4Speed Auto

4Speed Auto

If you’re a regular at the Shuh Huqua Review, or if you enjoy spending masses of time on youtube, you may have stumbled upon a show called 4Speed Auto, watched it, and wondered why it was made. The reason is quite simple, the people here at the Shuh Huqua review thought it would be a great idea to do some video reviews of our own and see if ours could be more entertaining than the video reviews from the professional publications. We also secretly hoped that it might catch on so that we can eventually do more in the future. Of course there were issues though.

For starters, Jesse and I thought of doing the show more as a fantasy rather than an actual possibility. We lacked any proper financial backing and more or less every interesting show idea we came up with would have cost us far beyond what we had. Then finally one day, I came up with the rough idea of what ended up in the final product, tallied up the possible costs, and conferred with Jesse. After an immense amount of planning and thought, we finally had a full length show idea.

The show name was actually decided rather quickly. The two most successful automotive programs in the world are Top Gear and Fifth Gear, so we kind of wanted to rip off those names by including something with gear in our show title, but fortunately we were slightly more creative. We wanted the show to be geared more towards everyday cars that most people can buy, and we joked that the four speed automatic transmission is what everyday cars have; so we called the show 4Speed Auto.

If you saw the show you may remember me saying that we did the show off of the same budget an elementary school play would use… and it was true. Some of our camera equipment was borrowed; we only had one shotgun microphone; we only had one proper car mount for the cameras; the cameras were literally the cheapest family camcorders you could buy; all cars except the Mustang were borrowed from friends (Mustang was rented from Hertz); we had ancient video editing software; and of course the camera crew labor was supplied for free by some of my best friends. Given the resources at hand and our fairly small budget, sourced from my personal savings, it seemed like it would take a miracle for us to make anything remotely presentable.

Another major issue we had to contend with was conflicting schedules. The CR-V review wasn’t too bad on this front because it was done while I was in Florida visiting my parents and some friends, but the main segment with the Mustang and the 3 needed a much larger crew and naturally took a lot of careful planning. Unfortunately everyone involved including Jesse and I happened to become adults in the recent past which entails jobs and places to be, so careful timing was thought up so that we’d all have time to come out and film this segment.

We weren’t let off that easily though. We only had one weekend to get the segment filmed, and we were greeted with rain while we were at Mount Rainier. Naturally we did as much filming as we could when it wasn’t raining, but as a result of the weather we lost valuable time and the chance to get more interesting footage.

After we were done at Mount Rainier, and it was impossible to get more footage, I proceeded to lock myself in my room for two weeks to do all the editing. Since we did get far less footage than I would have liked, editing was certainly a challenge. There were times when I panicked and thought that I couldn’t bridge a couple of segments, but I really dug deep and was able to get the project finished.

Despite all the difficulties we used ingenuity and enthusiasm to persevere. The end result was something that the entire crew was proud of. Sure, it doesn’t look studio grade but given what we had we were all very happy with the final product. So, hopefully this answers any questions people may have had about 4Speed Auto. Of course if you have any comments or other questions, please drop us an e-mail at 4speedauto@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to reply. I hope you enjoyed the show, and we hope to be able to make more.

2005 Honda Civic

2005 Honda Civic

I’m sure everyone who’s ever looked for a used car has had the words Honda and Civic come out of their mouth. I can easily see why getting a used Civic is tempting too; Hondas by reputation last well over two hundred thousand miles, and if you decide to sell it before the car coughs up it’s last bit of life, you’ll probably get most of your money back. This all sounds great but, there are some things that bother me about getting a used Civic though; first of which is that somewhat ridiculous value retention. If you look at a used Civic that’s only a couple years old, prices haven’t really fallen at all and if you tried hard enough, you could get a new one for marginally more. However, there is the option of getting something even older and thus cheaper. Since Civics are so reliable, and because most people see 150,000 miles on the clock and think “It’ll go another 100,000” buying a slightly older one still seems worth it.

Now, the other thing that bothers me about a used Civic is the fact that the new one that came out in 2006 represents an enormous change from the previous generation. Lots of things were improved upon, and like I said you can sometimes get a new Civic for marginally more than what you would pay for a used one. This does make getting an old Civic a bit not worth it; so, the question I’m trying to answer today is, is it even worth it to get a used previous generation Civic?

LX Sedan:

Well originally I thought that the sedan and coupe models were more or less the same cars with just the obvious cosmetic differences, but they aren’t. Because of this I will write about them separately, and to kick things off I will start with the Civic LX sedan.

Positives: If you’re the type of person who wants a Civic sedan, most likely you’ve got a family, or you’ve got a pension, or you genuinely hold comfort and practicality in high regard; and Honda has pretty much tailored the sedan to meet your needs. The Civic sedan easily seats four comfortably, or five uncomfortably, and has a trunk large enough to carry Costco sized loads of grocery. Also, the suspension is soft so if you have osteoporosis you don’t really need to worry about the random pothole in the road.

Once you climb inside, you’re greeted with the standard Honda quality dashboard we all know and possibly love. The plastics on the dash don’t feel all that luxurious, but you can tell they’re of a high grade, and in older Civics you can see that they do pass the test of time. The layout of all the controls is fairly easy to figure out, the gauges are clear and easy to read, and overall the car is very easy to live with.

What makes the Civic even easier to live with is the fact that they’re solid reliable cars. Other than the 100,000 mile tune up, the car only requires oil changes and if you do that you can more or less rest assured that the car will always start up and take you where you need to go. What’s more, once you hit the road you will find that the Civic is… well it’s not that great actually.

Negatives: The driving experience in a Civic sedan isn’t bad per say, but it just really pales in comparison to the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3. The trouble is that Honda really went out of their way to make the Civic sedan appeal to old people, so a lot of the sporty edge Hondas are known for is gone.

The main culprit for ruining the fun is the ridiculously soft suspension. Sure you go over road imperfections without having things fly up, but it’s actually too soft for its own good. I found myself going down Seattle’s beat up highways nodding my head up and down, and I jokingly said to my passengers, “I like this song, but I’m not rocking out.” Going over any type of road imperfection in the Civic just results in a bobbing car and it does get quite annoying. I’m sure if you suffer from car sickness on occasion, owning a Civic will change that occasional sickness to a daily occurrence.

Of course with such a soft setup the Civic does roll in the corners and it doesn’t give you a solid planted feel. Overall, the Civic sedan isn’t a bad handling car, but it certainly doesn’t instill the same sort of confidence (or astonishment) in the twists that the Mazda and the Ford give.

Admittedly I have heard mixed reports on the Civic sedan’s suspension setup. I’ve read in places that people actually found it to be too stiff rather than vomit inducingly soft, so there is a fair chance that the Civic LX I drove, which naturally was used, had suspension components that got worn down. On the other hand I cannot believe that even with hard abuse, a solid car like a Civic would have its suspension go after just a few years… but hey people still win the lottery despite the odds.

Now normally I’m careful about saying a car is slow since the Shuh Huqua review is mostly about “normal cars;” but, I have to say, another thing that’s killing the fun in the Civic LX is the unusually weak engine. Sure it’s smooth, it’s a Honda after all, but the acceleration with an automatic is hilariously slow. If you have a few friends with you, things get worse and you’ll really struggle to get up to speed due to the extra weight. I had passengers off to the side saying “woah, slow down there” because they were hearing the engine rev hard, but in reality I hadn’t even reached 35 mph yet! The engine may be very reliable but it’s way too underpowered.

