2004 Honda Civic Reviews

The seventh gen Honda Civic was more staid than sporty compared to its forebears, but remained a popular small car, with front-wheel drive and five seats. A sound choice if you buy one in top shape.

Ewan Kennedy reviews the Honda Civic sedan and hatch between 2003 and 2015 as a used buy.

Honda Civic began as a small car but increased in size over the years to become a small-medium by the period we are considering here.Because of the expansion in body size Honda also imports a smaller model, the Honda Jazz. Those who loved the smaller Civics of old may care to check out the Jazz. The Honda Civic has long had a reputation for build quality and reliability and this has lifted it a notch or two in the image stakes in Australia.Civic is a Japanese design in sedan format, with a fair bit of European input in the hatchback. The latter is built in England, the sedans in Japan or Thailand, the Civic petrol-electric hybrids are all made in Japan.Build quality doesn’t appear to be dependent on the country the Civic is manufactured in because the Japanese head office keeps a tight rein on the output of the factories. Interior room in the Honda Civic is good without being outstanding. There is space for four adults but in reality the rear seat is probably best left to children.Boot space is fine. Sedans are longer than hatches and most of this extra body size is put into a larger luggage area. There is some loss of boot space in the hybrid due to the installation of a large battery, but it’s better than many hybrids in this area.The Honda Civic is easy to drive and park thanks to light controls and good feel for the driver. These cars are popular with suburban users, but can be used on the open road, although bumpy secondary roads in the bush can cause a rough ride at times in older Civics as they have relatively short-travel in their suspension. Later models, from 2006, are better than the older ones.On smooth and moderate roads the Civic offers the sort of relaxed noise and vibration levels that are generally only found in cars from the next size class upwards. Engine sizes in the standard Civics are 1.6 litres and 1.7 litres in the older models; rising to 1.8 and even 2.0 litres in the current versions, introduced in 2012. The 2.0-litre engines are fitted to the sportier Civics and give plenty of performance.The semi-race Civic VTi-R, sold from 1996 until 1999, is very quick and is a delightful hot four. However, its engine only has a capacity of 1.6 litres and you have to work vigorously at the gearbox to keep it high in the rev range. If you’re not a keen driver you may find it frustrating and should perhaps avoid it. But if you do love pushing a car hard all the time then a VTi-R should definitely be on your short list.Five-speed manual gearboxes are standard in most models. Four-speed automatic transmissions are offered in all except the sporting Civic VTi-R. A five-speed auto is used in the eighth-generation Civics, launched at the start of 2006.The Civic Hybrid was introduced to Australia in early 2004 and is less extreme than previous Honda hybrids. As a result it’s more favourably priced. It has significantly lower pollutants from the exhaust as it runs a small 1.3-litre petrol engine, as well as an electric motor.The automatic fitted to the Civic Hybrid is a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Repairs and servicing can be relatively expensive. Spare parts also used to fall into that category, but Honda has worked hard with its parts network in recent years and things have improved considerably on the later Civics.Civic is reasonably simple mechanically so a good amateur mechanics can do a fair bit of the work themselves. Having a workshop manual at hand makes a lot of sense. Don’t attempt to carry out repairs to safety related items unless you have top class experience.Insurance costs are generally reasonable, with few companies making any real differentiation for the sportier versions of the Civic. Which is a surprise for such a little hotshot, it probably hasn’t sold in sufficient numbers to have come up on the radar of the insurance guys, let's hope it stays that way.Bodywork should be undamaged and free from rust. A Civic that has been poorly repaired after a smash may turn rusty later. Make sure the engine starts promptly and responds quickly and positively to the throttle. If possible arrange to start it when it’s cold after an overnight stop. Any engine that hesitates when revved suddenly should be treated with suspicion.A worn engine will smoke from the exhaust when it is driven hard after a period of idling. A conventional automatic transmission should be crisp in its changes and not hold onto any gear for too long. A continuously variable automatic transmission feels different in its operation so have an expert drive it if you are not confident it’s working correctly.The clutch pedal should be smooth in its operation. All manual gear changes should be light, positive and quiet. Problems will show up first on fast down changes, usually when going from third to second. Make sure the brakes pull the car up without any pulling to one side and that no one wheel locks while the others are still rolling freely.Look for Civics with a full service history as many belong to people who are very fussy about their cars.

