It actually takes less effort to look to the right than it does to look down, though. Since you look to the centre of your lane anyway... *shrug* Interestingly, when I asked the salesperson why Toyota went this route, she said it was a safety feature - I was very tempted to ask "if it's safer, why don't the Corolla, Camry, etc. have centre clusters?" My understanding is that centre gauges are a cost-saving measure - no need to wire the cluster for LHD and RHD and all that...
I found the centre gauges easy enough to live with, but I still prefer the normal approach with the gauges on the driver's side.
As to holding onto the Civic for a while longer: that is certainly an option, and one that I was considering. But the possibility of getting into something newer came up, and while it's not set in stone, I'd be silly to refuse a good opportunity when it comes along.
Plus, a new car would be far more comfortable if I chose to drive out, and during the summer months in Ontario.