[NarediAni7518]

Hello everyone, this is my first thread on this platform and I hope that this initial ownership report will be helpful. This is about our 2019 Honda Civic ZX CVT (Radiant Red) that we got home on the 5th of May, 2019. At the time of writing this review, the car has done about 11,500 kms.
P.S.: The photos might not be great as I’m not a photographer and due to the same reason I've taken some of the photographs from the Team-BHP Honda Civic Official Review. I’ve stated that below each photo taken.
1. Why a new car?
As our April 2015 Honda City VX i-DTEC was about to turn four years old, the itch to get a new car was increasing. We generally keep our cars on an average for 4 years. Although the car was in Spick and span condition, with just about 29,000 odd kilometers on the odo and well maintained, we were desperately looking for an upgrade.


(This is the only photo that I have of our City)

2. Alternatives considered:
Well, we change our car when we get attracted to a newer vehicle, so we know exactly what car we want to buy and therefore, no alternatives were looked upon whatsoever. (We never go down the pre-owned route)

3. Complete Booking and Delivery Experience:
After a lot of discussion, we finally booked our car on 31st March, 2019 and delivery would be done as soon as the car would arrive and all the formalities were done. The booking and delivery experience were not exceptional. The sales advisor was not well informed of the car’s features and I had to tell him about some of them! When you enter a Maruti Suzuki Showroom in India, you will be “Welcomed”, but this wasn’t the case with our Honda Dealer. As we had already bought our city from this very dealer, we were not expecting anything from them. In fact, when we had gone to book our MG Hector in November 2020, we were quite surprised with the delivery experience. Our Civic had reached the showroom in the last week of April and we had requested them to keep it at a covered stockyard and not as a display car, to which they obliged. The formality was done at the earliest but due to the death of a close relative, we had to wait for a few days to take the delivery of our car. It was a pain to wait, for what seemed to be so long, to take the delivery, but as we say ‘The Fruit of Patience is Sweet’, and finally we took the delivery of our Civic on 5th May, 2019. I’ve added some pictures that I had clicked at the time of delivery.




4. On-Road Price and Discounts:
The on-road price that we had paid for the car was around ₹22,91,000 (for the ZX Petrol CVT in Radiant Red Colour option) and we did not get any discounts whatsoever as the car had just been launched. I don’t have the exact price break-up. Please excuse me for that. Also, we did not opt for the extended warranty or the service package.

5. Features:

a) Pros:
The car has some feel-good features like one touch up-down for all the power windows, grab handle even for the driver, Height-adjustable seatbelts, Vanity mirrors with lights on both the sun visors, Disc Brakes on all four wheels, Auto-dimming IRVM, electric adjust for driver’s seat (along with extendable thigh support), Soft touch plastic on top of the dashboard and on the front door panels. All the doors can be locked and unlocked from both the front doors. Remote-engine start with cooling function is also there. Auto headlamps work perfectly too. The car also gets dual zone climate control and 17-inch diamond cut alloy wheels. The rain-sensing wipers are irritating and one of the most useless features that cars nowadays are getting. Honda’s LaneWatch assist is a gem to use in our Indian traffic conditions. All these features were missing in our Honda City Diesel. It also has ABS+EBD, ESP and Hill-Start Assist along with Agile-Handling Assist.

b) Cons:
Although the car has a lot of features, it still misses out on a slew of features that are being offered in cars of lower segments. At this price point, some glaring omissions that Honda has made are: a 360-degree parking camera, electrically adjustable front passenger seat, memory seats for the driver, a better music system, sun-shades for the rear windscreen, wireless charging, Ventilated seats and the list goes on! They could have made the boot a little more practical as well by giving smart cubby spaces and some hooks to hang the bags. It misses out of a cooled glove-box as well. This makes cars like Creta, Seltos, Sonet and Hector look extremely Value for money (and they are actually). In fact, our Hector scores better in practicality and VFM quotient.


