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That steering, by the way, is still the conventional
rack-and-pinion, merely relocated within the engine bay.
European Honda’s Electric Power Steering, which replaces the
power steering pump with an electric motor, was a casualty of cost. The rear suspension still follows a double wishbone
geometry, but the shocks have been shortened and relocated to under the
car’s floor itself; this to increase trunk space.
The rear suspension is a good partner to the front, tracking
obediently. It bottomed out
only in the worst kinds of bumps and uneven roads. Braking is nothing to complain about.
The front disc / rear drum setup sloughed off speed well enough,
but pedal feel is somewhat soggy and can still be improved.
Handling is still characterized by understeer, but is much
closer to neutral than before. Neither
does the car roll uncomfortably like its Accord sibling.
This one tilts but not excessively, even through the longest
hairpins. Compared the present Corolla, we have to declare no contest
in the handling department. Ditto
versus the Lynx in the ride department, and the Astra in steering and
acceleration response. Each
of those cars might trump the Civic in two or three aspects, but overall
the Civic is still the best drive among the midsize Japanese (or
Japanese-American) cars. Sadly, Honda chose not to equip the new Civics with catalytic converters, and emissions are only up to Euro Step 1 standards. Other cars like the RAV4 are already up to Euro Step 3, while all new European cars are already at Euro Step 4. We hope that Honda will reconsider its decision not to fit the catalytic converters, and will equip all their cars by year-end at no additional cost. Speaking of cost, the LXi , with all power features, radio/cassette player, third brake light and cloth trim, goes for PHP 625,000 (MT)/PHP 645,000 (AT). The VTi adds the 1.6 VTEC-3, single CD, map lights and keyless entry. Prices are PHP 678,000 (MT) / PHP 698,000 (AT). The top-of-the-range, auto-only VTi-S is the only one with ABS and EBD and dual airbags, plus an MP3-ready CD player. That goes for a PHP798,000. Our pick would be the VTi manual transmission. We can still remember when these cars topped out at less than 500 thou; that was just four years ago, but might as well be in the ancient past. Compared with its competitors, the Civic is good value, but fewer buyers can afford the whopping price tags. |
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