2006 Civic EX Sedan with Navigation
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2006 Civic EX Sedan with Navigation
2006 Civic EX Sedan with Navigation
(Pictures can be found here:
http://elabfcsvrt.fdu.edu/bartsch/06Civic/ )
I recently picked up a 2006 Honda Civic 4 door sedan after looking at a bunch of alternatives.
My reasons for replacing my 1998 Honda Prelude were simple:
- Repair costs due to aging of the vehicle
- Gas costs when used as a daily driver [19-25MPG]
- Wanted a newer, fully featured, vehicle
At first glance most people would ask why a 37 year old person would even consider a Honda Civic. At first, I didn’t! However, when you see the new Civic and compare its features, you’ll understand.
The 2006 Civic has been redesigned completely, and the new version of the car looks a lot like Scion tC. It’s the most aerodynamic production car, and that includes the Toyota Prius. While aerodynamic, the 06 Civic doesn’t look as “odd” as the Prius. The reasons for this design change are somewhat obvious: the Civic 06 Hybrid shares most of the same components as the other versions of the Civic, so the body had to be better at lowering wind resistance.
I had originally thought to purchase the Prius in order to maximize my fuel cost savings. However, the Civic 06 gets decent highway gas mileage in the high 30’s / low 40’s, and it’s $6000.00 less expensive than the comparably equipped Prius.
When you compare the Civic 06 Hybrid to the Sedan, the difference in cost is only about $1500.00. It would literally take 6 years to make up that difference in fuel costs between the Civic 06 EX and the Civic 06 Hybrid. Economically, it didn’t pay to buy the first year of the new Civic Hybrid… as I learned with the Prelude: Don’t buy a car with a very limited production in its first 2 years, as the dealer will not see enough of those cars to know what the common problems are.
Civic EX Features:
The new Civics come with a ton of features. Unlike previous models, there are MANY features for comfort and usage:
• 1.8-liter, SOHC i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine [140HP]
• Drive-By-Wire Throttle System™
• ULEV-2 (Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle)
• 5-speed manual transmission
• Available compact 5-speed automatic transmission
• Control-link MacPherson strut front suspension
• Reactive-link double wishbone rear suspension
• Power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering
• 16" alloy wheels
• 4-wheel disc brakes
• Dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags (SRS)
• Front side airbags with passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS)
• Side curtain airbags
• Active head restraints
• Outboard Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
• Immobilizer Theft-Deterrent System
• Integrated rear-window antenna
• One-touch power moonroof with tilt feature
• Remote entry system with trunk release
• Exterior temperature indicator
• 160-watt AM/FM/XM Ready®/CD audio system with six speakers
• WMA and MP3 Playback capability via PC Card Flash Media Interface & CD
• Speed-sensitive volume control (SVC)
• MP3/auxiliary input jack
• Steering wheel-mounted audio controls
• Rear-seat armrest
• 60/40 split fold-down rear seatback
• Variable intermittent windshield wipers
• Front and center console 12-volt power outlets
• Maintenance minder system
Things I Found Interesting:
Safety:
First off, there are air bags everywhere! No, really!!
Honda has decided to up the ante with an inexpensive car that’s loaded with safety features. The car has 8 air bags in the EX top-of-the-line Navigation model: 4 in the roof pillars, two in the dash board, and 2 in the front seats.
Additionally, it appears that all of the models have EBD, or electronic brake distribution. This is a function where the car detects where the greatest load is and adjusts the front/rear brake distribution. So, if you’re hauling all of the H22A engine parts from your Honda Prelude, the car will sense the added weight adjust the brake distribution.
Lastly, there are a bunch of engineered crumple zones in the front and rear of the car. As is common today with most manufacturers the front and rear of the car with crush and leave the passenger compartment intact.
Navigation System / Stereo:
The second really neat thing about the car is the GPS Navigation system.
Now, I’m certain the more paranoid people out there are saying to themselves, “Yeah, but the MAN can probably find your car!!!!” We’ll I’m not so certain that the “gov’ment” can track your new Civic using GPS, but the navigation system is super cool.
On the Civic with the navigation (NAV) system, all of the audio and NAV controls work through a touch screen located in the center of the dash board. There are additional controls for the NAV system and the audio aspects of it located on the left side of the steering wheel.
The REALLY nice thing about this system is that it is VOICE operated. You can tell the car to do almost anything with respect to the NAV system or the audio system.
Some examples are:
“FM 101.5”
“Play Card”
“Find Nearest Chinese Restaurant”
I did try a few other commands, but the folks at Honda don’t appear to be as twisted as I am. I can say that the voice command system does work well, and gets surprising few things wrong. (So far it’s been because I forgot which command I needed to use and tried something else…)
Two other features that the folks of the digital world will like are the ability to play MP3 and WMA files via FLASH CARD (!) or via a standard mini-stereo jack input [i.e. iPod hookup].
