Honda Civic Ctdi Review

If you're looking to buy a new or used Honda Civic Diesel, this owner's review and road test will prove helpful. It reviews a UK Honda Civic 2.2 CTDi Diesel ES specification car, covering all aspects of buying a new or used Honda Civic with useful tips from UK Honda dealers and actual MPG information.

The new Euro Honda Civic has beautiful lines and a radically different shape from the previous Civic, aimed at increasing the car's appeal to a younger clientele. The all new design has considerable Italian influence as the Japanese designer spent time in Italy formulating a truly unique and beautiful concept car.

For the more adventurous, the new Honda Civic type R offers exhilarating performance and superb handling. The new Type R is equipped with a 204BHP 2.0 litre i-VTEC engine, capable of 0 - 60mph in 6.4 seconds and 146mph max speed.

Buy a Honda Civic - Buyer's Tips

Before you buy a Honda Civic (new or used) in the UK, road test the car and check for trim rattles. Oil consumption can be higher than average on the Ctdi - so check the dipstick level to ensure the oil level has been topped up regularly.

In common with most modern Turbo Diesels, fully synthetic engine oil should be used for best performance with at least annual oil changes. Honda tend to use Castrol Edge 0W30 or 5W30, so check that the car has been regularly serviced with the right grade oil.

The headlining of the car can rattle on 06 registration cars fitted with the panoramic roof. UK Honda dealers are aware of this problem and can fix it.

The firm ride of the UK Honda Civic can emphasize potholes in many road surfaces. We were advised by Clover Leaf Cars to buy a ES model Honda Civic fitted with 16 inch alloy wheels as cars fitted with 17 inch alloy wheels  (including the EX specification car) have a firmer ride. The Honda dealers advice was good as a new Civic fitted with 16in alloys has good ride quality.

All new model Honda Civic cars are supplied without a space saving spare tyre as it has a "get you home" flat tyre repair kit. This saves on vehicle weight and increases the available boot storage space. A space saver spare tyre can be purchased separately at around £100 +VAT.

UK Honda dealers are not known for generous new car discounts, but close to month end they can offer cheap deals on new Honda Civic cars, when the spotlight is on monthly sales targets.

Often Honda dealers will offer new car discounts of £300 to £500 on a new Civic so it's worth haggling for the best deal and trade-in price. Since used Honda Civic cars (2006 '60 and '61 plate) are only £2000 less than new car prices, it is often worth considering purchasing new as many used Honda Civics are ex-Enterprise hire cars.

Driving & Handling - Road Test

A road test of a Honda Civic 2.2 diesel reveals that the car is great to drive, offering excellent handling and road holding with little body roll when cornering. However, the Civic's steering doesn't offer quite the same 'hands on feel' and 'connection with the road' as the new shape Ford Focus, feeling a little more imprecise and vague at times.

The new Civic has a fully adjustable driving position with a number of seat and steering column adjustments. The sporty 6 speed manual gearbox fitted in our 2.2 CTDi ES is easy to manage and has sensibly spaced gear ratios (6th gear being around 35mph / 1000rpm).

The refinement and performance of the Euro Honda Civic 2.2 CTDi engine is simply amazing. With 140PS at 4000rpm and 340Nm or torque at just 2000rpm the refined Common Rail diesel engine has twice low speed torque of the 1.8 V-TEC, which means it feels significantly faster on the road, with 0 to 62 mph taking just 8.6 seconds. On the road the car feels very fast with excellent acceleration and mid range torque a plenty. This together with excellent fuel economy and low emissions, makes the new Honda Civic diesel an attractive small family car to buy.

The new Type R Honda Civic (launched in March 2007) has performance that matches the old Type R Civic on paper, with 0 to 62mph in just 6.4 seconds. Type R brochures are now available from UK Honda dealers.

Comfort & Refinement

Even though the new Honda Civic has a firm ride, it still proves very comfortable on all but the worst of UK road surfaces (remember our buyer's tip about the 16 inch wheels though!). The seats in the new Civic are supportive and comfortable and have full range of height and pitch adjustment. Road noise is well suppressed and engine noise from the refined CTDi Common Rail 2.2 litre diesel engine is only really noticeable in first two gears at low speeds.

