2014 Honda Civic: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Unhaggle

Posted by | November 13, 2013 | 2014, Reviews | No Comments

2014-Honda-Civic-Si-Sedan-Spy-ShotsIt recently came to my attention that Honda released a 2014 Civic at this year’s SEMA auto show. My reply to this was “They are still making the Civic?” A silly response for a car enthusiast, but there is good reason for my surprise. Quite simply, the Civic hasn’t changed in the past 10 years. I will see a 2013 and have no idea what year it is because Honda never bothered with the whole idea of really giving it’s Civic a full blown makeover. But hold on to your hats, this year could be different because Honda announced that the new Civic would have a panty peeling 4 more horsepower.

The Honda Civic is a genuinely good car, despite its 15 recalls in 10 years.

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Hell yes it’s a good car. Well made, moderately refined, reliable and potentially sporty. I once drove a Civic and although I went into it with very low expectations I was pleasantly surprised at how tight and responsive the whole car felt. The only concern you should have with this car, is the fact that its direct competition is much better. Cars like the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Jetta have kept updating and making changes that maintain a good quality car, consistent with the times and quite frankly I think the Ford Focus is one of the best cars on the market considering price. And it wasn’t recalled 4 times in 2006… On the contrary expect the Civic to hold its value reasonably well above most other vehicles on the market.

What’s actually changed?

2014-honda-civic-coupe-semaBeing as this is a mid-cycle refresh, not a redesign not much has changed. The 2014 Honda Civic exterior received a feeble attempt at making it look aggressive, and it just made it look over dramatic. The fog light housings visualize huge dimples and they put a cheap looking piece of plastic spanning between the headlights, and they still have yet to get the back right!

The 2013 Civic was one of the best looking Civics, and with this new refresh Honda took a big step back. Most Civic fans are feeling the same way as Honda hasn’t received the response they were hoping for. The price for the bland base model will come in around $17,000 the same as the 2013.

Honda is completely missing their market

Half of Civic buyers are young, under-30 men and women looking for something cheap and cheerful to get to work and back. By styling their car aggressively as they have, they are shooing the older prospective buyers away as well as the younger. Nobody wants to show up with a car styled like a Lamborghini that pushes an anchor dragging 200 horsepower.

Personally, I will be glad when this whole trend of Klingon galactic battleship front bumper is over, because it only works on the Aventador. For now Honda, I say stop fallowing suite with the god awful Corolla. You are a 200 horsepower gutless get to work car, stop trying so hard to be cool.

At the end of the day the Honda Civic is a highly popular choice for many new car buyers and it’s a great car all-and-all. Let us know what you think of the new Civic in the comments below, fan or not?

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