Topic: 2006 Civic has arrived at dealers!

[paulk]

Discovery Honda in Duncan on Vancouver Island got a shipment of the sedans this morning, so I'd imagine that bigger dealers in bigger cities also have them now.  I went down there to check them out over lunch.  Really liked the cars.  The new dash layout isn't anywhere near as odd as it seems in the pictures you see online.  I liked it.  Because of the raked windshield, the steering column and driver console does feel like it juts out towards you, but that's a minor complaint.  (It does feel a bit more claustrophobic in terms of forward/back space than the current Corolla, but the additional width feels better than the Corolla.)  Also, the plastic in front of the driver and on the driver console is hard and feels cheap, like something you might expect in a GM or Ford vehicle.  That didn't really impress me.  The material in front of the passenger is more spongy and feels nicer, though it isn't up to the material quality level of the Accord.  Other than that, the interior was quite nice.  The key has an integrated key fob, like the Accords have had for a while, which is convenient.  There is no remote trunk release on the key fob, at least not on the LX.  I didn't test drive any of the vehicles because all were automatics and I'm more interested in the coupe anyway.

One little detail that hasn't been mentioned anywhere yet as far as I can tell:  in the US Civics, the LX and EX models come with an auxiliary audio input for MP3 players.  In Canada, neither the LX nor EX has this feature, though all the stereos, including the DX-G (I didn't see a DX), have a button marked "AUX."  I asked the salesperson about this and he said he thought the aux input would probably be a dealer installable option.

[wing]

It's like $80 for the cable for AUX on other cars so probably an option.

I might have to go check one out in a few weeks

[paulk]

In the 2006 US Civics it's more than a cable; the plastic housing with the cigarette lighter is replaced by another housing with both a cigarette lighter and an aux in jack.  It's a great location for it, right next to the pocket at the bottom of the center console, tailor-made for cell phones and MP3 players.

[robarakira]

So this means we are going to have to pay for the AUX input as a dealer option,

and the US will get it all included?  lame

[84im]

Another example of  'the Americans get it, but we don't' syndrome 

[paulk]

I guess it's possible that the aux input will not be dealer installable in the US.  Otherwise it wouldn't be an incentive for people to upgrade to the LX or EX.  Sounds like at least in Canada it should be available as an option even on the DX-G.

[ParamedicNick]

The New Civic is the WORSE Civic ever. What an ugly piece of junk. I had all intentions of buying one today from London Honda, but when I took it for drive, it was terrible. Their is little difference in the engine from the old 115hp. Also, the dash looks really ugly. Everything is so small. It has the smallest steering wheel ever. The interior is full of low quality plastic. Mazda and Corolla are MUCH better interiors then the civic by far. The outside of the civic is the worse of it all. It looks like the Toyota Prius. I am really disappointed. For the first time ever, I wont be buying a Civic.

Nick


PS Unless it is dark out, the dash lighting looks really bad. After all the hype is over, I am sure Honda is going to be offering incentives on this car to keep it selling. The last generation is much nicer inside and out.

[wing]

Nick, sounds like you don't like the new civic.  Although I respect your opinion, prepare for a flame suit with those comments.

My only comment is about the steering wheel, I doubt it's the smallest ever, it's certianly bigger than the steering wheel in my S2000, I personally like a smaller steering wheel, smaller == better.  I'm not driving a big rig

[paulk]

I actually thought the dash lighting was better than in the pictures.  Before seeing it, I was concerned that the speedometer, having a blue background, would be too bright.  Blue LEDs on all sorts of gear are prone to being too bright, but in this case it's just kind of a background glow.  The actual speedometer numbers are white and look like they're LCD-based (or possibly OLEDs), not regular LEDs, and they seemed relaxing, not bright.  I suppose either way there is the potential for future maintenance costs though, since both technologies (LCD, OLED) have shorter lifetimes than regular LEDs.  Can't be sure though; I'm just speculating.

Also, the sticker on the automatics says 8.2 / 5.7 L/100km.  Saw that in person.  From the printout the dealer gave me, the manual should be 7.8 / 5.7 L/100km.

The strange thing is that in the US, the EPA sticker actually lists better mileage for the automatic.  People have speculated it's because the gearing is different.  The Canadian numbers above make more sense.  You'd expect a manual to be more efficient than an automatic.

[ParamedicNick]

The 50-70 current civic owners of about the 100 that were at the First drive opening at the London Honda tonight were also not very happy with the new civic. I guess we are too attached to the old generations

Nick

[wing]

I think it's radical enough it will be like the new BMW"s, ahead of it's time.

I will go out and check one out very soon to see myself, because from what I hear from the inside (know someone that works at Honda) it's amazing.  The Mazda 3 is amazing IMO, I will be comparing it to that, the old civic I felt was a bit harsh, the engine felt really weak, especially compared to the Mazda.  I'm anxious to check these out because I am seriously considering one.

[paulk]

Nick, did you test drive the sedan or the coupe?  Also, was it automatic or manual?  I agree with your hard plastic comments, but didn't you think the overall interior was well done?  Not as nice as the Mazda3, but better than the Corolla.

Another interesting point about these cars:  they're slightly less fuel-efficient than the last generation Civic (7.5 / 5.7 for the manual, 8.0 / 5.7 for the automatic) according to the stickers, but the extra horsepower is probably a worthwhile tradeoff.

[paulk]

Another thing I noticed in person:  the plastic buttons on the stereo have an interesting textured look that imitates the look of brushed metal.  It sounds cheesy from that description, but they look good in person, and the texture probably helps adjust the stereo by touch without looking away from the road.

[a4_tom]

I guess it should be arrived in GVRD's large dealers already.

[The Mighty Duck]

WTF?  I was at DISCOVERY HONDA last weekend and the rep told me the cars weren't due until the end of October...

Must have said Oct. but meant September.  I think I'll wait for the Coupes to make their appearence before I head down to the lot, not really interested in the Sedan at all.

[kenobe23]

As I understood it, on US civics ONLY the EX sedan gets the AUX jack, but LX and EX coupe get it. So it still could be that we're getting the same features as the USA.

[paulk]

Nope.  I was sitting in an EX sedan this afternoon.  It didn't have the aux jack.

[G0dspd]

It's a Honda Civic ... even if it's less than the previous generation or even the attempt to be "ahead of it's time" fails ... it will still sell very well.  You could stick a Honda badge on a steel box with a turd in it and some people would still buy it.

[The Mighty Duck]

Shame.  I wired my iPod into my deck a week or so ago.  Worth every penny to do so.  As an aside, the parts for me to do so where $65 (Pioneer, from FutureShop), and they wanted $50 to install it.  So if there's a dealer-installed option, I'm guessing at least $100.

Who provides Honda's stereo equipment these days?  IIRC it was Alpine - but regardless, assuming you can get the right piece of wire, it should be a fairly basic self-install, if you desire to do it yourself.

I had no trouble with mine.

[robarakira]

Civic Si better have AUX jack standard.   

Cheap Honda Canada...