6. Safety:
The car has all the safety features that are expected at this price-point, like 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, Stability Control and Agile Handling Assist, hill-start assist, walk-away auto door lock and ISOFIX Child seat mounts on the rear seats. The car has been crash tested globally and it comes as a 5-Star ASEAN NCAP rated vehicle. However, I’m not sure about the build quality of the India-made Civic. But looking at the safety ratings of Honda cars, I’m sure that the India-made Civic is no less.

7. Exterior Styling:

The design department has absolutely nailed the design of the car. It looks sleek, stylish, sporty and is one of the few cars which ‘LOOKS’ fast, although this one sadly, isn’t as fast as it looks.
The car has an A7-like Fastback design. Right from the chunky Honda’s signature Chrome Strip on the front to the futuristic LED headlights (only on the top end variant), it sure is a looker! The car has all-LED lights at the front, along with marker lamps on the side that enhance the car’s looks. The wheels, in my opinion, are okay-looking, and the C shaped taillights, when in action, look sporty. Below are some random shorts that I have taken over time.









8. Quality:
The doors are heavy and have a reassuring feel to it. The paint quality is also good on the car, although it gets scratched easily and the smallest of scratches are visible clearly when looked upon closely (perks of having a red car). The interior’s build quality is right up with the best, the soft-touch plastics feel great and all the switch controls feel really great to operate. The switch controls are of a good quality and the buttons do feel like that of a luxury car when you operate them. There are hardly any visible panel gaps and the quality of materials used everywhere feel impressive, especially after our Honda City. The wiper and indicator stocks too, feel long lasting. The same is the case with the windows and ORVM controls.
In all, the car has a good fit-finish.

9. Interiors:
The interior feels good too. When sitting in the driver’s seat, you feel like the cabin hugs you. The centre console is such that it feels like a cockpit due to its low-slung nature. The leather seats are also of a good quality and the seats feel very comfortable as well. The beige upholstery makes the cabin feel quite airy. The front seats have good side bolstering and have a wide base, with the driver getting an extendable thigh-support, which is of great use. This makes the car very comfortable for long drives. However, it DOES need lumbar adjustment. The dashboard on the other hand is black with a faux metal strip and some brushed aluminum here and there. The touchscreen is small at 7 inches and Honda could have done with a better responsiveness for the screen. The car has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that work fine. The display is nice to look at and the reversing camera has multiple views with adaptive guidelines. Thankfully it gets a few physical controls, along with a knob for controlling the volume. The display for the air conditioning is integrated in the infotainment system itself. Physical buttons are provided for the AC Controls. The Glove box is small and it does not have a cooling function. There is an impressive amount of storage below the glove box and since the car comes equipped with an electronic parking-break, it frees up the space that would have been occupied by a physical handbrake. There is also a small hidden compartment below the gear lever that houses an HDMI port, a USB port and a 12-volt charging socket. A place to keep your mobile phone is also there in front of the gear-lever. The door bins are decent sized and can hold a 1-litre bottle easily. Although that Tupperware water-bottle does not fit in any of the door pockets. The car is quite practical I must say. The boot, however, is small at 430 liters (our city’s boot was larger at 510 liters).
The seatbelt-buckles are thick.

Chunky Seatbelt Buckle





Driver's Seat Electrical Adjustment (including the extendable under-thigh support)




HDMI, USB Port ( for CarPlay and Android Auto ) and 12-V Charging Socket




2nd UBS Port ( For Pen-Drives, not for charging, located under the front-centre armrest)




(above Photo Credits : TEAM-BHP HONDA CIVIC OFFICIAL REVIEW)


Due to the car’s low stance, ingress and egress is a task especially for the older people. I like it a lot however! It does feel more connected to the road and a lot sportier. You drop into the car rather than getting into it. The rear seats are such that it does take some effort to get in and out. The headroom, though limited, is quite adequate even for a six-footer and the leg-space is good too, but feels lesser than the Honda City.