There has been more research, development and technology gone into this car than any other car on the road, except fellow hybrid, the Toyota Prius.But unlike the Prius, the Civic is not overburdened with extras.The Prius costs $37,990 for the "base" model and $46,090 for the "I Tech" model with all the bells and whistles.The Civic costs just $29,990. For that you get two engines – one petrol and one electric. How many vehicles have two powertrains for the price of one?The hybrid concept is that a petrol engine is assisted by an electric engine whose battery is recharged by the power of the wheels turning and the brakes working. There is no need to plug it in to recharge.And when the vehicle is stopped at the traffic lights, the petrol engine switches off, saving you buckets of money on your fuel bill.You can make petrol engines frugal, but the savings apply only when the engine is running.The savings with a hybrid are not only when it is running and the electric motor assists, but mainly when the vehicle is stopped and the petrol engine switches off.Here the biggest saving is around town, when the vehicle is frequently stopping. At least that is the theory.In practice, this Civic Hybrid failed to work properly.The electric engine cut in and assisted acceleration so that the instant fuel economy readouts never went north of about 12litres/100km even under heavy throttle.However, the petrol engine failed to switch off when at rest.There must have been some simple electronic fault because the economy switch on the airconditioning also failed to operate and when in this mode, the auto stop function is supposed to activate more frequently.It is a shame, but were it working, it surely would have been a real fuel miser, although not as much as the Prius which can run up to 30km/h on just the electric motor.But even operating in the assist and not auto-stop mode, the Honda's fuel needle hardly moved off full after several trips back and forth to the office.Honda seems to have the right idea about building a hybrid to a budget. After all, a consumer who wants good fuel economy surely also wants a good value car, not necessarily something as accessory-packed and expensive as the Prius.To this end, the Civic has no steering wheel controls, no cruise control, no traction control. But that does not mean it is a rent-a-car.Like all Hondas I have ever driven, it is refined and of the highest build quality, although the interior is looking a little old-fashioned and the instruments are hard to read in bright sunshine.It handles like a front-wheel-drive should. Not a lot of torque steer, not a lot of bonnet lift with light wheels spinning off the line.It has good body balance and does what it is told.Unfortunately, the 1.3-litre VTEC powerplant likes to rev with plenty of intrusive noise and not a lot of go-forward momentum.It needs an update and a few more shovel-loads of torque.