Another thing that’s not so great about the Civic, doesn’t matter which trim level or if it’s a coupe or sedan, is the noise level. Once you get up to highway speeds, the Civic gets properly loud. You can still talk to the person next to you on reasonably well paved roads, but since most of Washington’s highways are not reasonably well paved, having conversations with the person next to you is a challenge. If you enjoy classical music, you might as well forget it when you get onto the highway.

EX Coupe:

Positives: I got into the Civic coupe expecting it to be the exact same car as the sedan, except of course for the fact that there were two doors instead of four. Boy was I in for a surprise. The first thing I noticed was how nicely the driver’s seat hugs your body. It had to be one of the most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat in; but, when I started up the car and drove off, the real surprise came. The coupe is much firmer, much more solid, and just so much better than the sedan.

The steering of the Civic coupe was much quicker and sharper than the sedan, and the steering wheel provided fairly good feedback as well! The massively improved steering feel was just the start too. This Civic coupe actually cornered properly and it did it while giving that planted, confidence inspiring feel that was simply missing in the sedan. Also, the brake and throttle response felt sharper too, so you can easily tell Honda was trying to cater the Coupe to a different audience. All this driving goodness combined with that super comfortable seat made me feel like I was driving something special and I genuinely liked it.

Things kept getting better too, because this was the EX model which means VTEC and twelve extra horsepower. The LX models feel plain slow, but the EX with the added VTEC system and the extra horsepower felt much quicker (auto and manual). The engine pulls strong all the way up to the 6500 rpm redline and it will put a smile on your face, despite getting quite loud past 4000 revs.

The best thing by far though, was the manual gearbox. The clutch was very agreeable allowing for incredibly smooth non car juddering shifts without the “getting used to period” and that was a genuine surprise. The gearbox shifts with rifle accuracy and rowing through the gears gives your arm a pleasurable sensation. What makes it all even better is the arm rest behind the shifter. At first I felt that it was in the way and kind of annoying, but I eventually found out that you can easily rest your arm on it and have completely unobstructed access to the shifter. I absolutely loved the manual transmission on the Civic Coupe and would buy the car just because of it!

I eventually settled into the car’s comfortable body hugging seat with my arm rested on the central arm rest and felt completely at home. I was so comfortable that I didn’t want to stop driving. I admit that this will sound really ridiculous to those who know of more proper examples, but I felt that the Civic Coupe made an excellent Grand Tourer. I mean, the car handles properly when the going gets twisty, it’s a sporty looking coupe, the engine revs smoothly, there are back seats as well as a proper trunk, and the car is very comfortable on long distance trips. That’s all the things a GT car is supposed to do. The only thing the Civic coupe doesn’t do that actual proper GT cars do is bend the laws of physics when you floor the accelerator, but you can forgive the Civic for that because it will easily get twice the MPG most GT cars get.

Negatives: The negatives for the coupe are few, but they do exist. First off, this car is still quite loud at highway speeds and easily louder than everything else in its class. Then there’s the fact that though this car may feel smooth and quick, it still isn’t that fast. There are loads of aftermarket items to fix that problem but they won’t remove this car’s biggest problem. The biggest problem about the Honda Civic Coupe is the Mazda 3. I may have fallen in love with the Civic Coupe, but I still can’t justify buying one over a used Mazda 3.

Conclusion: If I had to choose between the sedan and the coupe, I would screw the practicality of having four doors and get the coupe. The coupe more or less offers the same space in the cabin and in the trunk as the sedan, and it’s just so much nicer to drive. Also, get the manual transmission even if you don’t know how to drive stick yet. The manual transmission in the Civic is easily the best in the class and it’s so nice to use, that getting the automatic feels like a huge waste.

If I were on my way to get a manual Civic coupe though, I’d still veer off and get a Mazda 3. I simply cannot justify getting a Civic over a 3 simply because of the price. You can easily find “equally used” Mazda 3’s for the same money as a Civic, if not less, and they’ll be better equipped too. The 3’s will have alloy wheels, four wheel disk brakes, a quieter ride, a higher quality interior, and a more powerful engine. Also, no matter how much I did like the Civic coupe, I still feel that the 3 drives better and is more fun.

With that said, and to answer the question asked at the beginning of this review, “it is worth buying a used previous generation Civic?” I have to say, that if you can find a good deal on one go for it (please get the coupe though). In fact, if I found a good deal on a manual Civic coupe, I wouldn’t feel an ounce of regret for buying it over the 3… especially after I settled into that comfortable drivers seat and found a nice long stretch of clear road to drive down.

Summary:

The Good: The coupe gives that GT car feel to people who can’t afford a proper one

The Bad: Really loud, quite expensive, and the LX sedan kind of sucks

Verdict: Get the EX coupe in manual it’ll make you happy!

Random Stats:

Engine: 1.7 liter I4; 115 hp, 110 lb-ft torque (LX); 127 hp, 114 lb-ft Torque (EX)

EPA fuel estimates: 29/38 (LX), 32/37 (EX)

2008 Mazda 6

2008 Mazda 6

So it’s finally happened… you’ve started to grow up, you now have a steady job, perhaps you got married and you have a child on the way. Your spouse suddenly tells you that your two-seater sports car is just too impractical, and words about minivans spring up. You suggest that your significant other should be the one that gets stuck with the embarrassment mobile, then an argument breaks out but fortunately in the end a truce forms and it’s time to buy a mid-sized sedan. The two immediate choices are of course America’s two best selling cars, the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord, but for some reason most people stop there and gloss over something that could be even better.

There are plenty of great choices in the mid-sized market now. Nissan’s new Altima is excellent, Hyundai’s Sonata isn’t bad especially for the price, Saturn’s European sourced Aura is worth a look, and then we get to Ford. You may remember awhile ago, that Ford ran one of those funky tests where they invited normal people off the road to do a comparison drive between their Fusion, the Camry, and the Accord around a makeshift track to see which one brought a smile to their face; and in the end everyone said that the Fusion was easily the most fun of the bunch, but of course most people weren’t aware of why. If you talk to a Ford salesman they’ll tell you the Fusion is a great handling car because it runs off of the Ford CD3 platform, some random purposely unintelligible technical babble, and then move on to tell you that Ford is awesome. What they won’t tell you is that this incredible platform was designed by Mazda, and it’s been used in the 6 for years.

The current Mazda 6 is going to be replaced completely before the year is up by the new model, but does that mean you should wait on a car purchase, or look elsewhere? That’s what I’m going to try and answer for you right now but the short answer is run to the Mazda dealership right now. The 6 is an excellent car, and since the new model is coming in, there should be some ridiculous deals you can pull off on the remaining 2008 6’s.

Positives: When the 6 first came out in 2002, there was one major issue with this car that has been solved in its final iteration. The styling in my opinion was brilliantly done if you had the aero kit on the car; but without it, the car looked like it was walking around in its underwear and seriously looked like it was missing something. With the recent facelift done on the car though, it now looks just fine with just the rear spoiler on the trunk lid. So now, with or without all the body kitting this is a very sporty looking car, which is nice.