10. Driving Position, feel and MID:
You sit quite low to the ground and the cabin is such that it hugs you. The gear-lever is placed on spot and all the controls fall in hand quite easily as well. The steering wheel is adjustable for both-rake and reach and therefore helps in making the driving position quite comfortable. The driving position does feel sporty. I’m not able to express it in words, you’ll need to sit in one to feel it. The steering wheel is a three-spoke unit and it has contours for your thumbs and has a chunky feel to it. It has some piano black and brushed aluminium trims here and there. The steering feel is just perfect, and it weighs up brilliantly well. You can confidently chuck the car around some good corners and the car will not lose its track. It maintains its line quite well and you won’t be disappointed with the handling of the car. However, such a superb handling machine does beg for a powerful engine. There is a dead pedal as well. The car does have paddle shifters that can be used when in need of some fun! Traction control can be turned off too but it’s of no use as it makes no difference to the driving feel. The bonnet bulges are visible as well.
The MID is all digital 7-inch unit with gauges for the fuel meter and engine temperature. The MID screen gives all the information such as the music which is playing, calling details, reversing sensors (when parking), map-navigation details among others. You can also place a call and set contacts to speed dial, and all such can be done via the MID. There is also an option to hide the tachometer from the MID.


Reversing Sensors in MID

( Photo Credit : TEAM-BHP HONDA CIVIC OFFICIAL REVIEW )


11. Air conditioning:
The car gets a dual-zone climate control and also has vents behind the centre armrest as well (an obvious thing). The controls are not touch thankfully (like our 4th gen city). The cabin is cooled in no time at all but the air vents are quite small. It takes a lot of time to adjust them as per your convenience. The vents in the city were much bigger.

Small AC Vents




Physical AC Controls



( Above 2 Photo Credits : TEAM-BHP HONDA CIVIC OFFICIAL REVIEW )

12. Visibility and Rear-view Mirrors:
The rear-view mirrors are big and look dynamic. The visibility from them is quite good in fact. The left side ORVM houses a camera for the LaneWatch Assist. They also have the auto close function.
The IRVM is auto-dimming and is chunky.
Visibility all around is great. The mirrors work fine and the A-pillar does not have that much of a blind spot. However, due to the raised boot, the visibility from the IRVM is not a lot, but you’ll eventually get used to it.


View from IRVM ( Notice the hump behind the headrests )




Notice the hump




( Above 2 Photo Credits : TEAM-BHP HONDA CIVIC OFFICIAL REVIEW )


13. Audio System and Sound Quality:
There are four speakers and tweeters and they work fine. Nothing exceptional. Honda could have provided branded speakers just like Hyundai and Kia provide Bose systems and MG provides Infinity Audio systems. The speakers in our Hector (Infinity) are a class or two above the Civic and they sound fantastic. And therefore, it makes our Civic’s speakers sound very low (in terms of quality).

14. Noteworthy points about it:
In this era of cost-cutting, one place where Honda has not cut costs thankfully is a good interior-quality. The car does feel expensive and the soft-touch materials add an overall feel to the cabin. Even the auto-dimming IRVM is thick and sturdy. There is insulation provided under the bonnet that helps in keeping the NVH low and make the car more refined. It also has the Auto-hold function, which Honda likes to call ‘Brake Hold’. The marker lamps are provided on the sides, the same ones are offered in cars in USA, and it makes the car look good at night.
We like to keep our cars raw, and therefore we did not have any exterior accessory installed. We did get the Front Parking Sensors installed as a dealer-fitment, but it is of no use as its not at all accurate. I wanted to get a trunk spoiler installed, but my elder brother did not like it so we didn’t get one. This is the one I was talking about. Looks quite sporty!



( Photo Credit : Honda Civic Official Brochure )

The car also gets an illumination in the form of a blue LED, next to the sunroof switch. I still don’t know its purpose

Blue Illumination next to the Sunroof Controls



( Photo Credits : TEAM-BHP HONDA CIVIC OFFICIAL REVIEW )

The car also has double-rubber bedding on all doors, resulting in a lower NVH.