Welcome to the hi-tech world of Honda's Civic Hybrid, a rare model which may look similar to other Civic sedans on the road but is much more clever.Its thirst, or lack of it, is the Civic Hybrid's claim to fame. Now that we're growing accustomed to seeing $1-plus signs at servos, there is a lot to like in a car which, even when you're driving with no thought of economy, averages 5.6 litres per 100km (50mpg).That was with four adults on board most of the time, dealing with peak-hour traffic, cruising as fast as the law will allow.And despite this car's sophisticated powerplant, it is happy with standard unleaded, and obviously not too much of that.The helpful Hybrid does so well because instead of a normal Civic's 1.7 litre engine, it has a 1.3 litre unit (borrowed from the much smaller Jazz hatchback), boosted by an electric motor. Energy goes back and forth when needed.A stack of batteries hide behind the back seat, but there is no need to plug it in to be recharged. That's done by energy from the brakes and momentum whenever the car slows.Stop at a traffic light in the Civic Hybrid and everything goes eerily quiet: The engine has switched itself off to conserve fuel, but re-starts automatically when you put your foot down to drive away again.It reacts almost instantly, with just a moment's pause – a stop-start trick that impresses passengers every time.Otherwise, there is not much on the surface to give a clue to the Civic Hybrid's brilliance.Its interior is straightforward, except for an extra dial on the instrument panel with lots of busily-moving graphs which show whether the "motor assist" system is indeed assisting the petrol engine – meaning the electric motor is kicking in– or is being recharged.The Civic Hybrid has none of the gee-whiz, look-at-me factor of its only rival, the Toyota Prius. The Prius (much dearer, but using even less fuel) comes with a space-age look to match the Tomorrowland technology built into these petrol misers.In contrast, Honda's green machine looks like an everyday Civic, hiding its cleverness behind a conservative exterior.Only the keenest of carspotters will notice the small "Hybrid" badge on the tail, modest spoiler on the boot lid, different-design alloy wheels and front bumper.The Hybrid is $3000 more than a normal Civic sedan, but is better equipped – with side airbags, for example – and offers fuel savings which would pay off eventually if it was driven far enough, or the price of petrol climbed high enough.The official fuel numbers suggest the Hybrid would use about two-thirds the fuel of a regular petrol-engined Civic GLi. That sounds like a significant saving, but it still would take many years for the Hybrid owner to get ahead, cost-wise.In the meantime, they should get some warm feeling of satisfaction from driving one of the most efficient cars on the road, with almost no sacrifices.Well, it does lose the convenience of a fold-down back seat, and the boot is smaller because of the battery pack. Also, the Hybrid's spare tyre is the last-resort temporary variety.Pulling up a long, steep hill, being asked to accelerate to 100km/h against gravity, the modest petrol engine starts to sound rather busy, but it never protests. It is a Honda, after all.Instead of a normal automatic gearbox, the Hybrid has a continuously variable transmission. This helps save fuel, and makes for seamless acceleration. It works fine, just like everything else in the Hybrid.

"Of course," I scoff. "Well, it'd have to, wouldn't it?", my composure crumbling. Suddenly, not so sure about the innermost working of this hybrid machine, I decide to hit the Net and find out what on Earth I am driving.Turns out this swanky little Honda is quite the revolutionary with its Integrated Motor Assist – or IMA as the mechanically minded would say.To quote the website, "IMA combines the use of a petrol engine with an electric motor that boosts performance and reduces emissions."Well, that clears that up.Fair to say, I still have no idea how this machine works, but what I do get is the fuel economy.I've been belting around in it for almost a week and still only used a third of a tank.Though I did have a bit of a chuckle when the Civic arrived complete with energy efficiency rating sticker – is this a washing machine or a car?The sticker boasts 5.2 litres of petrol per 100km, but for my last 100km, I've been averaging 6.6 litres, must have something to do with my love of charging off from traffic lights.Not that there's too much to get excited by there. With your foot flat to the floor, the Civic at times feels a little like a golf buggy on performance-enhancing drugs. However, as another friend points out: "It doesn't need heaps of power to get to the Greenpeace meetings and anti-woodchipping protests."Yeah, but it's still nice to be able to have a bit of grunt every now and then.But it is oh-so-cute. And we all know good looks can make up for a litany of failings – not that the Civic has too many bad points.The blue dash is way cool (yes, that is the technical description).The displays are mesmerising – it tells you when it is charging and when it is using the battery.Again, I have no idea what it is talking about, but gee it looks good.It seems Honda may have taken a leaf out of Henry Ford's book – the Civic only comes in four colour choices, none terribly outlandish, and with the interior coming in tan, tan and more tan, I've made an important discovery ... There is such a thing as too much tan – who would have thought?But if you are the youngest or the skinniest in a family of five, you will love the Civic. As the youngest of two children, I always got jammed into the middle seat when a visitor came on a trip with us.Battling hip cramps from straddling the bump in the middle of the back seat, I would exit the car with something of a limp. But those clever Honda types have done away with the bump and created a completely flat floor – and youngest children around Australia are forever thankful.The Hybrid is more than just a car; it is a civic duty.