..and I've narrowed it down to the Civic line of cars. First of all, I am not interested in quarter mile times. Here's what I am interested in:

1) Reliability, I don't want to drop hundreds of dollars into it every 10k miles.
2) Gas mileage, I drive a '94 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 45k miles on it, and it gets 15MPG. Not fun at all.
3) Handling, I prefer the pull from tight corners over the pull from acceleration.
4) Interior size, I am 6'3" and I weigh 190lbs. The only thing I like about the Jeep is I can fit in it comfortably.
5) Price, I can afford up to $5000.00 on the price of the car.

I hope you all can give me insight on this, since you each probably have a better idea of the Civic line than I do. I've checked the FAQ and I can only get so much information from it. I know that answers will be mostly opinionated but please try to keep Price, Reliability and Gas Mileage in mind when answering.

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to replies.

-Taiden

 

if you're looking at a honda don't expect too much power/torque unless you're willing to buy one that has been built up. I think a civic might be a little tight for 6'3", but it shouldn't be too bad. I'm 6'1" and i like my 99 coupe. Just buy an older model, relatively low mileage and/or well maintained car. You can get a shop to perform a compression test on the engine of a car to see if the numbers are alright (if you don't know what this is, just search). I personally kind of like the idea of a '92-'95 civic sedan with a nice suspension for handling.

1. Reliability is sometimes a risk when buying an older/used car, this varies from car to car. Generally better with honda's/toyota's, but it varies.

2. You will get better gas mileage with a honda compared to your jeep. Roughly 30-35 mpg and filling up on minimum 87 octane. Unless you get a higher performance engine where is sucks to fill up with atleast 91 octane....

3. Handling, just check it out on a test drive. If you're still not happy, then tires first. Still not happy?...go for a mild suspension setup (springs/struts)

4. Interior size should be satisfactory, won't be incredibly roomy, but sufficient.

5. Price shouldn't be an issue with an older model civic (92-95), a little more (obviously) for newer models, just look around.

Personally i was considering getting a civic hx 96/97 for a nice affordable commuter car (newer model civic, but great gas mileage -- 40mpg or comparable)

 

1992-1995 VX civic Hatchback. 91hp 45+mpg, 2094 curbweight, comfortable for your height, tons of suspension aftermarket, and can fit 205 series tires for your turning needs.

If builthatch fits in his EK, anyone on H-T can fit in a civic. He is liek 6'3 300lbs and looks like a lineman

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by A D NOH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1992-1995 VX civic Hatchback. 91hp 45+mpg, 2094 curbweight, comfortable for your height, tons of suspension aftermarket, and can fit 205 series tires for your turning needs.

If builthatch fits in his EK, anyone on H-T can fit in a civic. He is liek 6'3 300lbs and looks like a lineman</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't know how accurate Edmunds.com is, but it claims the 92 VX makes 102hp and is 100lbs heavier than the 93-95.

1992 Honda Civic VX Hatchback
1993 Honda Civic VX Hatchback

Strange, I should check the FAQ, I seem to remember there being a Hatchback Weight Guide there.

Also, I assume that there isn't much difference in the different model's Manual transmission?

 

i would go for a 96-98 civic cx/dx hatchback. i'm just about 6'3" and 180lbs and it is a bit of a tight fit in my 2000 coupe. you can adjust the seat though to lower the bottom of the seat and that gives me 1-2" of headroom.

i think the hatches have a bit more head room than the coupes.. and on top of that, i believe 6th gens have more room in general than 5th gens.

good luck!

 

I checked AutoTrader for a VX being sold within 200 miles of my location. I only found one, but it has no pictures and has 170k miles on it. (1994)

1994 Honda Civic VX Hatchback

This seems to be a pretty rare model. I assume all parts that fit on a VX would also fit on a DX/CX. So I guess the questions that lie are these:

1) Is the VTEC in the VX worth looking up, down and around for?
2) Will all mentioned upgrades that improve handling fit on the other hatchbacks?

Thank you previous members for helping me find the right car.

 

No the VX is equipped with VTEC-E. Economy. If the car is to be a daily driver and you're not looking for all out speed/handling then I'd pick up an EX.

More sound deadening, and more creature comforts. Power windows, locks, sunroof, a/c, steering, etc. And it comes with VTEC.

 

good luck with the buy!

 

The replies have been helping a lot, I asked in another thread about the handling difference of a Hatch vs. a Coupe, I titled it "Coupe/Sedan" by mistake, so I don't think as many people have read it as would have had I corrected the title.

Link to the Thread

If you have any comments on this, please post either in this thread or the linked thread. Thanks again for the replies.

 

I was going to pm you this, but thought it would be better for all to hear. Teg owner here.

I was going to say at 6'3 your gonna be REALLY cramped. Im 6'1 and my knees was fighting between my dash and steering wheel for room. This is sitting correctly of course, seat not laid back like some peps do.

Anywho, if your looking at gaining interior room for yourself, invest in some aftermarket seats, and low-pro seat brackets and/or sliders. I installed some myself, and gained like 4 inches of head room, and my knees dont come anywhere near my dash or wheel. Take a look. seat sits 1 inch higher now. my head is just alittle bit higher than the top of the seat, but not by much.

 

I bought my 97 hx in 8/99 and it had 67,500 miles on it then. Now here it is 7/05 and it has 147,000 miles. So it's been 6 yrs and 80,000 miles roughly. This has been the best vehicle I've ever owned by far. I've never really had to do anything to it other than the typical stuff. The dealer just put new breaks on just before I bought it and I just replaced them last weekend and I put new brakes and the rotors just because I had some brembo's I wanted to stick on there. Other things I've done is the 100,000 tune up which included the timing belt, water pump, distributor cap, rotor button, plugs, wires, etc... etc... changed fuel filter twice. I keep the oil regulary changed about 4,000 miles or so with mobil 1 5w30 and use a purolator pure one filter. Honda has extended the emmissions warranty to 10 yrs or 150,000 miles on certain vehicles and mine is one of them, and here is what they've done to it under this warranty. First they gave me a free tune up and changed oil, next was the o2 sensor needed replacing, egr ports needed cleaning, and the last time the cel came on they put in a new computer and all of these was covered under the warranty at no cost to me. So what I'd suggest is getting an hx that is still under this warranty maybe with 100,000 preferebly less if you can find one that is. Also another item I'd like to add is since your planning on getting or at least looking at civic's, get one with a 5 speed tranny, they hold up a lot better than the automatic's imo.

 

Yea diffinately if you get an HX try and look around for the 5-spd model. Or if you get any civic, you'll get better MPG. And the HX auto (CVT) is crappy as hell and tends to break rather easily. I've had to rebuilt mine twice already and its broken again... now i'm gonna do a 5-spd swap.

But choosing a civic is a good choice. I am absolutely in love with my civic. Plenty of room for me (6'1" 196lbs) and I can fit like 5 people in there haha. I dont feel cramped up or anything while i'm driving and I sit in a "normal" position. None of that gangster lean for me.