Civic EX? Fire away...

Allright, my wife read in Consumer Reports that they picked the Civic EX over the P5 so we went and test drove it tonight. Now I have to come up will all this justification why the P5 is better (remember, with wives it is "but it's cuter" or "it looks more sophisticated") Comparing torque and displacement is the same as turning her around and talking to the back of her head (Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly and would gladly back my truck over anyone who disrespects her). I need some backup here, because on paper, it's a give and take between the two.
Just FYI...
Civic EX (Pros)
127 HP
114 ftlbs torque (is a 20 ftlbs difference significant?)
54% 3 year depreciation
41% 6 year depriciation
32/37mpg
Standard ABS
"Anti Theft"
"Anti-Stereo Theft"
Lighter curb weight
Micron Air Filtration(this is precious. My wife says, "That will help my allergies!")
Standard Moon Roof

We were in exactly the same situation.

My wife and I were down to the PR5 and a Civic EX 4-door. Our families have owned or leased 12 Hondas in the past 9 years. My wife and I have personally owned or leased 4.

After test driving both cars, she picked the PR5 because, in her words, "the car is just different." She liked it specifically because of the styling, utility, fun-to-drive factor and interior ergonomics over the Civic. Yeah, the Civic was quieter and got better gas mileage, but the PR5 had so many qualities that the Civic would never have.

Also, there was a landmark small car comparison a couple of years ago in a car mag that stuck in our minds. I think it was in Car and Driver, but I cannot remember. The Protege ES beat everything including the Honda Civic. That really caught our attention and was one of the reasons we kept that car in the backs of our minds.

My biggest argument would be the utility of the vehicle. The hatch is a really great feature! I have nothing against Civics, they are great cars... but for my self, it would simply be a styling and performance issue. I like the P5 over a Civi any day.

Yeah, I was drawn to the P5 by it's styling, 100%. I personally don't like the look of a small sedan (i.e.: Civic, Sentra, and yes, even Protege, MP3 or not). It's just a preference of mine. I do like bigger sedans, like Accords, Acura TL, or BMW. But my Civic coupe was just too small, and I needed 4 doors. So I saw the Protege5 and dove right in!. I don't have a ton of experience with the new Civic, but in comparo with a little older, I had a '95. Here's my comparison, put it up against Comsumer Reports anytime:

Power: There's alot of complaints that the P5 is too slow, but mostly from younger drivers and performance mags. Actually in stock form, the P5 feels a little better, most likely the 20 extra pounds of torque. winner: P5

Suspension: On my Civic, it had the double-wishbone independent super duper setup, stock. The P5 uses struts, and still manages very nice control and handling. The new Civic also uses struts, but I've not tossed one around to compare it to the Protege. So I'll compare it to mine, handling is a tad better (in stock form) on the P5, but the Civic rode smoother over rough terrain (I-5 in south King County!) I'll call it a tie.

Interior: Definitely like the P5 styling better. A little more cutting edge without being too gaudy.

Exterior: do you have to ask?

Quality: this is where the table starts to turn. I've voiced some concern to my dealer about certain quality issues. Things like shaking when it's cold, rattling sound from the engine. There seems to be a lot of small quality control issues for a new car that I didn't have with my Civic. I'm gonna vote Honda on this one.

Service: Again, I always felt comfortable at the Honda service dept. Any issues were always met with some kind of solution, and mostly handled very easily. Example: at 30,000 miles, my brakes were making constant squealing, like they had worn out, only it never quit. Always squeaked when driving, braking, basically anytime the car was rolling. So I went to the dealer and was expecting to pay for a brake job, but they told me my pads had cracked somehow, and they would fix them under warranty !! My Mazda dealership looks like a bunch of Gomers, and had to ask me 3 times about wiring under the seat (amplifier pre-wiring) when dealing with a heater switch issue. What the hell? Definite winner: Honda.

So draw your own conclusion. I've never regretted once changing from Honda. I just wish I could take it there for service!

Well, I'm glad to know that this is not such a black and white decision. Gene, all those reasons you mentioned for going with the P5 are my reasons too. I can't really think of any others. The biggest advantage would have to be the utility. Having a hatchback would make long trips and hauling dogs, groceries, etc so much easier. Sttl013, I can vouge for the suspension on the Civic. I whipped it around quite a bit during the test drive and the body roll was minimal. I can't remember well enough if the P5 was significantly better. The weight distribution is nearly equal between the two (Civic 60/40, P5 62/38) so I imagine the cornering is similar as well. I dunno. It's probably a good thing. With two cars that we would be happy with, it's going to come down to who can make us the better deal. Let the competition of the dealerships begin!
Also, I failed to mention the amount of aftermarket support for the Civic versus our P5s :smirk:

So far, we have no regrets.

Good point about the reliability. We are spoiled because of our past experience with Honda - I hope the PR5 will have the same reliability record.

Just remember to take that rack off on long trips - it makes a world of difference.

