My buddy (some of you know him from ClubSi... Riot) wanted a new daily driver... His quad cab s10 wasn't cuttin it anymore... So he traded it in for a 2006 Civic EX Coupe... I was down in TX last week for business, so we met up, hung out, and I took it for a cruise... Here are the things that are worth mentioning... #1. THE SEATS!! Honda FINALLY fucking nailed it! Comfortable seats! They hug you perfectly, whether you weigh 140 or 250!! I mean just REALLY nice.. #2. The shift knob.. Very comfortable, ergonomic, very nice. #3. EVERYTHING IS LIT UP! The window buttons, the cruise buttons... All lit up... Not like the old civics where your searching in the dark... #4. One Touch Sunroof... Ya know... everybody else has been doing this for YEARS... and honda never did... They FINALLY did it, and they put the button on the overhead console instead of off to the side.. #5. The dash... VERY strange... I'm up in the air on this one... Everything is digital... Has outside temp, oil life, things like that.. The blue is very nice.. Its set back into the dash, so its almost like having a heads up display... What i DIDNT like was the fact that the long dash means short hood... And I can't see the hood while driving... Something i HATE in vehicles... I like to know where the vehicle ends. #6. Drive by Wire... WEIRD... Makes the car feel like it has a 30lb flywheel... Not lightning fast reaction.. Takes some getting used to... #7. Cable shift... For racing, i dont think i'd like it... But for a daily driver civic... man... it shifts like butter. #8. Sound system... Its got a sub built in! And a nice one! It sounds SOOO nice! And built in AUX input for the iPod!! #9. Not the most powerful thing in the world, but VERY nice compared to older civics. It definately feels faster than any other Civic EX. #10. Comfortable. Smooth ride, nice handling... Just a great overall package. If I was lookin for a daily driver totally reliable... The '06 civic is where its at... BTW.. so far, city driving (less than 3 miles start to finish) he is averaging 32mpg... Highway he's averaging about 39mpg.. Thats a/c on all the time too...
Yeah... like... if i was lookin for a new car.. This would be it... If this is the EX... I can only IMAGINE what the Si is gonna be like...
What other cars have you drivin in the 2006 lineup to compare it with? I'd hope it could outdo an older civic... Civic SI, Neon SRT, ION/Cobalt, Mazda 3, Nissan SER. Over all I think the Civic SI would be the top pick out of that class. However, there's no way I could ever buy an EX if the SI was 1 step up. but with out taking them all for a spin it's hard to tell just how good the new civic is in todays market.
I've driven an srt-4 with the acr package ( tokico adj. shocks and lowering springs, nice flashy "racing seats" and awesome bbs wheels.) . It was really quick and the handling was also quite nice with lsd, but that's all that was good. The shifter was awkwardly long, a cheap plastic shifter knob, and shifting gears was weird, becuase the throws felt way long compared to my stock b16a shifter. interior was really cheap. all crappy plastic inside. The stereo was weak, and it it lacked power options. The exhaust was nice for a few minutes, but after a while it was annoying. It just drones on and pops when you decelerate.
I've driven SRT's before... Been in '05 WRX's, driven SE-R's... None had the all around package... The SRT felt cheap... The wrx... stiff... The SE-R... Well... It was an SE-R... Why did he get an EX and not an Si? Its a DAILY DRIVER... He has his turbo car...His sr20 swapped S13... He wanted reliable MPG in a comfortable car... And for that... you can't beat the new civic IMO...
Maybe it's just me but I would have still gottin the SI. the MPG can't be that much worse. eitherway it doesnt matter, it's his car. Have him post some pics when he gets it.
If he wants to go fast, then he just has to start up the S13 and beat those rear tires. Ill pry look at a new civic in addition to my current vehicle when the time is right.
No... The Si would be more mod tempting... This car you get in it and drive... The Si will have a stiffer ride due to stiffer suspension and bigger wheels w/ smaller tires... And it just won't be as smooth of a car as the EX IMO... Oh yeah... the other thing... NO MORE BITCHELINS!!! How sexy is that gauge cluster?
That shifter/e-brake setup is ugly as shit. The outside is growing on me, and the interior is pretty nice (I like the look of the seats), but I still don't like that gauge cluster.
Drive it... You'll change your mind on everything but the ebrake... The shifter is SOOO nice... The Gauge cluster is SOOO functional, and you'll LOVE it once you drive it.. You don't have to move your eyes off the road to see it. The ebrake... Well that does kinda look like a deformed penis... But at least its partially leather wrapped and easy to pull...
Wow, that looks really nice. I read an article in Motor Trend that the '06 Civic Si was really well done. They only had good things to say. And the EX looks very comfortable and functional.
Drive it... You'll change your mind on the cluster... TOTALLY different once you drive it... ESPECIALLY at night. And I didn't know imprezzas got 30+mpg...
The new civics are quite nice in real life.. Pics make em look crappy, but up close and personal, they are actually nice little cars. And I love the sculpture behind the civic pic.. LOVE IT. Plays tricks on the eyes. P.S. Looks like the seats are nice, except for the hip/leg bolsters.. They look tiny, should be higher IMHO..