Looking for new car, Civic 1.4 or 1.6?
Discussion
I'm looking for a new car for early summer this year. I keep finding my self come back to a Civic Hatchback(2001 - 2003). I'm debating between the 3 door and 5 door, and 1.4 and 1.6. I want to spend around £2000 ideally.
obviously the 1.6 has more power but will cost little under £2000 to insure, as to the £1700 - £1600 of a 1.4 (20 year old newish driver here).
Is that extra power worth it?
Also I prefer the look of the 3 door, but the 5 door is more practical to me.
Any civic owners out there can throw some advice my way Please
Info: I'm In the UK.
obviously the 1.6 has more power but will cost little under £2000 to insure, as to the £1700 - £1600 of a 1.4 (20 year old newish driver here).
Is that extra power worth it?
Also I prefer the look of the 3 door, but the 5 door is more practical to me.
Any civic owners out there can throw some advice my way Please
Info: I'm In the UK.
My Mrs had one, it was dull, very dull. So to be honest the 1.6 won't set your world alight, so you might as well go for the 1.4 and just enjoy the fact that it'll be cheaper to insure and faster (just) than walking.
Other than that, she put about 80k on hers and it was a trusty little steed. The 3 door is certainly better looking than the 5 door, and unless you have kids I'd go for the 3 door if I was you.
Other than that, she put about 80k on hers and it was a trusty little steed. The 3 door is certainly better looking than the 5 door, and unless you have kids I'd go for the 3 door if I was you.
To be honest, I can't see the point in spending that sort of money to insure a Civic. A Fiesta should be as reliable and there or thereabouts in terms of 'performance'. Give it time, get some no claims going then get something a little more fun. The Civic isn't a fun car with that sort of spec (and to be honest I wasn't a fan of the Type R either)
Agree with all of the above. I'm a massive Honda fan but couldn't begin to recommend one of these cars. Dull engine, dull drive, dull image, interior isn't a particularly nice place to be, (functional, sure).
You'll be paying out a lot of money for nothing more exciting than a flannel
You'll be paying out a lot of money for nothing more exciting than a flannel
I'm trading in my 1.4 2002 Civic (first car) this Friday. It's been really reliable and hasnt missed a beat in my 2 years of ownership.
Mate has the 1.6 and it is noticably quicker, the 1.4 is 20 hp down on it and it shows.
His is the 5 door and mines the 3, 3 looks much better, and at 20 how practical a car do you need?
Mate has the 1.6 and it is noticably quicker, the 1.4 is 20 hp down on it and it shows.
His is the 5 door and mines the 3, 3 looks much better, and at 20 how practical a car do you need?
If it has to be a hatchback of this size I'd be looking at a Focus. Go for the 1.6 if you can afford it though. I always think you should always go for the biggest engine you can afford or otherwise you just always regret it.
Plus often I find the least powerful engine choice is around the same as the next one up in terms of fuel economy. The reason for which a smaller engine has to be pushed harder.
Plus often I find the least powerful engine choice is around the same as the next one up in terms of fuel economy. The reason for which a smaller engine has to be pushed harder.
DanielC4GP said:
Plus often I find the least powerful engine choice is around the same as the next one up in terms of fuel economy. The reason for which a smaller engine has to be pushed harder.
I'd agree with this, my 1.4's getting mid 30s mpg as it sees 5k rpm regularly to keep up with traffic.I've had the previous generation Civic to the one you are looking at for coming up to 10 years. It has been a brilliant car to own. It gets maintained properly, but driven "enthusiasticly" at times and it is staggeringly reliable.
Mine is the 1.4 and with hindsight I should have bought the 1.6 for a few hundred more, but the writing was on the wall for car based tax back then so I bought the smaller engined car. Driven equally the 1.6 might get you better MPG's BUT the 1.6 has more horses and if you use the extra horses, they will need feeding, so it will use more juice. End of.
Mine is no ball of fire, but will cruise at a lepton (on private roads) all day long once she has been stoked up.
I have had a new EP2 1.4 3dr auto as a courtesy car way back when and I liked it, but it could have done with a bit more grunt, but it seemed quicker than mine. The 2.0 Type S was my sort of car, fairly quick and nicely anonymous, but was plenty thirsty for me. The 1.6 would be a decent compromise.
I've not driven a Focus, but would guess if you want a more driver oriented car then you might be happier with that. But the Civic would more than make up for it in ease of ownership. I doubt if the insurance would be much different for the Ford.
When people say they are dull, that is good. Dull is putting the key in the ignition and it starting. Dull is after 13 years everything still works. I like that sort of dull.
