Used Honda Civic review: 2006-2011

Honda’s four-door excels at the duller virtues of safety and reliability. The dash is another matter.

New

There are few more respected badges in the car business than the Honda Civic. It’s been with us since the 1970s and its loyal band of followers wouldn’t drive anything else.

Honda built its reputation on high-quality cars packed with technology, backed up by their motorsport campaigns, particularly Formula One.

The Civic has been a mainstay — as the arrival of the eighth generation model in 2006 clearly illustrates.

There was one body style, a four-door sedan, but four versions, including a hybrid. For this review we’ll leave the latter for a separate story and look at the VTi entry model, the VTi-L up-spec car, and the Sport.

Compared to the outgoing model the new one was longer and wider, which meant it was roomier, accommodating four in comfort, five at a squeeze.

It wasn’t sporty, but it was safe and did what it was meant to do, which was to provide safe and reliable transport.

For the most part the interior was neat and tidy, but the space-age dash copped flak from reviewers.

Power for the VTi and VTi-L was provided by a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, which with 103kW was thought at the time of the launch to be a little lazy and needing to be urged along to extract its best.

If you were sufficiently cashed-up to afford the Sport you could have been driving a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and have 114 kW under your right foot. It was better, but still not scintillating.

Backing the engines were either a five-speed manual, or more commonly, a conventional five-speed auto, with the final drive being through the front wheels.

On the road the Civic displayed admirable road manners. It wasn’t sporty, but it was safe and did what it was meant to do, which was to provide safe and reliable transport.

Now

As can be seen from the owners reviews we received the Civic is a car that hits the spot. In many cases owners keep heading back to their Honda dealers to sign up again when it’s time to move their car on.

Few report any mechanical issues at all, most say their cars have been totally reliable and nothing has gone wrong with them. It’s a common report, not only from owners, but also the trade that generally rates the Civic highly.

Some owners comment about the paint, which appears to be soft and certainly easily scratched, which makes it important to keep it clean and regularly polish it.

Hondas are also noted for their advanced technology, the cars are built to high standards and they need regular maintenance to keep them ticking over at their best.

Depending on how the Civic is driven, and tyres last up to 70,000km before they need to be replaced

Most notably that means regular oil changes. Old sludgy oil will only do harm to a finely engineered car like the Civic, so have the oil changed regularly to keep it clean.

Honda recommends servicing the Civic every 10,000km, or every six months, which is more frequently than some other makes. But sticking to that routine should mean more reliable motoring over the long term.

Owners tell us that brakes need replacing between 40,000 and 60,000km, depending on how the Civic is driven, and tyres last up to 70,000km before they need to be replaced.

Honda recalled the Civic in 2007 to check the stop lamp switch, which was prone to failure, which could result in the brake lights not working.