Honda Civic 1.7 Vtec

transmission went out at 100000 miles then crank broke 13000 miles later

I must confess I only did limited amounts of research before deciding on the Civic 1.7 Coupe. I saw the car and liked the look of it, found out it was insurance group 11 which was much less than the Accords and Celicas that I was also considering buying so I went for it.

A year later and I do find myself wishing I'd gone for one of the other cars now.

My main gripe with the car is it is very harsh at motorway speeds with very high revs, even in 5th gear if you half your speed that is your revs ie. 80 MPH is 4000 RPM which makes for a very noisy and harsh ride which gets tedious over long motorway journeys. My car is the 5 speed manual and 5th is only a couple of hundred less RPM than 4th.

The 1.7 powerplant is a single cam version of Honda's famous VTEC putting out 126 BHP and is my first experience of the VTEC engine. I find that when the car sits under the VTEC limit it is slightly more sluggish than other comparable cars, when you hit 4000 RPM it gets far livlier as the VTEC cam lobes engage and whilst performance is nothing startling it is acceptable.

The problem with this is you find yourself either pootling about a bit on the unresponsive side or having to drive like a maniac eveywhere guzzling through fuel, there does not appear to be any inbetween.

Fuel economy is not great and the claimed 35 miles to the gallon is very difficult to achieve even with the most sedate driving which is disappointing.

Onto the interior which is not an unpleasant place to be but is very bland and uninspired, a fault I find with mine is the dash rattles on cold days but is fine on a warm day so I assume it is expanding and contracting with different temperatures.

This coupe is a nice enough looking car from the outside but when you look to insure it you suddenly find yourself getting quoted ridiculous premiums. I have no idea why insurance is so expensive for this car, it has a factory fitted Thatcham cat 2 alarm and immobiliser but I can't see why it should be a magnet for car thieves when they could be stealing 2.0 twin cam Civics which are everywhere.

Turns out you could insure a 2.0 Type R for less than this 1.7 Coupe and the Group 17 Accords and Celicas would be far cheaper to insure as well so get a quote first if you are thinking of buying one in case you get a shock.

Considering it's just a Civic which leans towards economy rather than performance insurance companies seem to think it's some kind of supercar, baffling.

a car is very smooth and feel very safe in their endings are the best with its engine which is a wonderfully

Trusted and reliable friend sadly about to be replaced. If all cars were as good as Honda Civic 1.7 Vtec, the world would be a happier place.

Particularly liked its rarity and good looks, great handling and performance.

Increase in family numbers made 2 doors a bit of an inconvenience.

This car is amazing it rides so smooth and has a great sporty look i recently purchased a 2003 Honda Civic ex coupe its very nice no complaints.

I just bought a 2004 Honda Civic 1.7 Vtec EX 4 door and am totally happy with it. I have owned two other Hondas, the last one a '90 Accord LX, and have always said the Honda was the best car I ever owned. My wife talked me into buying a Chevy s-10 Blazer 4x4 in '95 and I had all kinds of problems. I'm sure glad to get back in a car that handles so well and what great mileage! 35 MPG avg.

The Honda CVT is a pleasure to drive. Some additional padding under the hood and undercoating in the wheel wells helped make the interior extremely quiet. No squeeks or rattles. I recommend the keyless remote entry, wheel locks, trunk shell and the six disk CD player. Sound system is great. I will never sell this car.

Honda-you can certainly trust that name.I surely do and thats why I bought my second car from this manufacturer.The Civic is a great car especially the new shape with the 1700 CC VTEC engine.The car is very smooth to drive and returns with excellent mileage.Over uneven surfaces the car holds its ground and on open roads its a breeze.I am totally and completely satisfied with the car and i am sure that any Honda customer will share the same view.

Looking forward to the next generation Civic and hope Honda brings out another winner.