You get full power from each gear when flooring the pedal with auto transmission. Surprisingly, OK with manuvering. Cuts off at 115 camry does and it's a mid-size, not compact.

Tires suck, AC sucks, slow, breaks suck, keyless remote jammed up once. All within 2 months.

I hate all hondas, and I ended up with the civic. For a compact car, it's good. Even with the auto transmission, you get full power from each gear when driven in a sporty way. I'm surprised I havent lost control with it on the highway...must have an ok suspension. Takes forever to accelerate, uncomfortable, AC sucks!!! Breaks are not good at all, within...let's say 2 months, i've gotten 4 flat tires!!!!

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98 Camry, the ac is better, never gotten a flat tire even though my friend and I have smashed the wheels. Handling is pretty good at high speeds....cuts off at 115. The AC is much more better than the civic, it's more spacious and comfortable. It does better gas milage if you ask me.

Gas mileage, sporty, a lot of things.

Cup holders aren't deep enough. Loses power when a/c is on.

It's a great car for a great price.

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1996 Dodge Neon - don't ever buy a neon

Great exterior styling, great interior styling, lots of space, quick acceleration, the most powerful Honda Civic engine ever, amazing gas milege, a real 21st Century vehical.

Not enough standard fiatures in DX trim

So far, the car seems to be everything I expected it to be.

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Tried out Ford Focus Hatchback and Toyota Corolla. Ford is not anywhere near Honda's refinment. Ford made weird noise on the freeway when accelerating. Corolla has a slightly more powerful engine, but looses out in terms of styling and comfort.

Interior and Exterior Design, Safety, Fuel Economy, Space, Driveability, ETC.

A little slow accelerating in 5th, engine noise at high speeds. And from what I have heard getting out of the rear seats, as with any car, can sometimes be a chore.

In order to make this review of some use to any and all who may inquire, I will try and organize this review in sections. Before I begin, I will make the disclaimer that I know little to nothing about the overall workings of internal combustion vehicles, so this review will be rather cursory.

I have owned the car for two months now and have had, as one would hope, few problems with the vehicle. Although the engine light turned on after only a week and a half of use there were no mechanical or structural deficiencies... I assume, as the manual would suggest, that the gas cap had not been tightened for the prescribed "three clicks".

Looks [remember--I said cursory : )]: Car looks far better than the previous year's model--which my girlfriend currently owns. Honda seems to have borrowed body design from Volkswagen and the Jetta--quite stylish. The rear of the vehicle has been completely redesigned and looks great. The front-end appears slightly more sleek and the head lights have been improved. This car looks far more expensive than it actually is.

Interior Design: The interior is far superior to the 2000 model. There seems to be a great deal more head and foot room in the front and that annoying little bump on the floor between the back seats has been removed so there is more foot room there too. I am 6'1, and I fit comfortably in the driver's seat. The seat coverings seem far more durable than the 2000 model's as well--my girlfriend has had her's for a year now and it is already showing a lot of wear. The steering wheel is extremely sporty and expensive looking--very flashy. And the overall lay out of the gadgets, switches, and buttons is handy--excepting for the side mirror buttons, which are a little difficult to access positioned behind the lower left of the sterring wheel. The trunk space is great and the rear seats split in two--one can lower independently of the other to increase trunk capacity.

Engine: I will preface this by saying that my last vehicle was a 1996 Nissan 4x4 with very little get up and go. So saying, this little car accellerates fairly well in the first 4 gears but the 5th leaves a lot to be desired. Engine noise is limited for the most part, but on the freeway music played at a decent level is drowned out pretty well... although not nearly as much as the 2000 model (perhaps you are seeing a theme here?).

Fuel Economy: The sticker said 32-38, but I have not seen those numbers quite yet. I have found it to be in the 25-30 range. This may be because I am not yet accustomed to the shifting... the truck was a chore to shift comparably.

If presented with a choice between 2000 and 2001, even given any reasonable price difference--I would highly recommend the 2001. My girlfriend is, to say the least, envious. 2001's model increased torque, overall build, ride quality, and safety while still managing to increase fuel economy is impressive.

If you are looking to buy a new car and can wait: I would wait for the hybrid electric Civic... don't know when, but shouldn't be too long in coming and it will be great!

If you are in a hurry: this is an excellent buy. Here are the cars that I took into consideration when shopping around:

Volkswagen Jetta: If you have $20+k and like to work on cars a lot, go for the Jetta--it's VERY nice but has some serious workmanship problems (assembled in Mexico rather than Germany)...

Honda Insight (drives great, 70 mi./ gallon, but EXTREMELY limited space and rear view is awful), pricey for a first/ second year vehicle

Toyota Prius (father owns one and loves it) great gas mileage and room, but pricey for a first year vehicle

Honda Accord: pretty much the same car as the Civic; diminished fuel economy, higher price, but better acceleration, safety (given the extra weight) and perhaps slightly better resale. Interior space almost seems greater in the Civic...

Toyota Camry: This car is just like the Accord, just a little more expensive

Mazda 626 and Protege: don't laugh... these two cars are okay... look at their reviews. However, I did not look into these as much as the cars listed above.

Having researched all cars listed, the Civic seemed the best buy. I hope this review helps you out enough to make up for the time it took you to read it. Happy hunting.

