Honda Civic 1.7 CDTI

After a bad experience with a troublesome Freelander I decided to search for a low mileage Japanese diesel car. Spotted this 2004 Honda for three grand with just over 60k on the clock. Have had this car for about 9 months an wow is it a good car for these hard times. It fast enough to hold its own on the road, economical, spacious, well built, respectable to look at and very reliable. Two small criticisms would be a bit more turbo lag than Audi or VW pd diesel and a bit of under steer in the wet. But no faults so far so living up to Honda reputation although I do expect the turbo problem may occur at some stage. Overall very pleased with this value for money car.

I bought my Honda Civic CDTi 6 months ago and have only suffered from the usual wear and tear you find with most cars. Parts and servicing are slightly harder on the pocket than your typical German or French Turbo Diesel, but don't let that put you off. These Japanese mean machines are good looking, practical, fast and economical. I use my Honda on a regular basis and out of a full tank of diesel can top an easy 400 miles, foot down those 400 miles slowly disappear. By the book the CDTi tops 113mph, don't let that full you though the CDTi can push well over that, and at the same time sounds great. I only wish before I bought my Honda, the constraints in throwing my car through corners, as the handling isn't to great, however that mishap is nothing compared to the high standard of ingenuity engineering and styling.

The Honda Civic 1.7 CDTI is a fantastic car, best I've ever had, quick enough (mine did 122mph on the straight road in Germany no speed limit motorway- manual says 113mph max joke- car can do much more than that:)). In town 35-40 mpg, long distance 45 to 53 average 400 miles on full tank (50L)for drivers with heavy foot, spacious 5 door civic can take table 1.4x1m and 6 chairs heh:) fabulous car for someone who doesn't like estate cars but wants more room. My wife loves it - perfect in the busy town center.Horribly uncomfortable seats on a long distance, but you can't have everything. pretty noisy over 80mph both engine and road noise, can be very frustrating especially when you travel 1300miles in 19 hours. but if you can live with t pillow under your neck and ear defenders that's your dream car

Overall you get a nice car. Styling is plus point on this generation of Civic. I personally didn't like the idea of the Isuzu sourced engine and found the faults along the way as mentioned in 'Bad points'. There was a common problem with the turbochargers on this model so be wary or check with your local dealer regarding the problem (this isn't a fault down to the car itself, just bad batches of turbos from Garett so don't let it put you off). Rather spacious inside and a nice looking dash with the sporty looking white dial faces (facelift only, i think). I found the gear lever in the dash position to be very easy and comfortable to use. I saw a very impressive 60mpg on long journeys and around 55mpg commuting. The car had more grunt than the equivalent Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi at the time. I would recommend the the 1.7 CDTi Civic over the 1.6i petrol Civic as its quicker and more economical.

General comments are the Honda Civic 1.7 CDTI is a very good car overall. Fuel economy is excellent and performance is good. It is a car for the holidays - Glasgow to Blackpool still got quarter tank left and average speed was 68 but at bits I was just over the speed limit. I recently got a new shape 1.7vtec Civic when mine was in for a service, nice looking car but overall I prefered mine to the new Civic, was fast but a gas gussler and the new 2.2 CDTI looks to be a gutsy gas gussler but I still have to drive one. Overall the 1.7CDTI Civic is the one to have.