This is more of an introduction, my story and request for opinions, although I know most people here are going to be slightly biased

I was driving a 2000 Nissan Altima SE. Nice enough car, with the gadgets I liked (power sunroof, cruise, alloys, cd changer etc). It had been in an accident, and like all cars, wasn't quite right afterwards, and May 2006 I traded it.

At the time, I lived 8 miles from my office, commute there with my wife, and we were more interested in a cheap town runner that was fun, so we took delivery of a manual 2006 Scion xB. Within two months she had fallen in love with the car, and we managed to budget for a second xB, but automatic.

Then the big change happened, and we moved 50 miles away from the office (bought a house), and have a 50 mile highway commute every morning and again at night. Since moving I've put 15,000 miles on the box.

I'm looking seriously at picking up a 2007 Civic LX or EX Coupe.

My reasoning is that it will have as good, if nor better reliability than the Scion (which is a Toyota), but it will be much quieter on the highway (the xB is really noisy), a more comfortable ride and have cruise. With Scions holding their value well, it should be a pretty simple process to role the scion into it.

Opinions? Am I focussing on the Civic for the right reasons, or is there something I may be missing about this particular car?

Thanks everyone, and I hope to be posting more in future!

 

I think answers are going to be extremely biased if you ask this question here.

 

I hope if the Civic isn't the car for this, someone would say so!

 

i can answer with an unbiased opinion.

my friend had a scion TC, which was recently crashed. I was going to also buy a scion TC before I took a test drive in an 06 civic.

the civic is a far superior daily driver than an Xb, which has more room but has less hp and poorer handling.

the Xb also has rediculous ergonomics, which is unacceptible in this day and age.

who wants to have their information gauges in the center of the dash???

even the TC has poorer ergonomics than the new civics, as well as a cheaper interior.

and the civic should get way better gas mileage to boot.

get the honda.

 

^+1 on that... realistically though

 

What milage, realistically, are the Civics getting on the highway? Currently, despite it's horrendous ergonomics, I'm getting 33mpg easily, which isn't exactly poor! I read the Civics are rated for almost 40mpg, but is that realistic?

I kind of like the center dash dials, it's a different way of looking at the dash, which any 06 / 07 Civic owner should appreciate, even if they dont like that particular style

The Civic is almost certainly the better handler, the xB is fantastic for what it is, but its no regular car.

I've emailed a few local dealers for price quotes. Are there any "must have" dealer installed accessories? Fogs? iPod dock etc?

 

I can't speak for the new civics, but my old 93 easily get's 38-40 Hwy, and that's at 80mph in the South Carolinasummer heatwith four people in the car and the A/C on full blast. That is on an all interstate trip though, actual combined city/highway usually runs about 33-34 in my car. And all city driving really takes it down to like 32, which is still really good.

Now like I said this is in a 1993 SOHC 1.5L, not the new 07's your looking at. But Honda does have the reputation for being the most fuel efficeint auto maker, so their ratings should be pretty accurate.

The civic will be much more aerodynamic than the "box" your driving, and should also easily out handle the XB, and the dash is layed out pretty good in the new civic, everything is easily reachable. I tested an 06 civic si, but can't swing the payments right now. It is all about your preference.Hondas are very reliable cars also.

I personally think the civic is a winner.

-Mike-

 

I bought my 05 civic after test driving about 100 different cars and trucks.. (my job was professional designated driver then.. drive ppl home in their car while a buddy follows in my car) I drove a TON of different vehicles.. my Civic is rated for 35 city mpg and 50 hwy mpg.. my actual numbers are fairly close.. (low 30's city - avg 60 km/hr or 38 mp/h, mid 40's hwy @ 120 km/hr or 75 mp/h).. Anyhow.. I find my Civic to be a bit cramped on the highways (I do a 10 hr drive every month up to my parent's place and back), and as such, I looked into an Accord as well. The Accord has much more room, but also a much bigger motor (1.7L Civic 4 cyl vs 3.0L Accord 6 cyl..). I found the handling between the two cars (both 05's) was pretty much identical, but I found the Accord was MUCH more comfortable to drive on the highway, though a bit heavier on the fuel economy, but not by much..

I couldn't swing the payments on the Accord (about 10 grand more expensive), So I went with the Civic.. It's almost as awesome on the highway, yet it's just a bit small for my comfort.

That said, the 06 and 07 Civic's are supposed to be much roomier than their 05 counterparts and if that's true, then I'd stick with the Civic for the fuel economy alone... I haven't test driven any of the newer Civics so I can't really comment there..

 

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME??? I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO POST A QUESTION PERTAINING TO MY 04 CIVIC. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE BEEN TO THIS SITE.

 

go to a section and hit new topic. ohk. I say go with the civic. Gas mileage. reliability. can't go wrong