Why A Fifth Generation Civic Hatchback Is The Best First Car

The Nineties Was A Simpler Era When Honda Could Build A 55 mpg Civic

Honda’s fifth-gen hatchback was nothing more than transportation, especially the VX model with a 1.5 liter eco-minded inline four with a whopping 92 horsepower. It was a bit more power than the CX, but it also featured a number of weight saving and aerodynamic upgrades (13″ alloy wheels, under body trim, an aluminum alternator bracket, an aluminum engine mount, and a lightweight crankshaft pulley) in order to pull off fuel economy numbers that rival or even beat today’s modern hybrids. While it may not have been the fastest or most exciting thing Honda has ever built, they sure did put a lot of effort into engineering this economic masterpiece.

In this video, Mister Regular takes a look at the VX and determines that it would make the perfect first car for someone. Those skinny eco-conscious tires would be great for new drivers to learn the ins and outs of understeer/oversteer because the breakaway points will be found at lower speeds. This is perfectly sound logic, and we stand with him on this point. With manual steering, manual windows, manual door locks, well, you get the idea, the EH2 Civic has a lot going for it in terms of simplicity, as well. Simple cars make great first cars, as there is less to go wrong with them for young drivers to have to worry about. If you properly maintain this little red hatchback, it would easily drive hundreds of thousands of miles with no complaints.

We should probably mention here that Mister Regular’s language in this video is a bit unsafe for most workplaces, but his stream-of-consciousness-style quasi-rants are usually well worth the time required to watch them. This Civic video is no different. Hope you’re wearing headphones.

[Source: Regular Car Reviews via YouTube]