2012 Honda Civic: Ten Year Review
After driving my Civic over the past 10 years and more than 180,000 miles, I figured it was about time the people got a thorough and honest review on it!
My specific Civic is the 9th generation, EX with four doors. Outside it’s Polished Metal Metallic (dark grey) and inside it has Beige cloth seats. The 1.8L I4 engine drives the front wheels through an automatic transmission, outputting a WHOPPING 140 horsepower.
Before the Civic, I had a 2003 Saturn Vue with All Wheel Drive. So many of my thoughts and feelings come from that area. I’d also be remiss to not also mention that I work in the aftermarket automotive parts and accessories market, so I have a lot of experience with various vehicles, but mostly trucks and SUVs. That all being said, it’s safe to say that the Civic isn’t the obvious choice for me.
Why the Civic?
The Civic was not my first choice. And now that I’m reviewing the spreadsheet that I had made to help me choose a car... I’m not even sure why I went with the Civic. My first choice was the 2011/2012 Chevy Equinox, which was basically just the newer version of the Saturn Vue, since Saturn had gone belly-up. However, with the poor gas mileage and the higher price point aaaaaaand let’s face it... it was ugly, I couldn’t go for it.
One of my other options was the VW Golf, and again... I don’t know why I didn’t go with this. It averages 6 mpg less than the Civic, but it had a slightly lower price, cost less to insure, and (who could forget) has a hatchback! Although, on the other hand, 2011 Kolin was probably thinking of how much more it would cost to maintain after... well... 10 years. No regrets, though.
The Civic was the practical choice. Four doors, excellent gas mileage, and of course... it’s a Honda. It’ll run for 10 years and then some! You could probably leave the original fluids in the mechanical bits for the entire life of the car, and it would be relatively okay. That more or less covers it, though. It’s not because it’s fast, or sexy, but because (at the time) I needed a car that could be a car for a long time without me needing to have another job to pay for the car to run.
That’s it, unfortunately. I wanted something that was faster and less top-heavy than the Vue, but that didn’t compromise on practicality. All signs for that pointed to the Civic, and that’s what I got.
The Interior
After ten years, I can say that I’ve spent a fair portion of my life in the driver’s seat of the car. The overall design and layout of the interior of the car is actually pretty great! Everything is set up to revolve around the driver, which doesn’t always work if you’re in the passenger seat and trying to figure out what song is playing on the radio.
Granted, as time as progressed, the likelihood of the display having the correct song on it has decreased over the years. As it currently stands, when plugged into the USB, the car sees my iPhone 12 Pro as an iPod, cannot fathom streaming media or the absolute quantity of songs in my library. On the flip side, the Bluetooth genuinely doesn’t know how to acquire song information from the iPhone, but it also doesn’t mind when playing media from apps that aren’t Apple Music (or iPod, as the USB thinks).
Outside of the entertainment system, the interior is overall comfortable. Everything within arms reach of the driver’s seat. My biggest complaint in here is that no vehicle should have beige cloth seats.
Living in Florida, and a regular wearer of black jeans, my seat was constantly getting dyed black any time I was a bit wet from the rain. In hind sight, a set of seat covers would have been a good investment, but I’m not a seat covers guy. I just don’t feel comfortable with seat covers, and yes, I’ve tried many types of them… still not a fan.
The Performance
Look, it’s not a Ferrari by any stretch of the imagination. This car was made for city driving, and at that it excels. Can it comfortably cruise at slower speeds? Yes. Can it go (relatively) fast and maneuver around traffic? Also yes! Will it win any races? Depends on whether the other driver knows they’re racing, but the answer’s not always no.
The i-VTEC on the Civic helps put you in your seat. Navigating traffic with it shifted into D3 will (mostly) keep VTEC engaged which helps when you’re running late to work. (Not that I have any experience with that)
In a final attempt to make the Civic sound fast, I will say the few times I’ve had the car above 100mph, the car handled very well. If I were a passenger with my eyes closed, I’d probably not notice that we were going that fast. Of course, that’s not to say that it’s safe to go that fast, so blah blah blah obey traffic laws.
The MPGeez
On the flip side of the performance coin, the car does really well on gas mileage. With a bit of careful driving, you can easily maintain 40mpg highway. Because I do a lot of rush hour driving, I averaged between 32-35 mpg, and get about 400 miles to the tank. Which, these days is pretty nice, considering that with the 11-ish gallon tank, you’re only filling up once a week for next to nothing. But, this is a Civic, you already know it’s awesome on gas.
What’s Next?
Well, after having my Civic for over 10 years and almost 200,000 miles, I’ve passed her on to the next generation of drivers. It’s an excellent car that I’d always recommend, especially a used one for a first car. With a little TLC, I’m positive that my Civic will run forever. But that’s not in my hands anymore.
Within the next week, I’ll be taking delivery of my very own custom ordered Jeep Wrangler, a vehicle I’ve been wanting since before the Civic was but a glimmer in my eye. It’s going to be a journey of sorts that I look forward to, but I also look forward to catching a glimpse of my old tried and true driving around town.
So, want a conclusion? If you’re in the market for a small, reliable, eco-friendly, speedy, inexpensive car: buy a Civic. You can’t go wrong with the 9th Generation, but buy some seat covers if you have the cheap seats.