Traum

Ouch...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...ded-label.html

Honda Civic Fails Consumer Reports’ Tests
By Alan Ohnsman - Aug 1, 2011 4:33 PM PT

Honda Motor Co.’s newest version of the Civic, a model that’s been a foundation of the automaker’s U.S. sales for decades, flopped in tests by Consumer Reports, failing to win the magazine’s coveted “Recommended” status.

The 2012 Civic scored 61 in Consumer Report’s evaluation, down from 78 for the previous Civic, according to a review in the September issue published this week. The car, on sale since late April, scored poorly because of a decline in agility and interior quality, choppier ride, longer stopping distances, and more road noise compared with the last Civic, the magazine said.

“While other models like the Hyundai Elantra have gotten better after being redesigned, the Civic has dropped so much that now it ranks near the bottom of its category,” David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports’ auto test center, Connecticut, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Honda models since the 1980s have consistently ranked among the most frequently recommended by the magazine published by Yonkers, New York-based Consumers Union, a non-profit group. Carmakers seek favorable evaluations from the magazine as its reviews are considered the most objective because of policies of accepting no advertising and buying every vehicle it tests.

“We disagree with Consumer Reports’ findings,” Honda said in an e-mailed statement. “In virtually every way, the completely redesigned 2012 Civic is a step forward.”

(full story at above link)

NAOK9688

hahaha friend told me about this, I must agree that the interior looks cheaper material wise. Love my 8th gen

FERIO_808

wooooowww damn that sucks

na+b18c_hatch

just read that as well... it hurts my feelings, but at the same time I'm glad I have an 09 lol. I won't be trading in on a 2012 anytime soon.

dpine

I wish I had an 8th gen to compare to. The body style is growing on me so even though consumer report gave them a lower score I still think I might buy one (Si sedan) later this year. For the price of the civic (ex) there are other options as I have considered (not test driven yet) like VW Golf, Scion TC, Its gotta be an upgrade compared to my 88 hatchback lol.

kroze

I actually sat in and the 2012 civic is really shitty. The interior design and materials is very cheap and I think they hired some hack job who was layer off from GM or Ford to do the design.

DaveSi677

They were looking at the base model of the civic 2012... I'm curious what they would rate the Si?

MiX

even worse, this Si, mod wise, is so unfriendly.

unibody

If you shop based on what Consumer's Report tells you to buy, have fun in your Corolla or Sentra.

dpine

I didn't see in the article where they talked about safty, they seamed to just talk about interier and how the car handled. I'm getting older and to be perfectly honest its on top of the list of thigs I would look at (safty/crash test ratings). I think the civic's price tag on the civic LX being $19,xxx (EX models $21,XXX) is really hurting them aswell in the comparison. There are just cheaper alturnatives out there today.

dpine

I dont think Honda cares about making mod friendly automobiles anymore. I think thier direction is cost cutting and superior emmisions

bee guz

I subscribe to CR, and I do think they are wrong on this one, my 2012 drives and handles no different than a 06 to 11 car.
(although I am getting a new 19mm rear sway bar for it, I did take it off and measure it and it is close enough to the 06 to 11 to give it a try)

with the help of Pro Civic I will be trying this Eibach bar.

I think the inside could use a little brightening up with the use of more brushed metal or at least the look it has some but in my opinion could use a bit more.

I took some steps to make it feel a little less plain in spots, I made a red stiff felt insert for the spot in front of the shifter, and one for the drink holder, it brightened it up.

m_shake

Took me like 5 seconds in one to determine it does feel/look cheaper

Kev2010

I'm not surprised. Honda's well know quality is nearly gone.

na+b18c_hatch

Whoa I wouldn't quite go that far.. this is still HONDA-TECH and you might make some people (a lot of people) angry with talk like that.