( Photo Credits : TEAM-BHP HONDA CIVIC OFFICIAL REVIEW )

15. Engine Performance and Drivability:
The car comes with a 1.8L Naturally aspirated Petrol engine, with about 140 BHP and 174 NM of Torque. The 10th Gen Facelift that was launched in India was BS-6 Compliant for the Petrol right from day one. It comes equipped with a 7-stepped CVT Transmission with paddle shifters, and therefore, has the rubber-band effect! Personally, I like it as it makes this engine sound a lot sportier. But with family, they will complain for sure due to the noise creeping in from the engine. In fact, due to the CVT, the car has two characteristics, when driven sedately, the engine noise is barely audible inside the cabin, giving you a smooth and silent drive. However, there is considerable amount of tyre-noise that creeps into the cabin. But for the most part, it isn’t bothersome. In fact, when the music is on, you won’t notice any of the tyre noise that much. The wind noise is barely audible in the car. And when driving spiritedly, it sounds quite sporty, but the performance does not match the sporty noise and characteristics of the car. The engine loves to rev though. There is also an ECON mode that dulls down the performance a bit and helps in improving the mileage, although minutely. The paddle-shifters are of plastic but they do feel robust and good to use. There is no lag from the paddles when using them in Sport Mode. The car does not feel underpowered but you do get caught in the moment. There is a flat-spot in the power-band below 3,000 RPM but that is overcome soon by the rubber-band effect of the gearbox.

City: The power feels adequate enough for the city. The CVT, coupled with the silent i-VTEC motor makes driving in the city butter-smooth and refined. There is enough power to get you going and the engine feels relaxed for the most part. However, when you want to make a quick overtake, then you do feel the rubber-band effect and for the most part you do have to go full on the throttle. Basically, to make a sudden overtake, it’s advisable to use paddle-shifters and the car needs to be driven in a planned manner, the reason being the annoying CVT. Once, when the car was fully loaded with 5 passengers, and 4 of them being quite heavy, the car in ‘D’ mode felt lethargic, and therefore, I had to press the throttle quite heavily or as an alternative, use the Sport Mode. For the fuel efficiency aspect, with the ECON-Mode on, I receive around 8-9KMPL in the city during summers (with the AC on) and about 9-9.7KMPL in the city during the winters. We haven’t taken the car on the highway yet (and we do not intend to take it in the future as well) so I won’t comment on the Fuel Efficiency during a highway run.

Highway: As the highways around Jamshedpur are pretty bad and always under construction (Google about NH-33 and you’ll know), so we never take our sedans out on the highways. A car with a higher ground-clearance is advised on this highway. Thankfully, this time the highway is being built properly and I do hope to take it on a long-distance journey soon. The civic will surely feel quite comfortable on the highways. The car remains glued to the road and is stable at higher speeds. The CVT helps the car to cruise in a relaxed manner, but for sudden overtakes, you will need to plan them.

JUST A RANDOM SHOT OF HOW LITTLE SPACE I LEAVE WHILE PARKING THE CIVIC (THE REASON BEING THAT WE HAVE OUR OTHER CAR PARKED PARALLELY)








16. Suspension, ride and handling:
The car has a low centre of gravity which seems to work in its favour. The car has the best ride and handling in the segment I believe. The body role is minimal and its low and cockpit style seating position lends it a sporty driving position. The suspension is on-point, stiff yet comfortable. Even at triple-digit speeds, the car is stable and well-maintained. Show the car some serious corners and you will not be disappointed by its handling, although you will be disappointed by the power that is on offer, or rather the gearbox that ruins the whole experience. Straight-line stability is outstanding and the body roll is really well-maintained. The car is agile and the steering is sharp.
The car has all-wheel disc brakes and the brakes perform really well. The pedal bite is strong and the brakes feel assured and confidence-inspiring. The car will stop dead in its track when you brake hard.


In comparison, our Hector has a soft suspension due to which it bounces on vertical undulations, which is quite disturbing. No such issues with the civic.

17. Tyres and GC:
The ZX variant comes equipped with 215/50, 17-inch tyres. The ground clearance is 171mm (Unladen) and like the 8th gen civic, this one does not scrape its belly everywhere, even with full load.

18. Some Likes and Dislikes:
Likes: First of all, the LOOKS. You can’t get over the looks of the car. The car gets full-led headlights. The front indicators look good particularly. The headlights and fog-lights are strong and offer good throw at night. However, you do not feel them when a car equipped with regular halogens is coming from the opposite direction. The head-position throws light far away and it lights up a dark road completely. When driving through foggy conditions, you can see the Blue tint through the fog when the lights are in head position, that looks good to me.