The UK built Honda 2.2 CTDi diesel engine is extremely quiet and refined, with virtually no diesel rattle even when started from cold. In fact, the Honda Civic diesel is so quiet that it's almost impossible to tell (at idling) that it is an oil burner; beating even the Ford Focus TDCI which we previously thought had the best small car diesel engine refinement.

Wind noise has never been a problem in the Civic and the car remains quiet and refined even at high motorway speeds.

Dashboard Layout

The all new dashboard on the Euro Honda Civic uses relaxing blue backlighting with state of the art holographic display technology being used for the trip computer and central information displays. The new Honda Civic Type R has red instrumentation backlighting.

The digital speedometer is mounted just below the windscreen, in direct eye line. This makes it easier to watch your speed without taking your eyes off the road. Most controls on the Civic dashboard are easy to use, but some are a little fiddly and complicated - the wiper stalk controls being one example. Keep the user manual handy for reference!

Emissions & Green Rating

The UK Honda Civic Diesel 2.2 CTDi is a 'green car' with a super clean engine and low CO2 emissions. In fact, it's probably one of the best small family cars with outstanding performance and a class leading 'green rating'. At just 135g of CO2 per km, it qualifies for C Band UK car tax (currently just £120 per year). Just compare the low emissions and green rating of the Honda Civic 2.2 CTDi diesel to the economical Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI:-

The green car rating below does not apply to the new Type R Honda Civic which is not as environmentally friendly!

Best New Features

Annoyances

In Car Entertainment System

The 15W stereo fitted to the Honda Civic works well with good radio sensitivity even though the radio aerial is internal - in the rear window glass. Sound quality is reasonable although not class leading and 4 speaker are fitted. Separate tweeters provide excellent clarity of treble sounds.

The CD / MP3 player reads most CD-R and CD-RW media types and a 12 digit alphanumeric display shows individual track names on MP3 CD's (where programmed). Individual MP3 folders can be selected by name using the manual tune knob on the radio.

Build Quality Problems

The build quality of my particular 2007 UK specification Honda Civic was initially marred by problems with interior trim rattles. The hard ride of the car makes the problem seem worse. Based on my initial ownership experience, Honda have some way to go to eliminate annoying rattles and squeaks from the cabin of the new Civic.

A road test revealed several problem areas (particularly on 55 and 06 registration ES and EX cars) including a poorly designed and fitted interior headlining with more rattles emanating from the internal black plastic surround on the rear hatch. My Civic also had a particularly annoying resonance (buzz) from behind the dashboard at an engine speed of around 1900 rpm (70mph in 6th gear).

That said, the interior finish of the car is very good with high quality materials used throughout.

Diesel Civic Performance & Economy

You'll find that the Honda Civic 2.2 CTDi engine has excellent performance and I highly recommend buying the diesel car rather than the 1.8 V-TEC, even though there's a small price premium. Residuals are likely to be better on the diesel Civic as it has much better mid range power delivery than the 1.8 V-TEC petrol engine, even though both engines deliver 140PS.

The 2.2CTDi Honda Civic is supposed to be around 22% more economical than the 1.8 V-TEC engine models, delivering around 39mpg around town and 55.4mpg in the combined cycle fuel economy tests. That said, the fuel economy is poor compared to a small engine diesel like the Ford Focus 1.6 tdci.

Fuel economy of my new shape Honda Civic Ctdi is relatively poor (for a Diesel car) at around 44mpg with a mixture of short journeys and motorway runs. Around town, on the urban cycle I achieve around 35mpg - again quite poor compared to Honda's official fuel economy figures. If you have a heavy right foot, then expect to get around 30 - 35mpg if you drive the car in a 'spirited fashion'. It's also worth noting that the car's fuel computer seems to over-read by about 5 to 6mpg, so the car actually does less MPG than the Civic fuel computer average shows!