Take it from someone that just sold a 99 civic to get a MP5. The MP5 is a much more solid vehicle, just by slamming the doors on the two, you can see which car is built better (MP5). The utility factor is so great on the MP5 too, I fit two recliners in the back of mine (with the backs off them of course). The power band is much better, the torque makes a HUGE difference, it looks better, handles MUCH better, breaks are MUCH better, A/C and Heat both rock, stock stereo is much better. Oh, and the best thing is you don't see 1000 of them on every street corner, you actually have a head turner that looks beautiful bone stock!

Good luck, I owned 3 Acura's and a civic before this and I think it is built much better (except my legend, that car was sweet).

My vote is with the MP5, tell your wife that she needs to get allergy medicine if her allergies act up, the "micron air filtration" can't make that BIG a difference.

Absolutely...

That's exactly what I was expecting to hear, Double D. I think they made some significant improvements to the latest Civic, but I counted 5 civics today on the way to the Mazda dealership. As far as my wife's allergies, I was thinking about installing an air filter at the a/c intake wherever that is located. Or at least install it somewhere that would allow it to pull dust from the air (or at least let my wife think it is ) Any suggestions?

By the way, I find out tomorrow which dealership I will be getting our silver P5 from. Their competing for better interest rates (tee hee) and to top it all, I'm on the S-plan! God bless America!

I am not sure if this crazy thing will work, but you never know...



Ionic Breeze auto air purifier and ionizer cleans and freshens the air inside your car. Helps clear air of pollutants such as smog, exhaust, tobacco smoke and dust. Within minutes, you'll feel more comfortable. Blinking red LEDs simulate a car alarm when parked.

http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/productview.jhtml?pid=173800&pcatid=1&catid=101

We were also in the same position in January. Civic VS P5.

We had both owned Civics and loved them to death. No Doubt Honda makes a great car.

We chose the P5 because:
available moon roof (in canada we can only get a moonroof on the 2-door civic)
Utility...the civic trunk is just too small. I love the P5's room. with the back seats down I got a big computer table in the back (with the hatch closed!)
Nice styling.
Solidness.

Our only resevations was that we didn't know the Mazda's reliability...but we figured it's japanese, and it must be as good, or at least almost as good as the civic.

We haven't regretted our decision once. I love the P5.

woohoo!

thanks gene! My problems are solved. You know, I wanted to get an alarm, but with not one, BUT TWO blinking lights on that air filtration system I won't have to!
I might try something like that, but I was hoping for something a little cheaper (3 or 4 bucks for a square of foam) just to appease the wife.
Her and I spent the whole day yesterday trying to negotiatie a deal on our lease trade-in with two different dealerships. We're pretty much set on getting the P5. The civic is only an option if the salesman at mazda gives us the finger.

well here is an option....always keep the A/C on recirc! never suck in any outside air!and put a little filter thing on the intake INSIDE the car.... lol... at least during algery season.

styling styling styling....I have only seen 5 P-5's in our entire county....its a rural area...but I do live in the county seat...the biggest town in the county...its about 19K....and of the 5 P-5's in town...I own two of them. Its a head turner.....and gets LOTS of looks.

Hey dude,
I have personal insight on this issue....the picture attached is my wife's '01 Civic EX.....I drive it alot and of course I drive my P5 daily. Both are great cars and you can't beat a Honda for reliability and depreciation. However on the "fun to drive" scale the P5 wins hands-down. My wifes car has the VTEC motor and sure it's pretty peppy but you have to rev the hell out of the motor to get it to kick in, something my wife doesn't do. She doesn't like having to rev the car to 6-8k to accelerate quickly and I don't blame her. Also the handling is far superior in the P5. The old Civic's had the double-wishbone that was awesome but the new ones don't. I have her car lowered with Neuspeed springs and 18" rims and my car still handles better with my stock setup, alot better! That's my humble opinion...good luck with your decision...

Sir Nuke, hey you're not far off from what I was thinking!
here in Phoenix, it's always either too hot or too polluted to turn off recirc anyway. So I really was wanting to install some sort of filter on the interior intake to pull some of the dust out of the air and to give my wife piece of mind. (Plus, I would totally score "He really loves me!" points)
Since we don't have our P5 yet, I was hoping one of the fantastic and ingenious owners on this board would be able to tell me if it looks easily achievable.
Thanks guys (and girls?)

When considering what car I would be buying I looked at the Civic. Most of my time driving has been behind the wheel of a Civic. The main reason I did not consider the Civic Ex for long was the brakes. The Civic has front disc/rear drum and 2 wheel ABS. This is not the safest brake set up. Two wheels locking up is not much better than all 4. In dry conditions the rear wheel lockup will not be too bad since they will be dragging and will not swing the rear of the car around. But in wet conditions if the rear wheels lock the rear is much more likely to slide. This is the nice thing about 4 wheel disc & 4 wheel ABS. You have greater stopping power and less problems with lost traction due to wheel lockups.
Plus the MP5 is just cooler.
Good luck shopping for your new car.=)