I think what we're seeing are the effects of the world economy. I work at a VW dealer and of course you've seen the new Jetta mentioned... it IS built considerably cheaper and almost looks like its put together by those apes from the new Planet of the Apes movie. But the Germans don't really have a good excuse, from what I hear their economy is one of the best in the world right now. Japan was hit by a massive, crippling natural disaster which could be the cause of some of Honda's new shortcomings. As far as AMERICAN Honda Motors is concerned, the US was hit with a disaster too (his name is Barrack Obama).

just my $0.02

Traum

Instead of blaming the economy, I'd say it has more to do with today's corporate culture of trying to maximize every last drop of profit. Parts are cheapened out because the bean counters figure this is the absolute lowest common denominator where people would still grudgingly pay up and buy their cars without going with somebody else. Instead of building the car right and taking pride in the quality of their work, modern corporate culture is only about one thing -- profit.

This is especially sad coming from the Japanese manufacturers (and I am not only referring to Honda here) because the Japanese culture of old that I know always take pride in the meticulous craftsmanship that is used to produce their products. It harkens back to the old world belief of quality over quantity, where doing something properly means more than raking in the quickest buck.

In this iteration of the Civic, the only piece that still reflects this old philosophy is the (R18) engine. Everything else sucks.

prettyflyforaSI

I'm a fan of the steering wheels, wondering if there'll be interchangeable with the 8th gen si's

bee guz

I found one thing that is interchangeable with the 06 to 11's the rear sway bar works, I bought one to try on mine, hoping it would correct the dip when you turned.

I never considered looking at the front bar because it was so adequate on the older car, but after finding I still had the problem I took a look at the front bar.

Let me be the first to say I'm not impressed, the bar is like 13mm hardly adequate at all for the front.

What are they thinking about.

integra15

Honda has dropped the ball. I did not even know you could get a car mithout a radio anymore then I saw the 2012 Civic DX at msrp $15,605 does not come with one. Even the 12k Kia Rio and Chevy Aveo have one standard.

GoLowDrew

The Toyota Corolla ranked last (according to Motor Trend - a few months ago). And yet, people love them. Last year, Corolla sold 276,000 units.

Buyers in that group can not tell you the difference between DOHC and SOHC, VTECH and VTEC, or 4spd auto vs 6spd auto.

Is about the car being quiet, the AC blows cold, and the stereo sounds good. Get one from here to there without a big repair bill.

Traum

Strong sales number doesn't mean the car is good. And I'd dare say that almost all of us here on Honda Tech knows better than the typical consumer that would be happy as long as the car is quiet, the AC blows cold, etc.

The fact of the matter is, Honda and Toyota are resting on their laurels. They built the Civic and the Corolla cheaply, and they are crappy cars that come in dead last in the compact segment.

GoLowDrew

Let's play this out. How do we back this up? Use opinion (like ours) or sales numbers. Who pays the electric bills, opinions or units sold.

Should they build the cars for us (Members of HT) or the "typical consumer?"

*I agree with what everyone said, and in fact, this is the first time I will cross out Civic on my wish list. Been a fan (prior) of the Civic and loved every gen since my first 1988 Civic. Just trying to look at it from the other side.

m_shake

http://www.freep.com/article/2011080...le-sporty-cars

FoxMarketingCar

Let's thing about something folks. CR compared an apple and an orange pretty much. They tested a Civic LX (which only the DX is below that) and compared that against the top trim models from other competitors. I think a fair assessment would have to drive a new Civic EX that has big wheels and tires, rear disk brakes, high interior options, etc. It would have been a fair comparison if the would have done that. Don't take what you read seriously all the time before passing judgement. At the end of the day it is STILL the top safety pick in its class during crash testing. I think that needs to be said for something and they never knocked Honda's reliability on the streets. That has and will not be in question. They run forever and that is why we all love Honda.

Traum

The LX has traditionally been the high volume trim level, meaning that the majority of buyers are gonna see that cheap and cost-reduced interior when they shop for the car.

Additionally, in most (if not all) the other compact cars, I don't think the trim pieces are different between the different trim levels, although you might get leather seats and leather wrapped steering wheel and hand brake cover. The same thing applies to the Civics as well. You only get a leather trimmed steering wheel + leather seats (and power driver adjustment) in the EX. Everything else with the interior is the same in the DX/LX. Only in the Si do you get different interior appointments, but that is a whole different ball game.