hey guys. I currently own an 01 ford explorer xlt. Its great for hauling my dirtbike and going snowboarding and skiing however its not great when the other 90% of the driving i do is commuting to school and work. I do about 70 miles of driving a day and this truck is killing me at the gas pumps.

I am very seriously considering an 05 civic ex as an alternative. I test drove one and was pleased with it.

My questions are. How good/bad is the civic in the snow and winter conditions. I spend a lot of time in the poconos, PA and i do a lot of driving in harsh winter conditions. How does the front wheel drive hold up. Im a good driver and generally never used 4wd as it is. I keep it in rear wheel drive...so i think front wheel drive will be much better.

also, i am into motocross, so i have a tiny little dirtbike trailer i need to haul. Can i hook up a hitch to this car, and if so...does it have enough power to pull the 500 lbs between the trailer and dirtbike?

any other comments good or bad about this car would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

well as for the driving in the snow i have no clue, i live in florida we dont see much snow here,lol. as for towing 500lbs on the back it is fine, i have a 04 ex 5sp and i tow my 2 jet skis in the back and i have no problem. hope this helps, also you'll get way better gas mileage in a civic then a explorer

 

yeah thanks for the input. O, if you can tow two jetskis than ill be fine towing a dirtbike and little trailer. Well, thats good news.

Anything i should watch out for or know when buying this civic. Or is there anything i should make sure i do when i get it as far as maintenance or break in?

I cant decide whether to break in the engine hard or be easy on it. For my bikes, i put a load on the engine and that has seemed to work. any ideas?

as far as maintenance goes, i ALWAYS warm up the engine before i drive and i change the oil every 2k miles. i DONT use synthetic and i usually add half a quart of Lucas Oil stabilizer. In winter i run either 5 or 10w-30. Spring and fall i run 10-40 and in the summer i sometimes run 20-50. Is tehre anything i shoudl do differently.

btw, i am planning on gettin the 5spd. How reliable are those trannies? Is it a fairly strong clutch? how about messing around with people....NO, im not gonna be a ricer street racer but every once in a while i like to tango with people...even with my explorer. Just outta curiosity, whats the top speed of an 05 ex four door? thanks for all the help

 

i also forgot to add that i do a LOT of highway mileage. Im trying to bring it down, but the past two year, i averaged about 40k miles a year. I used to have an s-10 blazer and i gave it back to my uncle. It has 340k original miles on it and is still going strong with no oil burning. I know these engines are little four bangers. How long can i expect it to last if i maintain it well?

 

also, about how much will a civic EX rev at at about 75 mph. or how bout, how fast will a civic Ex go at about 3k rpm's?

 

Im from Denver, and in my experience a Civic will do OK in the snow, nothing spectacular but just as well as anything else 2 wheel drive. As long as you have some weight in the back end it should be fine. I also have a 5 speed on my 2000 and it's never given me any trouble. But if new civics are anything like older ones it will be tough to put it in reverse or shift to first at low speeds. That's just how Honda makes them I guess for a safety feature so you don't screw up the transmission. Also at about 3k I'd say thats gas saving RPM for these cars, the vtec and power is really at the higher RPMS.

 

Hey White_Devil,

I live in Canada, and I have a 2002 Honda Civic LX, coupe and it's great but I use winter tires. I use Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice, I would also recommend the WS-50 from Bridgestone, the new Michelin X-Ice or the something studded. Any front drive car in the snow is fine. Rear drive is good also, if you have 50/50 weight distribution. If you get the Civic, please get some real winter tires, or you will probably get in an accident. The tires that come with the Civic are probably the worst I've ever used. Last week at the ski hill I pushed three cars since they got stuck with there "Brand New" all seasons.

As a note the acceleration with the civic is snow will not be as fast as your Explorer, since it's only 2 wheel drive (really one, since it does not have a limited slip) but braking and cornering should be the same or better. Remember anyone who uses all seasons in snow or icy conditions is just plain dumb. I used to be dumb!!

 

break it in easy, and front wheel drive is easier to handle in the snow, but if you are going to be in the snow a lot, then yeah, get some dedicated snow tires. and invest in a set of tire chains, its easier to get stuck in a civ. but youll like it.

 

drive for the conditions and you can run summer tires in the winter, my 98 neon has a set of 195/60 summer tires on it and its fine in the winter if your not a dip and drive too fast. a fwd car is just about the best thing you can have for snow. Studded tires are over raited, they wear out the roads faster and a good set of regular snow traction tires is all you need.

couple tips, if the cars you are meeting on the highway have white tires(ie snow sticking to them), they have traction and have good snow tires, if they are black its slick

drive out of the usuall path of traffic if there is sand to drive in(dont be a dip and drive into the ditch), snow/sand will usually give more traction than what appears to be black pavement(usually has frost or ice)

and slow down

and dont say, oh but officer it was black ice its not my fault. that always gets me kicks

 

are you a cop?