Despite being owned by Ford, who tend to use ridiculously cheap trim on their cars, the Mazda 6 has an attractive, well put together, quality interior. All of the plastic bits have a nice, soft, quality feel, and everything is easy on the eyes. The interior is certainly nice but things on a whole aren’t quite up to Toyota/Honda standards. The only major thing I can use to prove this is the cloth used to upholster the seats. Since this was a 2008 6, the car was obviously still fairly new, but the weird dimpled surface on the seats were already looking worn.

The basic layout of the dashboard is fairly easy to understand and operate, but things do change slightly depending on options. For instance, the AC setup on more basic models is very ergonomic and can be operated by people who’ve never seen a car before; but, if you opt for climate control you may need to take a couple of minutes to look things over. No matter what options you choose though, the gauges and other displays in the 6 are very easy to read and light up red at night, which is easier on your eyes. In all the 6 isn’t a bad place to be.

I would spend time talking about ride comfort, cabin space, highway noise levels, trunk space, and other tedious things like that which aren’t bad in the 6, but they’re not very important when you talk about the 6; because, no matter what, the Camry and Accord will beat it in all these boring categories. The important bit is how this car drives.

I only had to drive ten yards to realize I was driving something special. The fat leather wrapped steering wheel gave my arms a physically pleasurable sensation every time any form of turn appeared. The steering wheel provides loads of feedback and the entire car really does feel like a sports car. The throttle response is excellent; the brake feel is excellent; and the car feels a lot smaller and lighter than it really is which is something only proper sports cars tend to pull off.

I drove the “i” model while in south Florida and there admittedly weren’t many turns, but I did find some turn circles to go around at reckless speeds. The 6 does indeed provide loads of grip and even when the tires start to let go a bit, nothing seems all that alarming and you still feel you’re in absolute control. Through normal city driving, the 6 will never get pushed past its limits and it will actually make mundane trips to the supermarket and job commuting more exciting compared to its competitors.

For a car of this size, the 2.3 liter engine and the 156 hp it produces seems a little weak, and it kind of is. This car is by no means quick, but you wouldn’t believe that if you drove it yourself. This 2.3 liter engine is easily one of the best four cylinder engines I’ve ever seen. The VVT system on it guarantees power everywhere across the rev range and it genuinely feels quick. You never get the sense that the car is struggling, and power always feels abundant.

If you opt for the 3 liter V6 6s, things are a bit different. You’re now dealing with 212 hp instead of 156, so the car is rightfully faster. If you get a 6s in manual it can get from 0-60 in less than seven seconds which is certainly quick enough for most people. The automatic version will be a bit slower even if you use the manual mode, but I drove it around and I certainly wasn’t complaining. There are faster mid sized sedans around even if you compare the 2008 6 to cars from the same generation, but trust me the 6s will be more than quick enough if you’re a parent. Also, since the 6 isn’t channeling a ridiculous amount of power to the front wheels, there really isn’t any torque steer, which makes this car feel even more balanced, and more sports car like.

The exhaust note of the V6 is noticeably more exciting, although there is a proviso. If you’re just dithering about town at low speeds the exhaust sounds sort of hallow and numb; in fact, at low speeds the four cylinder engine sounds better. However, once you start flooring the gas pedal things start to change. Running at high revs, the engine delivers a nice powerful roar which can send a tingle up your back… especially if you’ve gotten used to driving around in a Camry.

Now thankfully I did drive the 6s in New Mexico rather than Florida. Other than the engine, the car is essentially the same, but since the location was different there is more to write about on handling terms. I had the pleasure of driving the 6s around Sandia Mountain, and I have to say the 6 really comes alive there. I was of course bogged down by fellow tourists, so I wasn’t able to fully unleash the 6’s potential but I still loved every minute of it. Some people refer to the 6 as a poor man’s BMW in terms of handling, and out in the mountains I can completely agree with that statement; this car is just fantastic when the roads get twisty.

Negatives: There are of course one or two issues with the 6; the first of which I mentioned above. If you’re in the market for a mid-size sedan because you’re seeking space, comfort, quietness, and all sorts of other old man desires, the 6 loses hands down to the Camry. So if those things are high on your priority list, the 6 isn’t for you.

The other issue is relevant towards everyone and it involves the V6 engine. If you’ve opened a consumer reports magazine over the past few years you’ll notice that they wrote down some evil things about the 6 because it isn’t all that reliable. The thing they kind of hint at but sometimes don’t state outright though is that the 6 is actually perfectly reliable… if you get the 6i with the Mazda designed 2.3 I4. If you get the 6s with the Ford derived V6 though, you will be making quite a few more stops to see your local dealer…

Conclusion: So what we have here is a sort of undersized mid-sized sedan that isn’t as comfortable as its main rivals; but, in terms of fun it runs rings around the opposition. Personally I would buy the 6 over any other mid-sized sedan, even the almost identical but cheaper Ford Fusion (This is because even Ford will admit the 6 is better put together). The 6 lets you know that even if a baby’s on the way you can still have a fun car… and that alone makes this car something special.

I have driven the new 6, which is a brilliant drive, but as of now I don’t see myself brushing aside the old 6 and buying a new one. The new one is much larger, more comfortable, quieter, more powerful, and so on since Mazda really wants loyal Camry and Accord buyers to have a change of heart; but because of this, the 6 loses a lot of its original raw sports car charm which has already won over loads of customers. Sure the new 6 is definitely more refined and more grown up, but let’s face it; I’m sure we all wish we never had to grow up!

Summary:

The Good: It’s a mid-sized sedan that drives like a sports car

The Bad: Not as big or as comfortable as the competitors

Verdict: Unless you hate driving with a passion, why buy anything else?

Random Stats:

Engine: (6i) 2.3 liter I4, 156 hp, 154 lb-ft torque (6s) 3 liter V6, 212 hp, 197 lb-ft torque

EPA Fuel Estimates: (6i) 21/29 (6s) 18/25

2005 Mazda 3i

2005 Mazda 3 4Speed Auto follow up

If you’re a car bore like me, you may have noticed that the Mazda 3 used in the 4Speed Auto pilot, was not the latest Mazda 3 nor was it the Mazda 3s with the larger engine. There were reasons for that of course. First of which was the size of the budget we were dealing with and our lack of connections with Mazda. This meant that we couldn’t afford to go and buy a new Mazda 3s or get one loaned to us by Mazda to test, so we phoned around to some friends and one happened to have a Mazda 3i he was willing to put in our hands to test. More importantly it wasn’t imperative to get a new 2008 Mazda 3, because pretty much any Mazda 3 in good condition would get the job done. You’ll realize why if you truly are a car bore who can spot the exterior differences between the new face lifted 3 and the older ones, since you will also know that mechanically there is absolutely no difference between the cars. In addition, since we were primarily testing handling, having the less powerful model seemed even more relevant.

If you’ve read my review on the Mazda 3s, you should know that I am a huge fan of the 3. In fact I have to admit that I had a bias towards the 3 going into the handling face off between it and the Mustang, but why wouldn’t you? The 3 has handling credentials the Mustang simply lacks: light weight, sport tuned suspension, better suspension technology, a chassis that wasn’t around before I was born… in fact the only thing going against it is the fact that it has front wheel drive.

