My preowned Honda Civic at 16 years & 1 lakh kms: How its going so far

On highways, driving this machine is a fantastic experience. You cover large distances very quickly, you are relaxed and happy.

BHPian tri_life recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

My Civic hits the 100,000 mark and is now 16 years old

Alright, so here is the long-due ownership update of my Civic. In short, I have a great deal of love and admiration for this car, and I have thoroughly enjoyed these nearly two years of ownership. I recently hit 100,000 kms on the odometer, and I have driven 17,000 of those kilometers.

In this update, I will go through some minor replacements that I have done and will go into more detail about my experience of living with the car.

The usual wear and tear replacements:

• Wheel bearings - One day, I heard a persistent humming sound at high speeds, which upon inspection by FNG was attributed to worn-out bearings
• Brake Disc resurfacing - While replacing the wheel bearings, FNG advised to get this done, I agree.
• Battery - ~6-year-old battery, ignition was taking that fraction of a second longer
• A radiator fan - The folks at Honda identified that a radiator fan had stopped working. I got it replaced at an FNG.
• Wheel balancing, alignment, and rotation
• Front windshield and wipers - The old one had deep grooves due to hardened wipers. This replacement resulted in better visibility, especially on those dark nights with oncoming glaring headlights

Double RogerAbs:

The first one is an absolute necessity and the second one is primarily for aesthetics.

Last year I installed RogerAbs after experiencing the ultra-soft rear suspension, and though it greatly helped crossing the nasty speedbreakers without scraping, the car still looked a bit saggy when loaded up. Hence one day I researched/consulted the safety aspect and then installed another pair of RogerAbs.

Now the car looks properly flat and flush when there are 4 total passengers in the car. Both the front and the rear suspension depresses by approximately equal amount preventing the rear from sagging. However, in a rare scenario of 5 passengers being present, the rear does appear to be a bit sagged, however, at no point does the wheel arch cover the tire which is still acceptable.

I expected the ride quality to struggle especially in the rear, but honestly, it feels quite lovely at the back even on the bad and broken surfaces of city roads. Properly comfortable, quiet, and cushy, a great place to be. In the city, I am more than happy to hand over the keys when someone trustworthy wants to drive the car. The car feels so much better on the highway undulations and that rear feels more planted.

Living with the Civic:

This car has been a fantastic companion on all those weekend adventures, long drives, hospital runs, and everything else. It has performed admirably, chugging miles, and keeping you comfortable, safe and happy. Not once it has it given any sort of a mechanical problem. Throughout its ownership so far, it has been well cared for, parked in an underground parking, cleaned regularly and I have immediately consulted my FNG in case of any unnatural sounds, and have got that fixed soon if applicable. It has also been driven hard, redlined regularly, and driven to any place I want to without much care. There have been instances where my non-car friends/acquaintances have been visibly shocked to learn that the car is now 16 years old and not new/few years old as they thought. Not making that up I promise!

This is a car that you genuinely miss, for example when you’re away for a week or two. Even after nearly two years of ownership, every time I approach the car it is just a special experience and one that I find myself looking forward to. The driver’s seat is a very inviting place, and the cockpit cocoons you very nicely. I like the warm interior and the plentiful lights inside, and it's especially comforting when you get in the car on a dark cold night in the middle of nowhere.

There is a great deal of love for this car among my friends and family.
Heck, I even had my younger brothers and sisters practice on this car as they were prepping for their driver’s license test. It is intimidating for new drivers but is incredibly cool once you get it right.

Design:

This car looks incredibly cool. The design is just timeless and there is no overcompensation or busyness in styling. It is just clean, classy, and timeless lines, shapes, and proportions. As the novelty of a car wears out, the fundamentals stand out. My decision to get a ceramic coating done was an excellent one as for a reasonable cost, your car’s paint is going to gleam very nicely for ~3-4 years! And even when it's dirty, you can't make that out from a distance, heck in a lot of these pictures, the car is quite dirty upon closer inspection. Plus you don’t need to use the wiper that much during rains as water just flows away, or forms spaced-out water beads that do not obstruct the view.

Cockpit Feel:

I have really grown to appreciate the driving position in this car. I like the seat to be at its lowest and have a fair bit of lean on the backrest. The result? It feels as if you are just lounging on a comfy and snug sofa as you sit in the driving position. The view is pretty great! The central and the door armrest come together and create a very nice and cozy space for your arms to rest. And at the top, it is very spacious. The driver and the front passenger have excellent headroom. The horizontal distance between your toes and your head is a lot. The plentiful space is aided by the dashboard that extends so far away.