When the screen for the NAV system folds down, you see a DVD slot for the NAV database, a CD slot, and a PCMCIA [aka PC Card] slot! Basically, you can play MP3’s off a CD, or you can insert a PCMCIA to flash media adapter with your music on it.
In my case, I’ve had a Compact Flash to PCMCIA adapter since I got my original Canon Digital Elph. So I just copied a bunch of, ahem, legally acquired MP3’s to a 1GB CF card and installed that into the NAV system. It’s very fast and very handy. (It almost offsets the fact that Honda doesn’t have HID lights in the new Civic. –grin-)
There are controls for the standard fading of left/right/front/rear and the ability to select more treble or bass. The system also had the ability to adjust the stereo loudness with respect to speed (aka road noise).
The NAV system features a bunch of neat information. The basics of which include locations: Restaurants, ATMs, gas stations, supermarkets, schools, etc. It’s very robust and maps routes very well. While traveling to a destination the NAV system will talk to you and tell you when a turn is approaching, etc. It will also automatically re-route you when goof and make a wrong turn, etc. It’s very well thought out and really useful.
Interior:
The interior is laid out well and of an overall high quality. Some things remind me of the Mercedes 320CLK, and other things remind me of cheap crap. For instance, the molded center console and dash board are very nice, but the door handles are sorta cheap in their feel / design.
There are 2 front seats, with the driver’s seat being fully adjustable: front-rear / up-down / seat back pivots, and head rest up-down.
The rear seats in the EX are configured with a 60/40 split so that you can stick a large object through one side of the trunk or the other. This allows you to seat 3 people in the car, while still getting a large object in for transportation.
One thing that is nice, especially compared to older Civics and the Prelude would be a large amount of storage space. There are two areas for placing personal items under the navigation system, a dual cup holder with a rolling cover, a center console storage area (with a power outlet), a glove box, and two small holders under the dimmer controls.
The driver’s side floor mat is tethered, and then there both passenger floor mats and rear floor mats as well. Unlikely the Prelude, these actually come with the car.
The seats are all comfortable and well padded. The interior in general is MUCH larger than previous Civics. One of my buddies commented that it similar to his BMW 3 series. There is no doubt that it’s much larger than the previous VW Jetta model, and probably on par with the current one.
Exterior:
The 06 Civic comes with opposing wiper blades that look like the extreme weather blades available aftermarket for many car models.
The radio antenna is built into the rear window of the car along with the defroster.
Unfortunately, Honda has only seen fit to provide the Canadian models with heated exterior mirror… which continues to be annoying to people in the US market.
The EX comes with 16 inch alloy wheels that sport the Bridgestone Turanza EL400 tires. The tires are a quiet ride and very good in the rain, including the many inches we’ve got ten over the last two days!
The headlights are not wonderful with respect to the low beams. I don’t recall the bulb type… but I think it was an HC3 or something. What IS interested in that the high/low beam configuration is actually changed by popping two trim tabs in the WHEEL WELL, and then pulling the trim away from behind the lights.
(In other words, if you thought the Prelude was tight for space… that nothing compared to the front end design of the new Civic.)
The high beams work quite well. I’m looking forward to finding some Phillips Blue Vision or something similar to replace the OEM lamps.
Engine / Transmission:
Initial fuel economy for the Civic 06 has been about 35MPG.
The car uses a 140HP i-VTEC engine that produces a good amount of pickup through out the entire range of operation. Compared, again, to my old Prelude there is no speedy pick-up beyond 80MPH. However, this is a family car, not a sports car. So a better comparison would obviously be the RSX, ahem, I mean, ahhh, the Civic 06 Si!
Still, the car merges into the fast paced traffic of northern New Jersey without issue, and moves down the highways at typical NJ left lane speeds.
The transmission is a 5 speed unit and it shifts like a dream. Down shifting is no bad either, but, as is typical of autos, not as seamless.
What is interesting is that the catalytic converter is attached directly to the exhaust header and is located directly behind the radiator. I’m wondering what the advantage of this design is, but it’s wild to see when you first open the hood.
One of the interesting maintainence designs with this car is that so much obvious technology is in use. One of those things is an oil life sensor in the transmission. I’m not certain if it actually does any sort of ionic testing, or just uses some for of simple spectrometry… but the sensor gives you a readout on the dash board that tells you percent life left in the engine oil.
One other thing that I noticed is that I do not see an obvious OBD-II scanner interface. So I’m assuming that the car is OBD-III and that I’ll need a special cable set for my OTC GeniSys Diagnostic Tool. (In fact, I’ll probably need a software update as well.)
Conclusion:
The car is extremely nice for an inexpensive ride, and it’s probably going to last better than my Prelude did, and it's got ALOT more in the way of features.
