesome deal buddy. I'm just way too envious of you on this beauty's ownership. Sometimes feels like stealing this beast from your garage. :P

[sarathlal]

Was always on the look out for the origins of the 8th Civic and came across these two guys who are the designers behind our Civics. So thought of having them included in here so that all who love the Civic can relate the faces as well as a tribute to these geniuses for the gem they had given us.

Toshiyuki Okumoto (exterior design)


Yukio Emi (interior design)

[frankmehta]

These two should be given the Designers' equivalent of the Nobel Price for designing something that manages to look more modern than most of it's competition even now, almost 7 years after being launched.

[sarathlal]

I am attempting to pen down the day to day experiences, trying to relate the real world experiences while trying to clear off from the technical/mechanical aspects of the factors involved.
Please let me know if this is helppful and also in case you are looking to hear on any aspect in particular.

Take 1: The look and feel, inside.

Let me start off with the ergonomics.

Have to admit, the ingress as well as egress is a bit of pain. The low slung design does take a hit on convenience here. Each time i perform this, I will take extra care to lift my foot off the door sills, so as to avoid scraping them. But it is difficult to expect the same from everyone and these results in lot of scrape marks, both on the door sill plastics as well as metals.

Plastics surprisingly are built for this abuse I guess, because one wet wipe is all it takes to clean off all the scrapes you see there. For older people, this is a serious problem and is a definite concern. Back is more problematic compared to the front in this perspective.

Bad things however won’t last forever. Once you are inside, you will get all the required pampering to forget the struggle you had in getting in. The seats are well designed and offer good support and are easy on your posture.

I cannot say the seats are stupendous, but are more than comfortable. Long journeys are bliss both for the driver as well as for the passengers. The front seats are designed to be part of the cockpit and one can enjoy the comfort, with excellent thigh support which takes away the fatigue. The driver side seat has height adjustment which makes it very easy to get your custom driving position, supplemented with the tilt and telescopic steering column.

The back seat is also neatly laid out and is very comfortable for this class of vehicle. It is not a sofa experience but nothing short of luxury as well. The absence of the floor hump makes it an effective 5 seater. In fact if you have kids traveling with you, the back area can be converted to his little play area while the family takes rest in between the drives. No exaggeration while saying this, because there is indeed ample floor area for the little one to walk, of course, not while the vehicle is in motion.

The Cockpit, I would like to call.

Each time you get into the civic and look at the instrument cluster, it is kinda impossible, not to say WOW. It is that much modern, space age stuff. Start off the ignition and the lights sweep across adding onto the glitter. It is an amazing 2-3 second experience, guaranteed to make you smile before the journey begins each time.

The arrangements are slick and minimal. The neat blue and white arrangement is soothing to the eye. The double layered arrangement and the digital speedometer are indeed a league different. More than the eye pleasing design, it is very practical as well.
The placement of the tachometer in place of conventional speedometer makes sense for Civic, more so for the AT, I would say. Maybe another personal take, but this input right in front of my eyes, is of tremendous use as it gives me an idea on when I can expect an upshift, or a downshift, when I should try to coast, or delay braking, use the paddle shift to upshift if am revving too much etc. And the digital speedo is right in front of you, giving you almost like a HUD feeling.

In short, every possible driving dynamic details you need on the go, is right there in front of you, without you having to take the eye off the road.

The Steering panel.

The wheel is a chunky one and the leather wrap gives the touch of luxury as well as providing a good comfortable grip. The design is also eye pleasing and goes well with the car interiors. The designers have made it a point that the steering wheel do not interfere with our vision area and the cockpit. Even though the cockpit instrument panel is in two 'storeys', it is very easy to clearly monitor each and every bit of information displayed.

The steering is neatly weighted one. City with its assisted steering is quite nimble in the City drives, but after experiencing the Civic, I feel this is the way the steering should behave. On stand stills, it provides enough support to maneuver the vehicle with very little effort.
And once the vehicle gathers momentum, so does the steering. The weight is so addictive, that you will feel at ease taking the corners effortlessly. Have to admit, the low stance of the car adds to the stability.

Another purely personal feeling is, manning the Civic gives the feeling of doing 'something' when you turn the car. It feels like you are doing something massive in getting the car move around, or in short, as I jokingly say to friends, this feels like turning a space ship, irrespective of the fact that they will shot back with, 'Have you piloted a space ship before?'

The placement of paddle shift is also very convenient, though there were times, when the flingers inadvertently clicked the paddles while taking quick turns. But this has got something to do with my driving style of letting the wheel feel the hands while making the turns.
The shifters are very easy to use and are not at all flimsy. They are very encouraging to use.

The cruise control buttons also exudes quality and is quite nice to fiddle with. As good it is to touch, is it to use as well. As i had mentioned in the initial pages, I use this feature extensively and not just for cruising longer durations. A 'life savor' for the right foot in my perspective.

And the stuff I miss the most is the audio controls. Feels bad that Honda skipped this feature, even for the top model of Civic. This was a must have feature as I miss this every time i see the empty left part of the steering.

View around, the glasses.

Pretty decent is my take on this, though I would love to have had a better area of view on backing up. The front windshield is extremely wide and tall. This results in lot of field area for view and offers great visibility throughout. The quarter glass aids while taking the corners and has been a thoughtful addition. Another good aspect on the front windshield is, it’s quite far away from the dash. This gives more feel of roominess in the front and keeps the heat away from the front passengers. The glass all around looks good and does their job, nothing much to talk about.

The rear glass is tall and this offers more light to fall in, giving a roomy feeling. While reversing, it is still difficult to judge the corners without the parking aid though. The vision through the glass area is not at all adequate. Maybe the spoiler placed is indeed acting as a spoiler in this case.

[XLR8]

Hi Sarathlal,

Wonderful review of a drool worthy car. The ONLY reason I may not end up buying one is because I drive down to North Kerala a lot and unfortunately not blessed with good roads. Even with my existing swift, I end up with one or two scratches on the bumper everytime I drive down.

Happy mile crunching and drive safe!

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by XLR8

Hi Sarathlal,

Wonderful review of a drool worthy car. The ONLY reason I may not end up buying one is because I drive down to North Kerala a lot and unfortunately not blessed with good roads. Even with my existing swift, I end up with one or two scratches on the bumper everytime I drive down.

Happy mile crunching and drive safe!

Thanks for the words XLR8.

Hope the road condition gets better soon. Yes Civic is a car which requires some bit of soft handling. I would say, if you don't bounce the car much, the scraping issue will be similar to any other sedan. There were couple of times, wherein the car almost touched its bottom (The silencer gets scrapped while exiting certain ramp kind of roads), but the same spot, when taken very lightly, there was no such problem.