LED Indicators




Tail Lamps in action




Side marker lamps



( Above Photo Credits : TEAM-BHP HONDA CIVIC OFFICIAL REVIEW )

LED Headlights




The wipers are flat-blades and do clean the windshield nicely. The spray is also strong. Unlike most cars, the water is sprayed onto the entire windscreen and not like the 4/6 jets that usually come from entry level cars.
Honda’s Lane-Watch Assist acts as a gem in our Indian traffic conditions.

Dislikes: People who are not used to low-slung cars will always remind you how low the car is and how hard it is for them to get in and out. This gets irritating over time. Also, a lot more features could have been offered at this price-point. Some of them are 360 Degree cameras, ventilated seats, driver-seat memory, electrically adjustable passenger seat, a cooled glove-box, connected car tech and a better sounding audio system. The stock ones are not bad but listen to the Bose system available in the Koreans or the Infinity System available in the Hector and you’ll know the difference. All these features are offered in a lot of cars in lower segments. An honourable mention here would-be LUMBAR ADJUSTMENT for the driver. Trust me, the car seriously needs. Also, the sunroof is useless and if I had an option to remove it, I would have done that.
One last thing I would like to mention as a dislike is body noise. With time, they are increasing and the service centre is absolutely useless in solving them. Some noise is coming from the dashboard or the neighbouring area, then some noise is coming from the rear-seats. A vibrating noise is coming from behind the steering wheel as well.

To conclude, Civic is a car which you buy from your Heart and not your mind! It has that special feeling, the one you get in a CR-V and a Honda City, that “Honda Waali Feeling”, and it makes you happy every time you think of it. The car has a soul, a charm to it. The cars such as the Civic, Corolla, Octavia, Accord and CR-V have become a brand in itself, or I would rather say that such cars give their brands the recognition. And not to forget that the Civic and Corolla are one of the highest-selling cars in the world. But it is sad to see the Civic, CR-V and Accord getting discontinued multiple times in the country. I really hope they bring in the next generation of all these cars to India soon!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Your car will go to our homepage today

[WhiteKnight]

Beautiful car, victim of "aya ram gaya ram" policy of Honda. A simple flip of diesel auto and petrol manual could have helped a bit at least by the Honda loyalists opting in.

Also surprised by the low fuel efficiency. Is your travel limited to less than 10kms on a go? From my experience, higher capacity engines seem to prefer longer drives, even in city.

[Srini76]

Lovely car and Lovely writeup dude - wishing you many happy and safe miles with her !

just to answer one query about the blue light you asked for - it illuminates the opposite of where it is and lights up near the gear know area - I know it rather sounds silly but i actually tried it - on my CRV in Bahrain this was there (in white I think and had the same query then) and covering it actually made a big difference - try it to see the impact just mild tape it kinds.

I have to concede thought brilliantly thoughtful touch that - Totally non intrusive but does a fab job !

Too Sad that the civic is is off limits now - too good a car to plugged out !

Srini

[coolmel]

Great car sadly done in by the rigid Japanese. A little bit of listening would have ensured they go a long way but sigh! You have a limited edition mate, take good care of her.

[andafunda]

Very good review, @NarediAni7518. Congratulations on the car, it is truly a head turner!

I also bought the Civic ZX CVT in the same colour in Oct 2020. You can read my experience here (Honda Civic : Official Review).

For some of the cons you called out:

1. Wireless Charger

I got mine from China and it works really well. Unfortunately can't buy on AliExpress anymore but you can try your luck on eBay. Make sure the charger you get it for "right hand drive or RHD".