Driving Experience:

On highways, driving this machine is a fantastic experience. You cover large distances very quickly, you are relaxed and happy. This is where the car truly shines and honestly, you never wish you were in anything else apart from this. You can do incredibly high speeds in this car and the car will be perfectly stable. The passengers won’t even notice and probably will be dozing off in the backseat. The short 5th gear though is a limiting factor for high-speed cruising and leads to slightly worse fuel efficiency as the engine is spinning at 3100 RPM at 120 km/h. This is really a shame as less powerful petrol cars have taller top gear. There is no vibration or harshness at speeds, but wind and tire noise is present. I am considering aftermarket sound deadening for that super quiet highway cruising.

I use passing lights when overtaking potentially wayward vehicles and the powerful LEDs do a fantastic job at indicating your presence to these vehicles. The upgraded headlights that make night driving so much easier have been a top-tier investment. You can safely maintain triple-digit speeds at night.

It performs surprisingly well on undulating backroads as well. The seats support you nicely and the car hugs the tarmac and you feel the car moving a bit with the road, but you are perfectly in control and secure. One time as we were returning from a little hike, I found my brothers had dozed off as I was making quick progress on the Tamhini ghat, attacking corners and often redlining second gear on the straights.

Now (thankfully) I do not have to deal with daily traffic commutes, but the car is perfectly fine in the city. I do chauffeur around my grandparents inside the city sometimes and they like the ride and plentiful space. Almost all speedbreakers are reliably crossed at 12 km/h idling in second gear with up to 3 people without any issue. For those massive unscientific humps and rarely when there are 4-5 people, I need to use the slow-angled approach. Double RogerAbs has been a good decision. The car is a bit jerky in first gear and the crawling traffic situation is bothersome, especially when uphill. Folks who are not used to this car find it a bit challenging in the city due to its clutch bite point and may rev unnecessarily. When changing gears in the city, you need precise and gentle movements otherwise it can feel a bit jerky. I feel like I have come a long way and mastered the precise and smooth gearshift and start so the car feels incredibly smooth and composed in urban settings.

The car also feels surprisingly chuckable in the city and you often find yourself making quicker progress than the traffic. I rarely feel wronged, having to yield unfairly, or being cut off repeatedly in the city as sedan owners may do. I find the assertive, alert, and fair driving style works great for me. Good horn and strong LEDs help in sticky situations.

Being Driven:

Rarely do I find myself in the position to enjoy the back seat, and I am quite happy to do so when I get the chance. The backseat of this car is quite the treat. The softer suspension aids comfort, even after a couple of rogerAbs. The seats are bolstered quite nicely. When you are alone in the back, you can take up the entire seat and lean against the door and seat corner. I have had situations when I had to use my laptop on the move and it is very usable and you do get in the flow state and forget you are in a car. I have been uncomfortable doing so in other cars.

Coming to the negatives, the seat height is on the lower side, so you do need to extend your legs. Under thigh support is a bit lacking. The headroom at the back when sitting straight is not as good as the front. I am 5’10 and I am perfectly fine, but 6’0+ folks may start having issues. But usually, you sit with a little more lean so you get that extra space. Further, the height of the seat from the floor is inadequate often leading to knees up sitting position for taller folks. Under-thigh support is unsatisfactory. You usually need to bury your feet under the front seat.

But all that doesn’t take away much from the fact that it is a fun car to ride in, and especially in city traffic I envy my passengers.

The front seat offers excellent headroom and a feeling of supreme airiness thanks to the massive glass surface area.

Fuel Economy:

Usually, for outstation trips, I would get ~15 km/l with little city traffic and highways, when driven sanely. Such drives comprise of cruising at a touch above 100, spending some time behind slow vehicles trying to overtake each other - blocking the lanes in the process, making some quick 2nd gear overtakes, redlining off toll booths a few times but being smooth overall, minimal braking and maintaining sufficient distance from the car in front.

Once I travelled on Samruddhi Mahamarg where my average GPS speed was precisely 120 km/h including a little. For those ~800 kms, I got a fuel economy of 14 km/l.

In the city, the mileage hovers around 9 km/l.

I use the SBI Octane card for 6.25% off on fuel purchases, essentially bettering the fuel economy by a further 6.25%

Ground Clearance:

This is always a concern for Civic, but those double RogerAbs help plenty. It behaves more like a standard sedan, or slightly better now. I make it a rule to not have more than 4 people and luggage in the car. It does take a bit to explain that yes, this big car can only carry 4 people, the ground clearance being the limiting factor. I do this for peace of mind, so that I can drive without caring too much about these massive and sharp humps and to completely rule out the possibility of that ugly screech for it has the ability to spoil my mood for a solid hour and introduce this feeling of insecurity in passengers.

However, I have done trips with 5 folks onboard without any scraping, or excessive sagging. That does need a bit more care.

This is the aspect where I envy the CSUVs where you can put even 6 people and luggage and give zero thought to these massive humps.

Closing thoughts:

I am looking to retain this car for as long as possible, and even when it is beyond being road-worthy, I would like to repurpose it somehow. Please enjoy the plentiful random shots that I have taken of my Civic as I linger around after parking it.

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