Needless to say I couldn’t wait for my turn to drive around the mountains in the Mazda 3, especially since all the other times I drove one I was driving around the city. After I was done with my stint in the Mustang and got into the 3, everything I loved about the 3 flooded back into my mind: the near Toyota quality of the interior trim, the small diameter three spoke steering wheel, the fact that even though this is such a weak car there was still a manual mode on the automatic transmission, all of it reminded me that I was going to be in for some fun.

There was a long straight between the point where Jesse and I switched cars and the really twisty bits around Chinook pass and here I felt the only bit of disappointment I would feel from the 3i. The 3i is a slow car, there’s no positive way to look at it because it is what it is. The 3s runs around with only a handful more power, but the 2.3 liter engine in it is clearly superior in every other way as well. I never once felt a lack of power when driving a 3s and always thought it to be a quick car, but in the 3i, especially after climbing out of the relatively powerful Mustang, I completely understood why a lot of people spend the extra couple thousand dollars for the s. After only two gentle bends though, all the love that I had for the Mustang and its power shifted towards the 3 and I started driving like a fearless teenager, something I’ve never really done before.

The 3 went around tight bends with hardly any roll and just gripped hard to the road. There was never a tense moment, and never once did I complain about anything while going around a tight turn. The steering wheel fed loads of information to my fingertips and really gave me the confidence to go faster and faster through the following corners. The car always felt stable and felt like it could take on any corner. In fact there was never a time when the car gave me any indication that it couldn’t handle going a million miles an hour around any turn… and the great thing was that it could in fact go a million around any turn! What’s more, the pedal feel was excellent, and the brakes, which I admit seemed unnecessary for a lot of the turns, never faded and never once felt like they were powerless to stop the car (which happened a few times in the Mustang). It was genuinely the most fun I’ve ever had driving a car.

If you watched the pilot episode and wondered why there was a lot more rear footage of the Mustang through the twisty bits compared to the 3, it was because the Mustang simply could not keep up when it was behind the 3. I’m sure many people who wind up reading this might argue that the Mustang was never created for the purpose of high speed cornering, but we were actually running this test to prove that fact to those who think otherwise.

I loved the 3 before we got to Mount Rainier, but I loved it even more after being able to unleash its full potential. It is genuinely an amazing little car, especially when you stop to consider that this is a small, fuel efficient, and practical four door sedan that can easily carry a family of four and a load of camping gear in the back. For the 3’s price and the class that it’s competing in, I have to say that Mazda has created a masterpiece for the mountain roads.

However, since we weren’t exactly comparing apples to apples, I’m not sure if I should be astonished by the 3’s performance or just really disappointed in the Mustang. I know the Mustang is in the “pony car” class and isn’t meant to be a canyon carver but it should be so much better than it is simply because we aren’t in the 60’s anymore. Also, since the new Dodge Challenger (the non SRT-8 ones) and the new Chevy Camaro are going on sale soon and with proper suspension, Ford is really going to have to work harder for when they release the next generation Mustang. This is especially true since the Mustang will no longer be able to sell off its looks alone because the next generation of retro styled pony cars all look gorgeous. Putting the Mustang and it’s brethren aside though, I really must stress that if you have a little under 20k to spend on a car, please, please go and at least test drive the Mazda 3!

Summary:

The Good: Just about everything

The Bad: Very slow, especially with an automatic

Verdict: If you have the extra money get the more powerful s; but if you don’t, you still are getting one heck of a car

Random Stats:

Engine: 2 liter I4, 148 hp, 135 lb-ft torque

EPA Fuel Estimates: 28/35

Observed: 34 MPG

Show link: http://www.youtube.com/user/4speedauto

4Speed Auto 2008 V6 Ford Mustang follow up

2008 Ford Mustang V6

For as long as I can remember, I never liked the Ford Mustang. Ever since I was born (in the mid-80s), Mustangs have been awful looking cars powered by engines lifted out of pickup trucks, and they only ever made sense on roads where a steering wheel was optional. Sure the V8 Mustangs were reasonably quick cars, but the V6 models, despite having enormous engine displacements, always had less power than a toddler on a bicycle. To make matters worse, what made even SVT Cobras unable to float my boat is the fact that, despite loving straight line speed, my passion lies with cornering ability and overall agility and the Mustang has always been absolute krap when the steering wheel becomes necessary. Ever wonder why Mustangs have been pretty much absent from motor sport?

However, when the latest generation of the Mustang came out with those sleek retro looks, I wanted to like the Mustang because it looked astonishing. I felt that yes Ford kept that ridiculous suspension relic called the live axle, but maybe they engineered around it to make the car good this time, in the same way Porsche has made the absurd rear engine thing work brilliantly. Then my chance to find out fully occurred when we were doing the Mustang vs. Mazda 3 segment on Mount Rainier for 4Speed Auto…

When I first picked up the Mustang from the dark parking garage of SeaTac airport, I was certain that the Mustang would indeed be krap so I wasn’t exactly filled with anticipation, but as I got close to the freshly washed red car I stopped and thought “these really are gorgeous cars.” I was then filled with mild excitement and jumped in… then disappointment settled back in. The interior of the Mustang looked very retro cool, but wow… where the heck does Ford get these plastic slabs from to make their interiors? The inside of the Mustang is nothing but cheap, scratchy plastics that you’d normally find on Rubbermaid storage bins, only stiffer. The door trim was the worst, because it was JUST one solid piece of beige plastic and it looked horrid. I was instantly reminded of James May’s quote from when he drove a Proton Gen II on Top Gear, “I would gladly trade my Lotus developed suspension for some Toyota developed door trim.” The only nice bit of trim was the automatic gear shifter. It was a proper chunky old school piece of equipment, but honestly other than that the interior quality was appalling.

Seeing how it was going to be a long drive from Seattle to Mount Rainier where we would be filming for the show, I decided to sit down and load up the CD changer; and well, it was a bit trickier to figure out than all the other cars I’ve ever driven because none of the buttons are where you’d think they’d be. In fact as I drove out of the parking garage and tried to do the usual adjust the air con while you drive business, I found I was doing it all wrong. I usually praise Toyotas for having unrivaled ergonomics in their cars where even if it’s your first time in the car you can work all the controls blind folded, but the Mustang is the exact opposite. I had to pull over and put some actual thought into figuring out how to get the AC to where I wanted it! Sure you can call me an idiot, especially if you’ve owned a Ford your whole life and you’re used to these controls, but honestly they are at least 2 times more complicated than they should be on any car. Then there was the light switch, which on any other non Ford car is on the left stalk… but in this case it was on a dial well off to the left of the steering column… I've seen that before but why? Its a rubbish place to put it.

If you’re yelling at your monitor right now saying “Stop complaining about the interior, is this car any good to drive?” you’re in luck because that’s what I intend to do now. For once, Ford has put in a decent amount of power into the V6. Despite this car weighing about as much as an oil tanker, the 210 hp, torque monster V6 really makes this car move. I had no complaints about the acceleration other than wishing I had the GT which is obviously even quicker. At slow speeds the engine makes a faux V8 rumble which is rather aurally pleasing, but once the revs build up the sound is then replaced by the sounds of a rather large bloke regurgitating his lunch in a tunnel. Maybe it’s not as bad as that comparison makes it sound, but it is a bit of a let down.