This is my wireless charger in action under the non-slip mat (you can buy the Civic specific mats on Amazon):



The vendor had initially shipped me the wrong wireless charger (for left hand drive) - the notch is the other way around:



2. Connected Car Tech

I think a third-party solution is always better than OEM solutions here. I don't trust what an OEM can do with getting real time info on my car. Can they dishonor warranty? What if they get hacked? Anyways, the only useful features in my opinion are: (1) live car tracking / geofencing / speed tracking. (2) TPMS

You have two options available for tracking:

(a) Get an OBD based solution - either Honda Connect (not recommended at all by a senior sales person at Honda) or third-party via Amazon (Autowiz etc etc)

(b) Non-OBD based portable GPS tracker - Amazon has one with 10000 mAh battery backup by Onelap. This has worked fine for me - I have put the tracker in the boot of the car - comes with rubber stoppers and magnets so it doesn't move around.

For TPMS, just get Sensairy sensors + app.

Here is the connected car setup on my phone:

[Vipin Kumar]

Very beautiful car! But sadly, no longer available in India. I had a doubt about the continuation of Civic diesel in India, but the Hondas have stopped selling Civic altogether in India, after re-launching it here after a generation's time.

But you will enjoy having a rare car, a special one. These days, Indian cutomers are getting more and more opportunities to have limited number cars -- like Skoda's certain Octavias and Karoqs.

[NarediAni7518]

Yes, it is less than 10 kms on a go for about 80% of the times and that too most of it is in the city, so a bit of traffic is always there.

Yes dude I did go through your review and it was an awesome one ! Thanks for telling me about the wireless charger and connected car app, will try them for sure.

Yes dude, it is rare, especially here in Jamshedpur and definitely very special to me ! We have had the car since May 2019 and till date it turns heads everytime I take it outside

[landcruiser123]

Hi NarediAni7518,
Congrats on the Civic. Wish you years of happy motoring.

I just had one question: As someone who has extensively experienced both the City & the Civic, which cars backseat would you (or your passengers) rate higher?

Thanks
LC 123

[vikramvicky1984]

Originally Posted by NarediAni7518

Yes, it is less than 10 kms on a go for about 80% of the times and that too most of it is in the city, so a bit of traffic is always there.

Yes dude I did go through your review and it was an awesome one ! Thanks for telling me about the wireless charger and connected car app, will try them for sure.

Yes dude, it is rare, especially here in Jamshedpur and definitely very special to me ! We have had the car since May 2019 and till date it turns heads everytime I take it outside

Thanks for the detailed review. I think its the first review on the forum from jamshedpur.
Civic indeed is a head turner, especially in jamshedpur. I dont think many sold here.
Look forward to future updates in the lovely car.

[NarediAni7518]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Hi NarediAni7518,
Congrats on the Civic. Wish you years of happy motoring.

I just had one question: As someone who has extensively experienced both the City & the Civic, which cars backseat would you (or your passengers) rate higher?

Thanks
LC 123

The city somehow feels more spacious and also it’s much more easier to get into and out of the city’s backseat. The city’s ride, however, is bumpy and high speed stability is not that great (4th gen diesel one ) due to multiple reasons, one of them being the tyres. It stays true to its name, only for city driving . The Civic, on the other hand, is spacious, but quite a task to get in and out . It has the better seat contouring, cushioning, under-thigh support and base is much better in comparison. Also, high speed stability is excellent and the ride isn’t bumpy. It is more planted and you will feel that you’re sitting in a C-Class for sure, not the case with our city.

But everyone else in my family prefers the Honda city over the civic in terms of ingress and egress. Not a single time have they forgotten to remind me of the car being too low for them. I prefer the civic though.

[Kochikaran]

I too own this beast. Sad to know after few months of my purchase, Honda discontinued the car.

[Jazzwithme]

Originally Posted by andafunda

You have two options available for tracking:
Here is the connected car setup on my phone:

Is Honda Connect available for Civic. I would be interested in same, but Dealership in Noida informed me that it’s not available. Can you please share some insights on this please?

[07CR]

This is a great car, which Honda should not have discontinued IMO. Hope you hold onto it for long.

I had one query, if you could help me with. The Brochure mentions that the civic got the ambient lights. But neither the T Bhp review, nor any other Journo have mentioned it. If you explain a bit on this, alongwith pictures, it would be great.

TIA.

[NarediAni7518]

No, the car is not equipped with Ambient Lights. I guess they call the small blue light near the sunroof controls as the ambient light.