Economy aside, there's no doubt that the diesel Civic has awesome mid range power reducing the need to change down the gears and an impressive acceleration figure of 0 - 60mph in 8.6 seconds, making it a very fast Diesel car.

If you are seeking performance and driving thrills, then the new Honda Civic Type R with its 2.0i V-TEC engine still offers combined fuel economy figures of around 31mpg and 215g/km of CO2, along with a 146mph top speed!

To achieve greater engine efficiency the Diesel Common Rail Injection system runs at very high pressures of up to 1000 bar, using solenoids that release just the right amount of fuel to each cylinder at precise computer controlled timings. For more technical information on Common Rail Injection click here and don't forget to watch the official Honda video for lots of information about the new 2.2 CTdi engine.

Interior Space & Practicality

The new UK Honda Civic scores well on practicality. It has a large boot of around 485 litres capacity, considerably larger than the Ford Focus which offers 385 litres.

To boost practicality, the new Civic has both 60/40 rear seats and a unique folding rear seat arrangement that allows maximum use of space when carrying large or bulky items. The rear seats drop perfectly flat for large items, giving a huge 1352 litres of boot space - example here.

It's not all good news though, as the car's rear seats can be cramped for 3 adults.

The car has a large, air conditioned glove box and decent size driver and passenger door pockets. There are some additional storage bins in the driver armrest and two cup holders adjacent to the handbrake.

Safety Review

The Euro Honda Civic scores well on safety with a 4 star EURO NCAP rating and an ISOFIX child restraint mechanism. There are 6 airbags with front driver and a passenger airbags, 2 side airbags and curtain airbags front and rear. Please note that a child car seat should never be placed in a front seat of the Honda Civic as an SRS passenger airbag is fitted.

Running & Servicing Costs

Depreciation on the new Honda Civic is fairly low and the car is expected to retain around 50% of it's original value after 3 years. Servicing intervals are annual or 12,500 miles on most models and the 16 inch low profile tyres are around £70 each to buy. With an expected fuel economy of around 45mpg, annual fuel costs should be low.

If you want cheap servicing, don't buy a new Honda Civic! With the first service costing £181 and the subsequent service £230 (including VAT), Honda is taking advantage of their servicing monopoly. Get your Civic serviced somewhere else and risk voiding the Manufacturer warranty if non-Handa parts are used. Be warned!

The Insurance Groups for the 2007 Honda Civic is 9 or 10 for most 1.8 V-TEC and 2.2 CTDi models. This means cheap car insurance for all models. I paid around £240 in January 2007 for 12 months insurance with Direct Line.

Reliability, Faults & Problems

The previous Honda Civic has been very reliable and Honda are offering a 3 year, 90,000 mile warranty on the 2007 Civic so they must have a high level of confidence in the mechanicals of the car.

Unfortunately, in the 4000 miles covered in my 56 registration Civic, I've had problems with the bump stops on the Front Shock Absorbers and with the fuel filler release which refused to open despite pulling on the release catch in the car. These are both common faults with the new Honda Civic and modifications to fix these issues are available from Honda. The shock absorber problem results in a knocking noise when going over bumps and is a common fault on the new Civic, which is usually covered under the manufacturer's 3 year warranty. To fix the Front Shock Absorber fault is a 2.5 hour service operation.

For more information on car problems and fixes, try the new Euro Honda Civic Forum.

Review Conclusion

The new model UK Honda Civic is a cool car which is exciting to drive and stands out from the crowd through its beautiful aerodynamic styling. The Civic handles well and has sporty performance from its refined and powerful 2.2 CTDi diesel engine, which also delivers 50mpg fuel economy.

The car proves comfortable on all but very rough road surfaces. The new Civic's clever design means that it is extremely practical as a family car and all models come well equipped. There's a quality cabin with upmarket materials having been used throughout the range.

However, when buying a second hand Honda Civic (new shape) always check for trim and headlining rattles on pre 2007 production cars, particularly if you're looking to buy an ES and EX specification car fitted with the sliding glass roof.

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Written by Steve Larkins.

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