2009 Honda Civic Reviews - Page 3 of 5

2009 Honda Civic VP 1.8 from North America

Model year2009
Year of manufacture2009
First year of ownership2009
Most recent year of ownership2009
Engine and transmission 1.8 Automatic
Performance marks 5 / 10
Reliability marks 9 / 10
Comfort marks 6 / 10
Dealer Service marks 5 / 10
Running Costs (higher is cheaper) 9 / 10
Overall marks (average of all marks)
6.8 / 10
Distance when acquired10 miles
Most recent distance5000 miles
Previous carHonda Accord


Perfect car for a little old lady


Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with this car. After all, it's a Honda and it's driven by a little old lady.

General Comments:

I bought this car for my 80 year old mother and she loves it. She never drives over 35 mph or goes farther than 8 miles, so this car is just perfect. She insisted on a basic little car that's easy to drive with A/C and an automatic transmission. That's what the Civic VP is all about.

The Civic's driver visibility is great... handling characteristics, acceleration, road feedback are horrible, but she never goes over 35 mph so this is a non-issue. This car, therefore, is the perfect car for dear old Mom. The Civic's price is significantly higher than the competition, but Mom wanted a Civic so that's what she got.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th September, 2009

2009 Honda Civic EX In-Line 4-Cylinder from North America

Model year2009
Year of manufacture2009
First year of ownership2009
Most recent year of ownership2009
Engine and transmission In-Line 4-Cylinder Automatic
Performance marks 8 / 10
Reliability marks 10 / 10
Comfort marks 9 / 10
Dealer Service marks 7 / 10
Running Costs (higher is cheaper) 10 / 10
Overall marks (average of all marks)
8.8 / 10
Distance when acquired47 miles
Most recent distance1020 miles
Previous carFord Taurus


So fun to drive, it's a wonder we ever stop



General Comments:



First, let me state up front that we only have around 1000 miles on the car, so it's too soon to tell how it will hold up in the long run. We're banking on the Honda name and reliability, and we've had several friends who owned Hondas and liked them. I was fairly nervous about buying a new car for this reason -- no history of reliability, so who knows what will really happen -- but we bought new anyways.

The first thing I noticed was that the car handles and drives very well. The tires and shocks were going out on our Ford Taurus, so it wouldn't be hard to be better, but I've also driven a lot of different vehicles over the years, and the Civic is the most fun I've had driving. I don't look for sports cars, but I like a somewhat sporty feel, I prefer automatic transmissions so I don't have to deal with shifting or clutch problems, and I don't expect a 4-cylinder to perform like a V8. For me, the Civic has been a great drive, and my wife and I consistently fight over who gets to drive (in a good way). We have been finding excuses to drive more (which sort of counterbalances the great gas mileage) and I'm a little disappointed when it's her turn to drive because I want to.

That being said, though the Civic is smaller than the Taurus by probably 1-2 feet, it has way more leg room on the passenger side. I'm 6'2" and fit very comfortably in this car. The only other car I have been so comfortable in was a Chevy Malibu (driving, not passenger). It seems like most cars have much shorter passenger legroom areas, but you can really stretch out in the Civic.

The headrests took some getting use to, as I was used to them essentially acting as pillows in the Taurus. When we first bought the Civic, I was having neck pain and headaches because it required sitting a bit differently -- I couldn't just recline and lean my head back. After spending some time reading about headrests and their intended purpose/use, I raised them all the way up, sat up a bit straighter, and relaxed. When I let my body sit a bit more relaxed and natural instead of trying to lean my head back against the headrest, it became much more comfortable and my neck pain went away. After eleven hours of driving in the last two days, I had no real car fatigue and feel just fine.

Trunk space is smaller, but the back seat is rather comfortable, and we have no complaints. We're not the type to go camping or need to haul a bunch of stuff, so it works for us. We checked out the Honda Fit as well because we were enamored with the storage space, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable. The first time we sat in the Civic we just said, "Ahh..." it was that great. Really comfortable seats, and comfort was our #1 priority.






In regards to the stereo and USB connectivity, we really like the way the console is laid out, but scrolling through artists/albums/songs can be a pain. With over 20Gb of music, if you want to listen to a specific song it can take a very long time. If you just go by artist or album and don't mind listening straight through, it's fine, but browsing is time consuming. I still prefer it over swapping CDs, but it has its downsides.

There are a lot of minor things about this car that all come together to make it really great. The attention to detail is refreshing. For instance, you can only open the trunk with the key chain clicker or with a lever inside the car. You can lock the lever with your car key, so if someone breaks into the car they can't get into the trunk. To lay the seats down, there are levers in the trunk, which again means someone can't reach the trunk (easily) from inside the car. Valuables can be locked away.


We wanted a vehicle that would be easily recognizable in a crowded parking lot (take note some time of how many white Ford Tauruses are out there -- it's easy to lose one!), and the unique hubcaps really do the trick. We have seen one or two Civics the same colour as ours, but the EX has a different hubcap, and we don't see many of those. It's easy to find our new car.


We are extremely happy with this purchase, and feel confident in both the car and the dealership we worked with, whose service prices seem lower than the mechanics I had been frequenting before. If things keep up like this, we will definitely return to the dealership for service, and will continue to buy Honda.

I will update more as the miles add up.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd July, 2009

23rd Jul 2009, 17:22

This was a great decision on your part. I own a 2008 Honda Civic LX with 25,000 miles. It's very durable. My mother borrowed it one day and ran it into a curb at 20 MPH. It gouged the tire, but did no damage to the frame (I'm a mechanic and inspected it myself.) It didn't even throw the alignment off! We also took a 400 mile trip back home from Maine with 4 people, all of their things, and 2 bicycles. It still rode comfortably and managed to get 36 MPG all the way home even with all the extra weight. I average about 45 MPG myself. It was also in an accident with a Ford Escape that hit it at around 15-20 MPH. It did no damage to the frame or steering components, it just dented the front fender and bumper. It's been very reliable so far, and obviously it always will be. It's a Honda.

Average review marks: 7.8 / 10, based on 12 reviews