Mine is the 1.4 and with hindsight I should have bought the 1.6 for a few hundred more, but the writing was on the wall for car based tax back then so I bought the smaller engined car. Driven equally the 1.6 might get you better MPG's BUT the 1.6 has more horses and if you use the extra horses, they will need feeding, so it will use more juice. End of.
Mine is no ball of fire, but will cruise at a lepton (on private roads) all day long once she has been stoked up.
I have had a new EP2 1.4 3dr auto as a courtesy car way back when and I liked it, but it could have done with a bit more grunt, but it seemed quicker than mine. The 2.0 Type S was my sort of car, fairly quick and nicely anonymous, but was plenty thirsty for me. The 1.6 would be a decent compromise.
I've not driven a Focus, but would guess if you want a more driver oriented car then you might be happier with that. But the Civic would more than make up for it in ease of ownership. I doubt if the insurance would be much different for the Ford.
When people say they are dull, that is good. Dull is putting the key in the ignition and it starting. Dull is after 13 years everything still works. I like that sort of dull.
DanielC4GP said:
If it has to be a hatchback of this size I'd be looking at a Focus. Go for the 1.6 if you can afford it though. I always think you should always go for the biggest engine you can afford or otherwise you just always regret it.
Plus often I find the least powerful engine choice is around the same as the next one up in terms of fuel economy. The reason for which a smaller engine has to be pushed harder.
I'd second this.Plus often I find the least powerful engine choice is around the same as the next one up in terms of fuel economy. The reason for which a smaller engine has to be pushed harder.
I'm 20 and was in a similar situation to the OP. I considered a Civic but ended up with a 1.6 Focus.
The 1.6 was only an extra £50 a year over the 1.4 to insure, before a big jump (~£400 IIRC) to a 1.8/2.0. There were also a lot more 1.6s about and it's reasonably nippy.
I picked up a 2003 5 door Ghia for £1300. For £2000 you'd get a nice 3 door.
We had a 2002 1.6 Ghia in the family for 7 years (bought 3 yars old). In that time the only thing it needed was an alternator belt.
The only fault I had with it was that rust started to appear on the tailgate around the chrome (plastic on lower spec models) that's above the number plate. Was quoted £600 by a repair shop to get it sorted.
Very nice car to drive and live with and being the Ghia it had all the mod cons and even had the optional heated leather seats.
Quick clear front screen was great for this time of year and it's probably the thing I miss most about it.
The only fault I had with it was that rust started to appear on the tailgate around the chrome (plastic on lower spec models) that's above the number plate. Was quoted £600 by a repair shop to get it sorted.
Very nice car to drive and live with and being the Ghia it had all the mod cons and even had the optional heated leather seats.
Quick clear front screen was great for this time of year and it's probably the thing I miss most about it.
We've had a 2002 1.4 Civic from new, it's now done 130k and in that time the only issue we've had was that as a new model it required an ECU software update from Honda in the first month of ownership.
They are much faster than the 1.4 engine would suggest as they're so revvy and eager, although with the high sided body and relatively high driving seat they're not great round corners as they lean quite a bit (or at least feel like they're leaning) and crosswinds make it wobble around a fair bit. I've driven a 1.6 auto a fair bit and it feels slow and ponderous in comparison and fuel consumption is much worse, so I'd certainly avoid the auto and go for a manual.
The only repairs that I can remember (bar the usual maintenance of oil / filters / brakes etc..) have been 2 new antirollbar droplinks at the front.
The load bay in the rear is enormous and very wide with none of the shaped plastic bits that seem to intrude into the load space of other cars we've had.
Overall it's a superb car and even if the engine explodes tomorrow I would happily get another, but it really is just a car and not a thing for fun, like having a really reliable washing machine (if only such a thing existed nowadays). It always starts, gets you to work and back and then you park it and forget it's there.
They are much faster than the 1.4 engine would suggest as they're so revvy and eager, although with the high sided body and relatively high driving seat they're not great round corners as they lean quite a bit (or at least feel like they're leaning) and crosswinds make it wobble around a fair bit. I've driven a 1.6 auto a fair bit and it feels slow and ponderous in comparison and fuel consumption is much worse, so I'd certainly avoid the auto and go for a manual.
The only repairs that I can remember (bar the usual maintenance of oil / filters / brakes etc..) have been 2 new antirollbar droplinks at the front.
The load bay in the rear is enormous and very wide with none of the shaped plastic bits that seem to intrude into the load space of other cars we've had.
Overall it's a superb car and even if the engine explodes tomorrow I would happily get another, but it really is just a car and not a thing for fun, like having a really reliable washing machine (if only such a thing existed nowadays). It always starts, gets you to work and back and then you park it and forget it's there.
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