On the way to Mount Rainier we drove down quite a long stretch of highway and this is where the Mustang shines. The suspension on the Mustang is reasonably soft so it ironed out the terrible road surfaces of Washington’s highways, and the rest of the car was fairly quiet. Then when a car in front of you is driving slower than a canoe, you just stomp on the gas pedal and the car gives you a nice kick of power to overtake it with no trouble at all. So unsurprisingly, the Mustang is an excellent highway cruiser.

When the 4Speed Auto convoy finally made it to Mount Rainier, I was in for a little surprise. I found the Mustang to be quite good around the mountain bits, and I was rather enjoying myself, but there was a good reason for that. First of which, being that the previous car I was in, was a Land Rover Discovery… so basically anything after that will seem agile. The next reason has a short story behind it. I was on the radio talking to my friends driving in front of me saying that the Mustang is doing pretty well so far and handling just fine. I wasn’t getting scared in the tight turns or anything. Then it struck me, the car leading us all was our camera car… an old early 90’s Toyota Pickup with large off road tires! If the pickup was doing just fine I’d hope the Mustang would be as well.

My opinion didn’t change too greatly after we started doing runs without the camera cars, probably because I was still driving at roughly the same speeds, but after I had my stint in the Mazda 3 (you will be able to read about that later) though my outlook on the Mustang completely changed. I started realizing just how heavy and bulky this car really is. Proper sports cars tend to hide their weight but the Mustang strutted about like a fat lady with a broken corset. This wasn’t helped by the fact that the enormously heavy engine was mounted in front of the front axle making the weight balance all wrong too. If I attempted to recreate cornering speeds that were achievable in the Mazda, the car would just under steer and make you think that you were going to fall off the next cliff. Sure, hardcore muscle car enthusiasts with lots of track experience will tell you that with a Mustang you can stomp on the throttle and cure that under steer with a bucketful of over steer… I’d be happy to try that on a wide track, but on narrow two lane roads overlooking mountain cliffs, I think I’ll pass.

The final offense was the steering feel and the brakes. While the Mustang offers up a heavy steering wheel, I’d really like to know why there isn’t a strong feeling that it’s connected to the front tires. I couldn’t tell where the car’s limit lies and that usually resulted in fairly tense tire skidding moments, or with taking corners at speeds family carrying minivans drove at. And to make things worse, the brakes on the Mustang seem to be something that Ford decided to save money on… personally brakes are something where I’d like to see money spent. While the 3 (and our camera cars for that matter) got through the trip with no brake issues, the Mustang’s brakes started fading as the day went on until they seem to have caught fire and started releasing a hilariously bad smell. Also with the brakes completely cooked I realized something about this particular Mustang… it had no ABS on it, so the front wheels started locking up under hard braking. That’s certainly a problem you can solve by paying a bit more money at the dealership, but how did a powerful car with such bad brakes wind up on the market with ABS as an option?

So overall I wound up not liking the Mustang other than the straight line speed, which admittedly can be matched or beaten by any mid-size sedan with a V6. However despite my negativity and hate, I kind of get this car. If you live in a place like south Florida or somewhere else where the roads are straighter than Hugh Hefner, the Mustang starts to make some sense. The Mustang can be purchased for less than a burger when Ford has one of their crazy sales, and for this small amount of money you can blast down the road in a gorgeous car with a smile on your face.

I still hold that the V6 Mustang isn’t powerful enough to be an actual muscle car, especially when V6 Altimas and Accords can leave it in the dust, and if Ford isn’t doing something crazy like employee pricing, it starts to be a little not worth it; but, I can definitely see the temptation. If you do in fact live somewhere where the roads are one dimensional and you can’t afford the GT, I think this is definitely a car you should look at; however, if you plan on taking the car to or plan on moving to a place where you need to use a steering wheel at all you’d be an idiot for getting this car. Seriously, if you want cheap sport yet still desire straight line speed, save up a few more bucks and buy a Civic Si, a Mazdaspeed 3, a VW GTI, or something else.

Summary:

The Good: Cheap, good looking, and reasonably quick

The Bad: Really cheap in the bad way, has really bad brakes, and can be out handled by compact sedans

Verdict: Not bad if you live in a world without sharp turns

Random Stats:

Engine: 4.0 liter V6 210 hp, 240 lb-ft torque

EPA Fuel Estimates: 17/26

Observed: 24 MPG which we all thought was quite good

Quote of the trip: Random 7 year old kid: “Who brings a Mustang to the mountains?”

Show link: http://www.youtube.com/user/4speedauto

2006 Nissan Sentra Special Edition

2006 Nissan Sentra Special Edition

I like to refer to the Sentra as the forgotten Japanese compact sedan, because in many ways it is. You can argue that the Mitsubishi Lancer is another forgotten compact sedan, but when you refer to something as “forgotten” you usually mean the thing in question is actually good and really should be remembered; case in point, the Sentra’s always been a decent choice of car where as the Lancer (or Mirage to those who can remember) has been pretty crap (new 2008 one’s actually quite good though). Usually, when you’re looking for a reliable compact sedan you instantly visit Toyota and Honda to look at the Corolla and Civic, and after you’ve bought one of the two you’ll eventually drive by the Nissan dealership and go “Oh yeah… oops” then forget about it. So the question I’m here to answer in this review is, should you really regret not paying Nissan a visit?

Naturally, since I’m writing this review in 2008 and a new Sentra is out I’ll be sure to drop a few comments to remind you that you’ll only be able to buy this car used and have it compared to other 2006 cars that you would find on the used market. The first tidbit of used car buying information I will give you about the Sentra is the most important bit… the price. When this car was being sold as new Nissan was already preparing for the new model to come in so it equipped a large number of the Sentra’s with what they called the Special Edition Package and then offered you a large $2500 cash back offer making the car very reasonably priced. What that means was that you could easily walk away with a massively loaded Sentra (sunroof, alloys, sport appearance package, ABS, side curtain airbags, 6 disc CD changer, leather steering wheel, a massive 300 watt stereo system…) for about 16k after taxes! Due to the initially low selling prices and the fact that a new model has come out, you can pick up a used fully loaded not too old Sentra for less than 12k!

Positives: There is something very lovable about the Sentra. I rather quite like the looks of the car but more importantly it feels as if it has a personality. Seeing how it’s very difficult to go into detail about how a car has “personality” I won’t and I’ll go talk about more tangible things.

There are quite a few things about this car’s engine that are very noteworthy, and power isn’t one of them. The 1.8 liter engine only produces 126 hp and 129 lb-ft of torque, so it’s not going to win any races. Also, it gets slightly worse mileage than the Civic and the Corolla, but it's an engine that will surprise you. You’ll have instances where you’ll have your foot down, hear the engine grumbling and think that you’re only going 10mph then you look over to the speedometer and realize that you’re doing a damn sight more than that because Nissan’s jammed loads of technological terms into the engine. The engine has variable valve timing, platinum tipped spark plugs, and some other stuff I’m sure you’re not all that interested in hearing about. Something more important to the average person though, is the fact that Nissan has used a timing chain instead of the more commonly used belt (this teamed with those platinum tipped spark plugs means 100,000 mile tune up intervals!); however, the price for the use of a chain is usually increased engine noise, but Nissan has worked some form of witch craft and eliminated that issue. As long as you’re driving about town in a normal, sane manner the engine is astonishingly quiet. What’s more, once you get stopped at a red light, the engine might fool you into thinking it’s shut itself off! Nissan has fitted a counter balance shaft in the engine that cancels out excess engine shake which is what causes most of the noise when you’re idling; this means you get a serenely quiet wait at the lights that’s usually only experienced in much more expensive cars. That might not have sounded all that interesting but if you're driving someone home and you run out of conversation material, you at least have something to talk about at the lights and cause an even more awkward silence.

