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Honda Civic sedan scores as best-selling compact in America
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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EAST LIBERTY, Ohio -- On rural routes running though Ohio's rolling corn country, a Civic sedan fresh out of the nearby East Liberty Honda plant scoots along in a mannerly fashion at legal speed with scant noise from wind or engine intruding to the passenger compartment.
Driver, perched in a comfortable bucket seat with contoured side bolsters which seem to wrap around hips and back, faces an instrument panel containing white-on-black analog gauges and grips a padded steering wheel.
Turn the wheel to match every right-angle road bend and the crisp rack and pinion steering mechanism complies, leading this car that puts power to front wheels in deft zig-zag maneuvers which show off its agility.
Press the accelerator after exiting one of these turns, and the little aluminum engine responds to rebuild momentum. Only the base plant producing 106 hp, it still feels lively in such a lightweight vehicle.
Step on the brake pedal and this mass of metal and glass and plastic and rubber tracks an unwavering line to stop in rapid time.
Look around the cabin to find the variety of handy buttons and levers and knobs and switches which control mechanical functions.
Then note the seats for five and an abundance of room for legs and heads and shoulders, plus storage spaces in console and front glove box, door pockets and a trunk accessible by rear deck lid and folding rear seatbacks.
Everything about Civic -- from the way it moves and handles to the size of its passenger cabin and caliber of appointments -- feels reasonable and quite good.
From these observations, it's no wonder Civic scores as best-selling compact car in a crowded class. In fact, more than 300,000 Americans picked a Civic in 1997.
Civic traces in Honda lore to Japan with the inception in 1972, but all current models from sixth generation revisions of 1996 are made in North America. A hatchback is built in Canada, and sedans and coupes come together at Honda's Ohio facilities, with 92 percent of components manufactured in North America, including engines.
This categorizes Civic as a domestic vehicle built with American labor -- more than 2,000 work at the East Liberty plant where well over a quarter of a million Civics are turned out each year, with a fifth of these exported from Ohio to the world.
For many years now, Civic has set the pace in the compact class due to the quality of the product, its pleasant road manners and impressive content of features.
The generational upgrade of 1996 elevated Civic several steps higher in terms of quality, performance and comfort, and the exterior was also redesigned.
It looks sleek and stylish, yet vaguely similar to Honda's larger Accord.
Inside, an expanded passenger compartment ringed by tall glass increases headroom for riders.
Two hatchback models, CX and DX, use the 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine that generates 106 hp. The pair differ mainly in comfort and appearance items.
The sedan, with four passenger doors and a formal outward appearance, supplies a surprising amount of room on the inside, with ample space for heads and legs.
Two of the three sedan editions -- DX and LX -- pull from the 106 hp base plant, while a top model -- Civic EX -- earns Honda's efficient VTEC edition with output boosted to 127 hp. Conveniences and comfortable accessories increase with each step up in trim.
The coupe, sleek with only two doors and a smooth swoop from roof to tail, is built only at Honda's Ohio plant and measures to the same overall length as Civic's sedan so passengers don't have to compromise on legroom.
Three coupe models -- DX, HX and EX -- carry different engines and vary in appointments. The entry-level DX has the base 106 hp motor and the EX rates the VTEC version at 127 hp, but Civic's HX stocks a lean-burn VTEC variation with 115 hp rating to become Honda's fuel-economy leader at 44 mpg.
Honda's continuously-variable transmission -- CVT -- is available optionally on the HX coupe. It simulates the ease of automatic shifting but brings the fuel thriftiness of a manual.
Other Civics carry either the standard manual 5-speed or an optional automatic 4-speed transmission.
Sophisticated mechanical equipment for Civic includes Honda's lively dual wishbone independent suspension, which allows the car to glide over rough stuff and delivers a high degree of control for driver.
All Civics save the CX manual-shift hatchback apply power assistance to the rack and pinion steering setup.
All also feel agile and animated, even with the base engine.
The rigid platform when combined with engine mounts plus sound-reducing and vibration-damping materials stuffed throughout the body structure results in noteworthy measurements for controlling noise, vibration and harshness.
Net effect: At highway speed riders may converse in normal voice without distractions from annoying mechanical or wind noise. This quietness factor rivals that of far more expensive cars.
Spend time in Civic like one driver did recently and an impression quickly surfaces. The passenger cabin with generous room for legs and shoulders and all of that window glass makes Civic seem like a much larger car than it actually measures.
It doesn't feel as cramped as a typical compact.
Another impression concerns the precise and exacting way all of Civic's knobs and levers, handles and buttons operate. Everything's tight, exacting and good -- conveying the image of quality.
For safety, equipment ranges from dual airbags and structural crumple zones to steel door beams and optional anti-lock brakes.
Prices for the sedan series begin around $13,000, with the upgrade to LX conveniences plus air conditioning adding $2,000. The top Civic EX with automatic transmission, anti-lock brakes and power moonroof totals to $17,675.
1998 HONDA CIVIC SEDAN
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 1998 HONDA CIVIC SEDAN Specs |
| Description: |
Compact sedan |
| Model Options: |
Compact sedan |
| Wheelbase: |
103.2 inches |
| Overall Length: |
175.1 inches
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| Engine Size: |
SOHC 1.6-L I4
SOHC 1.6-L I4 VTEC
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| Transmission: |
Manual/5, Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power disc/drum/opt. ABS
EX: Power 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
29/35 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 13,000 to $ 18,000 |
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