PS. PLEASE do not pay sticker price for your car. I paid WAY less than asking price by going to consumerguide.com, looking up the car, finding what the sticker price would be and MOST IMPORTANTLY what the manufacturer paid for the car (manufacturer's invoice price). Jot down what they paid for the car, go to the dealership, waltz through the aisles of cars available looking at your piece of paper while doing so, and DON'T PAY OVER $500 more than they did for the car--haggle with them; they'll respect you for it even if they;re a little upset at the time! : ) It's fair to them, and more importantly it's fair for you. Good luck!!

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Insight, 2000 Civic, ETC. AND 1993 Ford Mustang V8 convertible--not really similar but it was fun to drive while we had it

very good on gas. $14CAN can fill to full.
decent highway end speed for base
body has slight rush, but acceptable. winters and no washing. still looks clean exterior wise.
great rear and front views. low car for being stock.
210k km on the car.

acceleration from 0 to 60 is a problem. slow accel.
gears 1 to 2 hesitate a lot! whole car shakes. engine still looks and feels decent though with problem.
car is for small people. height needs an increase.
breaking is decent. but not good for my standards. no abs. :-(
door and audio problems.

1991 cx decent overall for base but not a performer (ofcourse). bought it new and in early years tranny need repair. However repair was exceptable for lack of maintance. bad winter car because of weight and lack of traction. no power anything on the car. i love to ride it always.

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95 civc-feels same really except for the hp increase. better accel and response- slightly. (checking the specs on my civc is really embarassing, only 72hp! but repairing some of the stuff on the car makes it feel more then what spec listed)
2001 acura 1.7EL (really a lux 2001 civc SI car for CANucks)-bad cornering car! love my civc more.

Workmanship is solid, interior is well laid out with no B.S. little gadgets that keep breaking, rear seat space is suprisingly ample (even for a 6 footer), controls all have a responsive, strong feel.

I had a problem with the steering column. The signal arm cancel mechanism failed, which gave the steering wheel a "wobble" in the center and produced overly stiff steering when cornering. Really, this was a very minor problem and in the end was easily fixed under warrantee, but the dealership didn't serve me well. (This was at Honda West). The service manager said that this is "the way these cars drive", insisting that there was no problem. I ended up driving the car this way for 7 months before demanding that it be looked at further. Of course, I was right!

What a great little car. Aside from my one-off steering problem, everything about this car has lived up to the Honda expectation - solid, economical, built to last. Leave all the domestic rubbish at the dealership and go get yourself a Honda.

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Acura Integra - same company, same quality and reliability. Had a Ford Taurus once; please, don't even think about it.

Looks sporty - these cars look good with spoilers and fancy rims
Good on gas - about 500 Km with appox. 42 liters ( It`s good on gas )
Good cooling system - needle stays at low on dash

Cup holders block compartment used for coins
Engine has no power if it`s not VTEC

From the first time I saw this car I loved it. This car has the look of a sports car with the gas efficiency and reliability of a economy car. The civic I bought even came with a car phone.

From the time I bought this car the only problem I had was replacing the muffler, I got a new one for only $133 ( Canadian ) This car has a stick shift( 5 speed )and I love driving it. For those of you who don`t like 5 speed you can also get this car with automatic.

Shotly after buying it I replaced the timing belt because it`s recomended by the owners manual to change it before 144000 Km or 86000 miles. Replacing the timing belt is required maintinance for every car that has one.

The cooling system is excellent. The temperature needle always stays near low on the dashboard even in hot weather and traffic jams. This VTEC engine is good on gas, and it does not burn oil.

This car also has good leg room I`m 6 foot 1. I`m comfortable in the front passenger and driver seats. I can also fit in the back seat.

Over all I would recommend this car to anyone who wants something affordable, reliable and sporty.

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More reliable than my previous car (VW Jetta)

Oil dip stick location. Trunk size. Window washer reservoir size.

Gas mileage has averged 32 mpg on highway driving versus the 40 promised. It is worse than my '86 VW.
Front seats very uncomfortable
Low ground clearance. Only car I've ever been stuck in the snow with!!
11 gallon fuel tank at 32 MPG means frequent stops for gasoline - Sorry Honda Ad department.

Impossible to change the oil filter unless you have a jack!!

Avoid this car. Perhaps the 2002 will be improved. Great reviews were written about this car but I have to believe they were written by folks who did not own this car. After a few weeks my impression of the car changed from excitement/anticipation to down right disappointment. Couple this with the fact that the car has been recalled 3 times so far and poor response from Honda customer service and you have said it all.

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VW Golf, Dodge Neon

Gas economy, price, looks, service

fuel pump recall, could use a little more power

Love my car, 2k1 red coupe. It has a great look, but I wish the engine was more powerful. A couple of rattles from the rear deck, but nothing you can't fix yourself.
Fuel consumption is great, the best it has given me is about 14 km/l, when i drive like gramma. but if you street race o just like driving fast it will give you over 10 km/l, so its still great.

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None

Good car for the price. Handles well and is dependable.

This car is very hot even when the temperatures outside are in the low 70's. This is a major annoyance. Also it is rather loud on the highway.

Easy to drive. Great handling. A little slow on acceleration.

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