Now onto the stereo system which is easily the best you will find in any compact sedan in terms of sound and usability. Naturally with a stereo system capable of kicking out 300 watts of power, the sound quality will be in a league of its own so I won't talk at too much length over it. What I will mention is the 6 disc CD changer which is nice, but more importantly there’s still a CD slot on the dash! The price you usually pay for having a CD changer is the annoyance you face when you want to change a CD on the rack, but with that extra slot on the dash, you can keep your 6 favorite CD’s in the car and if you just got a new CD or just want a temporary change you can still do it quickly at the lights. In addition to this Nissan has fitted the stereo with an auxiliary input jack so you can plug in your MP3 player without having someone perform surgery on your car, so you’ll be well kitted for long journeys.

This will sound rather irrelevant to some of you, but I really like the leather Nissan used for the steering wheel. It’s just very nice and it has a better feel to it than any other leather wheel I’ve felt. Fortunately, the car it’s attached to is quite nice to drive as well. The Sentra is sprung a bit stiffer than a Corolla, but it’s nearly as comfortable and in terms of handling and steering feel, it’s easily better than the Corolla. The Sentra doesn’t roll as much in the bends compared to a Corolla, the steering wheel has a decent amount of weight and it also provides quite a bit of feedback from the road, but with a lack of rear independent suspension it’s not going to offer up the same driving thrills as a Mazda 3. As a whole though, it’s dynamically comparable to a 2005 Civic sedan which isn’t bad.

We now move onto a topic where people with a foot fetish might enjoy, pedal response... Pedal response on the Sentra is pretty good, and in my opinion it’s easily better than the response of the Corolla and Civic sedan. The brakes may take some getting used to if you’re used to driving Toyotas because Nissan has taken the exact opposite approach. The brakes on Toyotas generally require long travel before anything happens, where as Nissans bite instantly, which I rather like. Another added pedal bonus is made available if you go for a manual Sentra. The clutch is incredibly light, and if you’re used to driving an American car, you might not realize you’ve stepped on the pedal... so you can now walk around without having a thicker left leg.

Negatives: I gave the engine much praise earlier but there is one glaring issue with it which only appears when you’re in a hurry. If you stay below 4,000 RPM the Sentra is very quiet and refined, but once you go over 4,000 revs things start to change. Above 4000 revs, the engine suddenly becomes very noisy and very thrashy. The engines in the Civic, and the Corolla remain smooth throughout the rev range, but the Sentra’s engine has a genuine personality change in the upper rev range in a bad way.

Not many people know this small fact, but Nissan was purchased by Renault in France, and French cars are known for cheapish fitments in their cars… unfortunately a bit of it has carried over into Nissans. Most notably is the plastic grill at the front, which looks like it’ll snap off if you open the hood in a hurry. The interior plastics are also a clear step down in quality from what you’d get in a Corolla, which is a bit of a disappointment considering the interior looks rather sharp otherwise. Also if you find a slightly more abused Sentra, the paint on the plastics and other various bits of the interior will already look a bit chipped and worn.

Sure I said this car's engine is "surprising" but, this car will feel slow and underpowered if you get an automatic transmission, which unfortunately is equipped on nearly every Sentra Special Edition. However, if you get the manual though there are problems that need to be stated. Obviously practice with the gearbox will solve this, but I found myself performing quite a few jerky starts and passenger alarming gear changes. Part of the problem lies with the feather light gas pedal which you'll accidently have down a few millimeters when you change gears. The other part of the problem is the clutch engagement itself; it just doesn't like to catch very smoothly, especially when you compare it to a Honda Civic. I do actually have a couple of complaints about the manual that can't be solved by practice too. The shifter in the Sentra is incredibly light and can be moved with your pinky, which is nice in a way, but the shifting action is incredibly rubbery and feels fairly imprecise. Also, you can tell that the Sentra was built a bit more cheaply than it's rivals if you get a manual, because you can feel all of the car's vibration through the gear stick. That's good if you're a porn star, but no so good if you like driving.

The last complaint I have about the car is once again something I praised a bit earlier. The 300 watt stereo system comes with a massive subwoofer which takes up an important bit of trunk space and prevents you from folding down the 40 part of the usual 60/40 folding rear seats. Also, if you’re like me and you’re not too keen on rap and hip hop, you may find the subwoofer to be a bit strong. You could be driving around playing Mozart and people driving off to the side might think you're another youth trying to raise the stock prices for hearing aid manufacturers.

Conclusion: For the prices these cars are going for, there’s simply no reason to get anything else. The Sentra is a solid entry level sedan and definitely has what it takes to take on the Civic and Corolla... so if you didn’t stop by the Nissan dealership when you bought one of the two…haha! I recommended this car over the Mazda 3 when they were still on sale and that says a lot. Admittedly though, a lot of that recommendation had to do with the price; the Mazda 3 was best in the class in 2006 and it still is today, but if it was my money I would have driven away in a Sentra… unless there was a good deal offered at the Mazda dealership of course... so if you’re in the market for a used car and you see one of these Sentras on the lot I suggest you at least take a look.

Summary:

Pros: Drives about as well as a Civic sedan, rides about as comfortably as a Corolla, just about as reliable as both, and costs thousands less!

Cons: French interior design…never thought that would be a con...

Verdict: Unless you can afford a Mazda 3, get one.

Random Stats:
Engine: 126 hp, 129 lb-ft torque
EPA Fuel Estimates: 28/35

2006 Toyota Camry SE V6

2006 V6 Camry SE

The Camry was never a car created to stir your emotions, or excite any part of your body and soul for that matter. The Camry is simply made to appeal to as many people as possible, much in the same way a ham sandwich is. In other words, there aren’t many people who out right hate ham sandwiches and are repulsed by their very presence. In fact, a normal person, if hungry, wouldn’t mind eating one but usually no one is going to crave one. Likewise, I’ve never met anyone who owned a Camry tell me, “Yeah, I bought this car because it was just awesome.” You generally get a response more along the lines of, “Well, its reliable, gets good gas mileage, it’s roomy…” and so on. In fact I’ve even met someone who bought a Camry because it’s so common that no one will be able to say “You must have left work early because I didn’t see your car when I left!” What I ultimately mean to say is that the Camry is quite possibly the most boring car you can possibly buy.

To help alter the minds of people who share my sentiments, Toyota has decided to give us a new oxymoron to add to the English language, the Camry SE, (SE supposedly meaning Sports Edition). So, in “SE” form, is the Camry now a car that stirs your emotions; and is it now a car you can buy with your heart and not just with the cold logical part of your brain? The short answer is no, but don’t stop reading just yet, because there are a lot of things to like about the Camry SE.