Gerhard
(Pictures can be found here:
http://elabfcsvrt.fdu.edu/bartsch/06Civic/ )
I recently picked up a 2006 Honda Civic 4 door sedan after looking at a bunch of alternatives.
My reasons for replacing my 1998 Honda Prelude were simple:
- Repair costs due to aging of the vehicle
- Gas costs when used as a daily driver [19-25MPG]
- Wanted a newer, fully featured, vehicle
At first glance most people would ask why a 37 year old person would even consider a Honda Civic. At first, I didn’t! However, when you see the new Civic and compare its features, you’ll understand.
The 2006 Civic has been redesigned completely, and the new version of the car looks a lot like Scion tC. It’s the most aerodynamic production car, and that includes the Toyota Prius. While aerodynamic, the 06 Civic doesn’t look as “odd” as the Prius. The reasons for this design change are somewhat obvious: the Civic 06 Hybrid shares most of the same components as the other versions of the Civic, so the body had to be better at lowering wind resistance.
I had originally thought to purchase the Prius in order to maximize my fuel cost savings. However, the Civic 06 gets decent highway gas mileage in the high 30’s / low 40’s, and it’s $6000.00 less expensive than the comparably equipped Prius.
When you compare the Civic 06 Hybrid to the Sedan, the difference in cost is only about $1500.00. It would literally take 6 years to make up that difference in fuel costs between the Civic 06 EX and the Civic 06 Hybrid. Economically, it didn’t pay to buy the first year of the new Civic Hybrid… as I learned with the Prelude: Don’t buy a car with a very limited production in its first 2 years, as the dealer will not see enough of those cars to know what the common problems are.
Civic EX Features:
The new Civics come with a ton of features. Unlike previous models, there are MANY features for comfort and usage:
• 1.8-liter, SOHC i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine [140HP]
• Drive-By-Wire Throttle System™
• ULEV-2 (Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle)
• 5-speed manual transmission
• Available compact 5-speed automatic transmission
• Control-link MacPherson strut front suspension
• Reactive-link double wishbone rear suspension
• Power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering
• 16" alloy wheels
• 4-wheel disc brakes
• Dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags (SRS)
• Front side airbags with passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS)
• Side curtain airbags
• Active head restraints
• Outboard Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
• Immobilizer Theft-Deterrent System
• Integrated rear-window antenna
• One-touch power moonroof with tilt feature
• Remote entry system with trunk release
• Exterior temperature indicator
• 160-watt AM/FM/XM Ready®/CD audio system with six speakers
• WMA and MP3 Playback capability via PC Card Flash Media Interface & CD
• Speed-sensitive volume control (SVC)
• MP3/auxiliary input jack
• Steering wheel-mounted audio controls
• Rear-seat armrest
• 60/40 split fold-down rear seatback
• Variable intermittent windshield wipers
• Front and center console 12-volt power outlets
• Maintenance minder system
Things I Found Interesting:
Safety:
First off, there are air bags everywhere! No, really!!
Honda has decided to up the ante with an inexpensive car that’s loaded with safety features. The car has 8 air bags in the EX top-of-the-line Navigation model: 4 in the roof pillars, two in the dash board, and 2 in the front seats.
Additionally, it appears that all of the models have EBD, or electronic brake distribution. This is a function where the car detects where the greatest load is and adjusts the front/rear brake distribution. So, if you’re hauling all of the H22A engine parts from your Honda Prelude, the car will sense the added weight adjust the brake distribution.
Lastly, there are a bunch of engineered crumple zones in the front and rear of the car. As is common today with most manufacturers the front and rear of the car with crush and leave the passenger compartment intact.
Navigation System / Stereo:
The second really neat thing about the car is the GPS Navigation system.
Now, I’m certain the more paranoid people out there are saying to themselves, “Yeah, but the MAN can probably find your car!!!!” We’ll I’m not so certain that the “gov’ment” can track your new Civic using GPS, but the navigation system is super cool.
On the Civic with the navigation (NAV) system, all of the audio and NAV controls work through a touch screen located in the center of the dash board. There are additional controls for the NAV system and the audio aspects of it located on the left side of the steering wheel.
The REALLY nice thing about this system is that it is VOICE operated. You can tell the car to do almost anything with respect to the NAV system or the audio system.
Some examples are:
“FM 101.5”
“Play Card”
“Find Nearest Chinese Restaurant”
I did try a few other commands, but the folks at Honda don’t appear to be as twisted as I am. I can say that the voice command system does work well, and gets surprising few things wrong. (So far it’s been because I forgot which command I needed to use and tried something else…)
Two other features that the folks of the digital world will like are the ability to play MP3 and WMA files via FLASH CARD (!) or via a standard mini-stereo jack input [i.e. iPod hookup].
