Been away on hol and did alot of driving in the 1.5 civic sport. I’ll get onto that in a bit. It’s not on the scheme at the moment seems none with the cvt even the 1.ol’s are not on right now either, wonder if it has anything to do with production moving from the uk soon and covid reducing output by 50% i heard.
I never test drove the 1.ol, So cannot comment on that first hand, all i can say is the more i drive the 1.5 the more and more I like it. The 1.5 engine and cvt is so smooth when just in D and it does’ pretty well on the ecomony without hitting the eco button on. Not really tried that much.. It means less throttle responce which is not got for me and my condition. As it means i have to press the gas peddle down more to go anywhere, when i do drive. 90% of the time i use ACC.
Drove 139 miles to camden market in london using mainly ACC and in D Speed set at 78 mph on motorway and got 51 mpg.
Did the same journey on the way back In S mode and only got 42 mpg, but it was alot more fun and got me home quicker and a good few times i used the paddles to change the gears and let it rip before I let ACC take over again.
Using Sport really does improve the response time of the car. In D it bascally holds around 2000 revs and accelerates, put it in S it holds them around the 3000 rpm mark. If you floor it it though it will raise the level it holds it at.
The flappy paddles really do change the car in sport mode to another level, It simulates the gears S1 S2 s3 s4 etc. now the revs rise just as like in a normal car and at 4000 rpm the vtec kicks in and thats is addictive on country roads with lots of bends redlines at 6500 rpm, the car has no roll at all and so much grip it’s crazy and the ride is better than in my golf imo.
The dampers do a great job you can feel the bumps but for a sport version. I am pretty happy with the comfort level which also is better than the 1.6 tdi golf i did have last.
The variable electric steering takes a bit of getting used to and feedback is zero almost.. But again you glued to the road and it works well and is precise when driving at high speeds on bendy roads and on uneven surfaces. The family deffo give the thumbs up to the ride.
I have not done a 0/60 mph test yet. but i reckon it is alot faster than the stats which is to 62mph these days not 60 mph any more as 100kmh is 62.1371 mph. The Eu wins out again with metric..
I was thinking of getting a go pro and doing some vids.
If it comes back onto the scheme, Imo, It’s well worth a look. Deffo a daily driver as our usa friends would say.
The boot is a great size for a hatchback. does have a lip though and a bit of a drop down, no flat loading of shopping or a chair but one will fit easy enough.
No car is perfect IMO it has a few issues and look its not perfect in every department for some and some of the tech ie honda sensing including road departure and cmss etc can just start breaking the car as it thinks, something will happen, but you can turn them off and are very assessable. The Infotainment is a bit laggy although everything works and is free as standard. Unlike on some cars that are optional extras for android auto say or voice whatever.etc.
Other stuff is not available to turn off / or on when the car is moving like cut-in protection when using acc. But often it’s right and someone cuts in, better safe than sorry. Prob another eu reg for saftey.
Still learning all the parameters of Honda SENSING. It’s a suite of advanced technological features created to assist you as you drive, like everything these days can be hit and miss till you know how and when it works exactly.
Overall I have no complaints power wise, for a 1.5 engine it is the fastest i have ever driven, and as for the cvt no issues at all. Works very well and is pretty economical. If you do wanna overtake then clickdown using the paddle and the vtec is there as well as the turbo. it’s a little rocket imo.. Makes me smile everytime.
Not much not to like… 182 bhp from a 1.5l where as the vw golf and seat the 1.5 tsi you get 150 bhp. you’d have to get the 2.0l tsi to get 8 more bhp at 190 bhp and the mpg is worse on the 2.0l. It’s not all about bhp has 220 nm of torque for cvt 240nm for the manual ain’t bad at all for a petrol car, also is a dohc. Two cams is always better than one.
Alot of the grunt is when the vtec kicks in so if you keep the revs up it is super quick and sounds great, you hear the engine note change from that normal car to a roaring beast ready to pass you in a blip, when it’s safe to do so and speed limit permiting of course. I can see me getting a few points though, if i’m not careful it will break the limit way to easy and to comfortably. Most of the time i drive in D and shift to S when needed. It’s nice to have that power when needed.
You’ll see this view alot of it.