Improvements (Over the plain LE):

The two chief complaints I have about driving Camrys are the fact that the steering wheel has no feel (mostly because it is over assisted to a point where it feels like a toy) and the pedal response (both the brake and gas pedal) simply sucks. I’m happy to say that in sporting guise Toyota has removed one of the issues. The steering is now heavier and slightly more communicative. The steering feel is nowhere near that of an actual sports car but its good enough to a point where I don’t hate it anymore. The brake and gas pedal on the Camry LE I drove in the past had a really rubbery feel, and only responded when you really tried. You could literally shake your foot on the gas pedal and nothing would happen, which is probably only a nice feature if you're so old you've lost feeling in your right foot. Compared to the LE, the SE has better pedal feel, but not by much. Everything is still rubbery, but at least bouncing your foot on the gas pedal results in something. The brake pedal on both spec of car is still rubbish and requires a whole lot of travel before the car actually decides to stop. This is of course good for "smooth braking" but if you're going to make a sport model, it'd be nice if the brakes had a bit more bite.

As you would expect from a sportier spec of car, the suspension has been stiffened and made… well more sporty really. The problem though is that the Camry was always meant to be a comfortable car, and one might worry that by stiffening the suspension one of the few positive aspects of the car might be compromised; fortunately though, the Camry still offers a very comfortable ride despite the suspension changes. The only real differences brought about by the sport suspension are the slightly more solid feel to the car's ride and cornering is no longer a joke. I wouldn’t take this car around a race track but it’s nice that the car doesn’t roll and make you nervous when you go on a circular highway on ramp.

Just as an added bonus, Toyota has bothered to put REAR DISC BRAKES on the SE! Toyota is known for using quality materials and having good designs, so I never really understood why they almost never put rear disc brakes on their cars... so it's quite nice that the SE has them.

Negatives:

Now for once this section of the review is mostly here for the sake of being here. That doesn’t mean I have nothing to complain about though. For starters, there’s the rubbish brake feel. I know I mentioned it above, but drive some of the Camry’s competition and you’ll realize the Camry’s brake feel is just flat out bad. Next up on the list is the exhaust note. There is absolutely nothing sporty about the sound it makes, in fact the exhaust sounds really flat throughout the entire rev range and the four cylinder models actually provide a nicer noise. The good news though is that the sound is at least smooth, and it doesn’t sound thrashy at the top end of the rev range, but that’s the only redeeming factor. The reason for the smoothness is of course the V6 engine Toyota has slotted in. and like every Toyota I’ve ever driven or been in, the engine is very smooth; but, and I mean a full rounded moon of a but(t), the engine doesn’t really make the car move. The SE gets a bespoke 3.3 liter V6 cranking out 210 hp and 220 lb-ft of torque but the car doesn’t accelerate very quickly at all. Compared to a V6 Altima or an Accord the acceleration is pathetic (so is the hp figure). In conclusion this Camry “SE” is by no means sporty.

The Good Stuff and the Conclusion:

You might have guessed that since the positive bit has been lumped with the conclusion that I actually like this car and you’d be right. Like all Toyota’s this Camry SE is beautifully well made. The interior has no nasty hard plastics that litter American cars, in fact all the plastics just look of high quality and the rest of the interior looks well put together and just gives off an overall quality vibe. Next, the outside has been given a few sporty attachments: smoked headlamps, beautiful gray alloys (which are also useful in hiding brake dust stains), the usual body kit stuff, and a chrome tipped exhaust. The car does not look overtly special, but I have to say the car looks pretty good especially compared to a standard Camry. You also cannot forget the unimpeachable Toyota reliability. If you take regular care of a Camry (just oil changes really) the car stands a chance of outliving you. Now onto the really good stuff; I drove this car for 600 highway miles (round trip) to visit some friends and this car absolutely excelled. The car was quiet, comfortable, and even though the engine doesn’t accelerate the car very quickly, it still felt strong while going 80mph down the turnpike. I ran into some really nasty Florida rain and the car felt sure footed and confidence inspiring even at highway speeds. Not once during this long journey did I ever complain and wish I was in a different car, in fact I even said I was glad that I was doing the trip in a Camry.

I still hold that if you want a family sedan that still gives you a taste of the good life, get a Mazda 6, and perhaps a Honda Accord. The 6 will do all the family sedan stuff, but it’ll give you that sports car look and feel you long for deep down inside. On the other hand if you don’t care about sports car handling or if you’re now a pensioner and that sort of thing no longer floats your boat, the Camry SE is hard to beat. That SE badge removes all the things that I feel are wrong with the normal Camry (apart from the brakes), keeps all the things that are so right about it, and turns it into a fantastic long distance cruiser. Toyota has succeeded with this car. It is the best car for the average consumer.

Summary

Pros: Comfortable, well built, and lacks the major flaws of the LE.

Cons: This is by no means sporty.

Conclusion: The perfect car for the masses, but not for me.

2007 Honda Civic Hybrid

2007 Honda Civic Hybrid

If you’re reading this, you’re either one of my five loyal readers or you feel like saving the world. If you fit into the latter category you’re probably not going to play Superman and defeat some villain with a dooms day device; rather you’re probably thinking global warming is coming and I’m going to help prevent it with a Hybrid. Very noble of you, although personally I don’t think a hybrid will really help you perform this deed.

There are quite a few things the ads and the environmentalists aren’t telling you about a hybrid. First and foremost, remember this is a hybrid electric vehicle and not strictly an electric vehicle. What that means is you’re still burning off oil and even though you’re burning off less of it than most people, you’re still contributing to global warming! I’m going to paraphrase something James May of Top Gear wrote right now because he made a very good point. There’s a finite amount of oil on the planet so by driving a hybrid we’re only dragging out our oil supply and not actually reducing the total inevitable damage. You may think that this is fine, because your children and possibly your children’s children can live on an environmentally sound planet for longer, but there is a bit more to the story. If you’ve ever had rechargeable batteries or a lead acid battery from your car go completely flat you’ll know that they have to be “recycled” or “properly disposed of.” In truth the batteries in a hybrid can cause greater environmental damage than SUV’s because some of the chemicals are carcinogens, but at the minimum it’ll cause damage other than global warming. Then of course we can’t forget the transport of said batteries and the raw material used to make them. Some of the battery materials are flown all over the world for the final process to be completed and the jet fuel used to get the final product out could actually equal or in fact be greater than the fuel savings of a hybrid! Then let’s not forget the manufacturing and recycling process itself requires energy as well… and most of our energy comes from oil…

Well, enough hybrid bashing because the idea is definitely in the right place and I’m sure some infrastructure changes will remove some of the negative aspects as the years pass; now, onto some more relevant car ownership issues. First we have to talk about reasons for buying a hybrid other than trying to save the world. As we all know hybrids get better fuel mileage so you’ll save by going to the pump less often, but there’s actually one far more important detail no one seems to have bothered mentioning. The biggest wastes of fuel in the world, by far, are traffic jams. Sure, your engine is “idling” but you’re still burning fuel and getting zero miles per gallon. This isn’t a problem in a hybrid because while you’re stuck in the jam, your engine will turn itself off and here’s where you’ll really be saving… if you don’t factor in the added cost over a normal Civic… which is a lot!

Positives: So you’re probably saying, “enough about hybrids in general! How’s the Civic Hybrid as a car?” so I’ll get on with my actual review. I quite like the new Civic in general because it’s such a monumental improvement over the old one. The interior plastics have clearly stepped up a notch, the styling in general seems more modern and more upscale, and the car drives quite nice too.