When the screen for the NAV system folds down, you see a DVD slot for the NAV database, a CD slot, and a PCMCIA [aka PC Card] slot! Basically, you can play MP3’s off a CD, or you can insert a PCMCIA to flash media adapter with your music on it.
In my case, I’ve had a Compact Flash to PCMCIA adapter since I got my original Canon Digital Elph. So I just copied a bunch of, ahem, legally acquired MP3’s to a 1GB CF card and installed that into the NAV system. It’s very fast and very handy. (It almost offsets the fact that Honda doesn’t have HID lights in the new Civic. –grin-)
There are controls for the standard fading of left/right/front/rear and the ability to select more treble or bass. The system also had the ability to adjust the stereo loudness with respect to speed (aka road noise).
The NAV system features a bunch of neat information. The basics of which include locations: Restaurants, ATMs, gas stations, supermarkets, schools, etc. It’s very robust and maps routes very well. While traveling to a destination the NAV system will talk to you and tell you when a turn is approaching, etc. It will also automatically re-route you when goof and make a wrong turn, etc. It’s very well thought out and really useful.
Interior:
The interior is laid out well and of an overall high quality. Some things remind me of the Mercedes 320CLK, and other things remind me of cheap crap. For instance, the molded center console and dash board are very nice, but the door handles are sorta cheap in their feel / design.
There are 2 front seats, with the driver’s seat being fully adjustable: front-rear / up-down / seat back pivots, and head rest up-down.
The rear seats in the EX are configured with a 60/40 split so that you can stick a large object through one side of the trunk or the other. This allows you to seat 3 people in the car, while still getting a large object in for transportation.
One thing that is nice, especially compared to older Civics and the Prelude would be a large amount of storage space. There are two areas for placing personal items under the navigation system, a dual cup holder with a rolling cover, a center console storage area (with a power outlet), a glove box, and two small holders under the dimmer controls.
The driver’s side floor mat is tethered, and then there both passenger floor mats and rear floor mats as well. Unlikely the Prelude, these actually come with the car.
The seats are all comfortable and well padded. The interior in general is MUCH larger than previous Civics. One of my buddies commented that it similar to his BMW 3 series. There is no doubt that it’s much larger than the previous VW Jetta model, and probably on par with the current one.
Exterior:
The 06 Civic comes with opposing wiper blades that look like the extreme weather blades available aftermarket for many car models.
The radio antenna is built into the rear window of the car along with the defroster.
Unfortunately, Honda has only seen fit to provide the Canadian models with heated exterior mirror… which continues to be annoying to people in the US market.
The EX comes with 16 inch alloy wheels that sport the Bridgestone Turanza EL400 tires. The tires are a quiet ride and very good in the rain, including the many inches we’ve got ten over the last two days!
The headlights are not wonderful with respect to the low beams. I don’t recall the bulb type… but I think it was an HC3 or something. What IS interested in that the high/low beam configuration is actually changed by popping two trim tabs in the WHEEL WELL, and then pulling the trim away from behind the lights.
(In other words, if you thought the Prelude was tight for space… that nothing compared to the front end design of the new Civic.)
The high beams work quite well. I’m looking forward to finding some Phillips Blue Vision or something similar to replace the OEM lamps.
Engine / Transmission:
Initial fuel economy for the Civic 06 has been about 35MPG.
The car uses a 140HP i-VTEC engine that produces a good amount of pickup through out the entire range of operation. Compared, again, to my old Prelude there is no speedy pick-up beyond 80MPH. However, this is a family car, not a sports car. So a better comparison would obviously be the RSX, ahem, I mean, ahhh, the Civic 06 Si!
Still, the car merges into the fast paced traffic of northern New Jersey without issue, and moves down the highways at typical NJ left lane speeds.
The transmission is a 5 speed unit and it shifts like a dream. Down shifting is no bad either, but, as is typical of autos, not as seamless.
What is interesting is that the catalytic converter is attached directly to the exhaust header and is located directly behind the radiator. I’m wondering what the advantage of this design is, but it’s wild to see when you first open the hood.
One of the interesting maintainence designs with this car is that so much obvious technology is in use. One of those things is an oil life sensor in the transmission. I’m not certain if it actually does any sort of ionic testing, or just uses some for of simple spectrometry… but the sensor gives you a readout on the dash board that tells you percent life left in the engine oil.
One other thing that I noticed is that I do not see an obvious OBD-II scanner interface. So I’m assuming that the car is OBD-III and that I’ll need a special cable set for my OTC GeniSys Diagnostic Tool. (In fact, I’ll probably need a software update as well.)
Conclusion:
The car is extremely nice for an inexpensive ride, and it’s probably going to last better than my Prelude did, and it's got ALOT more in the way of features.
Gerhard
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