I was surprised that it did not take immense persuasion for Yogendra to hand me keys to the long-term Civic, a car hyped for its immense capabilities and driving pleasure. Why did Yogendra, Sirish and Vikrant all have their reservations about using the Civic for too long? But it is something I will expound on a little later.
I had driven the Civic on the Golden Quadrilateral drive. Back then she did feel quite impressive with an engine that begged to be revved hard and road manners that were most impressive even on tight twisties. But a few days on the road is hardly indicative of the ‘living with it’ experience.
The Civic is not the car for Mumbai with its snaking rows of bumper to bumper traffic. I do appreciate the superbly engineered driver’s perch, form hugging seats, sporty steering wheel, chilly air con and splendid 6-cd changer. But how I wish this car had better low end grunt. Below 2500rpm it feels sluggish, but drive the rev needle a notch above and the i-VTEC surge is instantly apparent. Though the dual role play does get a bit tiresome in traffic, the rare openings let me unleash all 132 horses. Until the next auto-rickshaw curbs both the Civic and my enthusiasm. But accessing the power requires deft and nimble maneuvering of the gearshift sometimes as low as first.
I’m not smitten with either the exteriors or interiors though I’m also aware of the symphony of ‘oohs’ and such the car evokes.
What I love is the exhaust roar, subtle yet sonorous. On the expressway, the Civic is a beast, insatiable yet accommodating, gobbling the miles without breaking into a sweat. On smooth blacktop the ride is lush with adequate suspension travel. But with more than two aboard, the smoothness is replaced by a dry crunchy ride. I took the recommendations of the others from the edit team to heart and have not packed in a full complement of passengers. I suspect this is why the car came so easily to my hand.
The Civic in my estimate is a mixed bag of goodies, some that you may love, others that you may choose to ignore. She is an expensive car to own but is a great complement if you can afford it. I though am hoping and praying that Honda for once does something completely irrational by introducing India to the Civic Type R sedan which has over 220 horses under its hood. Until then I can satisfy myself driving the pretender to the throne.
Bertrand D’souza