The Civic and its hybrid version share the same weird ass multi-tiered dash and I originally thought it would be awkward and distracting, but it works quite well. If you just want to check what speed you’re going at (which is pretty much all you’ll really want to check while you’re driving in an automatic car) you can catch the digital speedo in the corner of your eye, so it actually means you can keep your eyes on the road. The funky IMA instrumentation that shows if you’re using battery power or charging the battery is actually crash inducing, but just resist the temptation to look at it and you should be fine. The only complaint I have about the interior is the fact that the dashboard is DEEP. You can’t really tell where the front of the car is, and you always feel like you’re about to crash into what’s in front of you when you’re not… but I suppose you can adjust to this over time.

The new Civic is larger than the old one and easily transports you and your friends/family without violent fights for the front passenger seat, but there is a practicality shortfall with the hybrid version which you can expect to see when I reach the negatives.

The Civic Hybrid is a decent car to drive because it shares quite a bit of everything with the normal Civic. So, like the normal Civic the steering is weighty and gives some decent feedback, although it does feel quite a bit like a force feedback steering wheel for a Play Station; not a bad thing but it definitely feels a bit weird at first. The brakes are easily modulated and this car has more stopping power than you’d expect because once you hit the brakes the electric motor absorbs a lot of kinetic energy to charge the battery. As for the ride comfort, the Civic Hybrid was designed to ride softly so it provides a very gentle highway ride and the random Seattle potholes don’t really upset the car… so it’s quite good if you have piles.

Naturally an upside to this car is the low fuel consumption. The hybrid gets a good 10-15 mpg more than the already fuel efficient Civic and don’t forget, it doesn’t use any fuel during those rush hour traffic jams. The Civic Hybrid won’t get as good of gas mileage as a Prius (comes close though) partly because this car refuses to run off the battery alone. The second you step off the brakes and onto the gas pedal the engine will turn on no matter how hard you’re pressing or how much juice is left in the battery, and to be honest I quite like that. For starters, if you’ve ever had a Prius go past you in a neighborhood (ie the Prius is driving slowly) you can’t hear the thing and it will surprise you as it goes by. Now imagine crossing a street and being run over by a Prius because you didn’t hear it coming. Sure you’re supposed to look both ways, but cars still come after you’ve done your basic safety checks. The other reason why I like the engine always on function is because sometimes you just need immediate acceleration to get out of a situation and if you have to wait for the computer to go “oh $#!+ gotta turn on the engine,” then start it and provide drive, it might be a little on the late side.

Negatives: All of the negative aspects actually stem from the fact that this car is a hybrid… so if you really want to show everybody how enviro-friendly you are these shortfalls are unavoidable, kind of like your spouse finding out you’re cheating on him/her.

To kick things off I have to mention just how slow this car is. It’s certainly quicker than the old Civic Hybrid which had a leaf blower engine mated to a weak electric motor. This new model has an engine that’s about as powerful as the engine in the Honda Fit, only it’s quite a lot heavier than the Fit because the Civic is a bigger car and that hybrid fitment (the motor and the batteries) aren’t very light. Around town the acceleration is enough because the electric motor provides quite a bit of torque, but once you reach speeds above 40 mph, this car really starts to bog down. Once you get up to speed, torque starts to become irrelevant and horsepower is what matters, so around 40 mph the electric motor is pretty much useless as a form of providing forward motion, so now you’re mostly flogging the 1.3 liter engine, which is a bit small to be powering a car the size of a Civic. If for some reason someone’s going slower than you are on the highway, and you want to overtake them… good luck!

The Civic was never all that quiet on the highway to begin with, this has been a major complaint about the Civic for every generation, and the hybrid is actually worse. The new Civic is quieter than the car it replaces, but you won’t notice that in the hybrid. Since the motor is pretty much useless on the highway, you’re asking the small 1.3 liter engine to push this heavy car up to… well highway speeds… so that means you’ll have to rev the engine higher than you would have had to in the normal Civic, which ultimately equals more noise. So, this car only makes sense in town.

The Civic has always been a decent handling car, but the added weight of the batteries and the motor kind of spoils it. The Civic hybrid will easily outpace a Prius around the twisty bits, but it feels very heavy and awkward through the bends. You can feel the extra weight of the car ruining the handling, making the car dive under braking, and making the car roll through the corners while you drive it; however, not much can be done about it.

Practicality has been sacrificed for improved fuel mileage in this car as well. If you compare the normal Civic to the hybrid, you’ll instantly notice that the trunk has shrunk quite a bit on the hybrid. This is of course to accommodate the batteries… also, you can’t solve the small trunk problem by folding down the rear seats… because they don’t.

Now we get to my main gripe about this car, and hybrids in general for that matter. Obviously these cars are designed to have the engine cut out when you’re stopped, but things don’t quite work as planned when you get to a hill and a traffic light. As you approach a red light on an incline you’re likely to kind of coast to a stop then hold down the brakes. If you’re not paying very close attention, you’ll be coasting to a stop… then the engine shuts off and you start rolling down the hill and into the car behind you. So you have to keep your right foot on the gas, until you’ve reached your stopping point then quickly get on the brakes. Setting off on an incline is slightly less tricky but still annoying none the less. Usually when you set off from anywhere, you casually remove your right foot from the brake pedal then step on the accelerator, but once again it doesn’t quite work in a hybrid on an incline. During that 1-2 second gap between your foot leaving the brake to go on the gas, your car will have rolled back enough to crash into the car behind you. I started using my left foot to hold down the brakes, and after I got the engine to start up from pressing on the gas pedal with my right foot I’d release my left foot off the brake. Things got even more interesting when I got to the steeper hills… A manual might give similar problems, but this isn’t a manual is it?

Conclusion: If you’re after a Hybrid get this instead of a Prius just because it’s nicer to drive; but, I personally wouldn’t recommend getting this over a normal Civic. The normal Civic is just a better car all around, except it gets worse mileage (and that mileage is still pretty good); and if your primary motivation for getting a hybrid is to save money on gas... I would really recommend the normal Civic because the price difference between the two is quite large. What this means is that you won’t be seeing any actual savings for many years and at least 150,000 miles (unless gas prices go up by a lot). During this time you’ll have to suffer through all the annoyances the hybrid brings and to me it just isn’t worth it. Also, it your batteries go wrong, and the warranty has a loophole to not cover it, you’re looking at spending enough money erase the money you saved on fuel over the years.

This car only makes sense then if you want a shiny hybrid badge to show everyone how special you are. In that case I have to repeal what I said earlier, and say that the Prius would be the better choice because that’s a more instantly recognizable hybrid vehicle. You can then say “I have the same car as Cameron Diaz, and I care about the environment,” but buying car solely for the sake of image is a sin in my book, especially if the car isn’t particularly good… it just makes you look like a prat in the end.

Summary:
The good: More miles per gallon than the already fuel efficient Civic

The bad: Not nearly as good to drive or as practical as the already fuel efficient Civic and rolls backwards down hills

The Ugly: Won’t actually save you any money, won’t actually save the planet, and makes you look like a prat (at least to those who know cars)

Verdict: Just get a normal Civic!

Random Stats:

Engine: 1.3 liter I4, 110 hp, 123 lb-ft torque
Motor: Only Honda’s Engineers seem to know
EPA mileage estimates: 49/51