The 2012 Honda Civic is so awful that even Consumer Reports hates it
08-01-2011, 01:33 PM
#1
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The 2012 Honda Civic is so awful that even Consumer Reports hates it
Even the ultimate Honda fanbois at Consumer Reports have no love for the Civic anymore in light of compact cars competitors like the new Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze, and Hyundai Elantra. 
2012 Honda Civic LX: Scores too low for Consumer Reports to recommend
Andrew
2012 Honda Civic LX: Scores too low for Consumer Reports to recommend
2012 Honda Civic LX: Scores too low for Consumer Reports to recommend
Aug 1, 2011 4:30 PM
...The new Civic feels insubstantial with a cheap interior. You don’t get much feature content for the $19,405 that our Civic LX automatic costs, either. That’s a problem given the high bar set in this class by the new-to-market Chevrolet Cruze, the redesigned-for-2012 Ford Focus, and the redesigned-for-2011 Hyundai Elantra.
But a savvy buyer could sit in a showroom and realize those Civic shortcomings. The problems that really hurt the Civic’s score run deeper and they showed up at our test track. Stopping distances are long. The steering is lightly weighted and comes up short on feedback. Body lean appears early in the corners. The ride is marred by frequent short pitches. And road noise still remains an annoying companion...
Aug 1, 2011 4:30 PM
...The new Civic feels insubstantial with a cheap interior. You don’t get much feature content for the $19,405 that our Civic LX automatic costs, either. That’s a problem given the high bar set in this class by the new-to-market Chevrolet Cruze, the redesigned-for-2012 Ford Focus, and the redesigned-for-2011 Hyundai Elantra.
But a savvy buyer could sit in a showroom and realize those Civic shortcomings. The problems that really hurt the Civic’s score run deeper and they showed up at our test track. Stopping distances are long. The steering is lightly weighted and comes up short on feedback. Body lean appears early in the corners. The ride is marred by frequent short pitches. And road noise still remains an annoying companion...
08-01-2011, 02:10 PM
#4
Wait, where are the people who mock Consumer Reports when it praises Hondas and disparage its reviews?? 
(No, not a fan of the Civic; just will find it interesting to watch the responses to this.)
(No, not a fan of the Civic; just will find it interesting to watch the responses to this.)
08-02-2011, 05:59 AM
#7
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well I think road noise wont go away from the "Civic" experience. That said, compared to previous gen vehicles the new model is a let down. Hopefully it is a stopgap vehicle and Honda act fast and scrap it.
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08-02-2011, 06:30 AM
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Not exactly sure what Consumer Reports is smoking - I have a Ford Focus on rental and it is terrrible (yes, with 3x "r"'s). There are so many freaking buttons that an average person that is older than 25 is going to have a hard time trying to figure this stuff out. Is it just me or does anyone else think that LCD screens, automatic climate control, and all these bells and whistles are unnecessary?? Don't get me wrong, I think all those options are pretty darn cool, but having to keep the price down means dumbing down the quality, and to be quite honest, everything in this car just seems overdone to make up for the lack of quality. I guess they chose to mask the ass-ness with design... but the only thing Ford added was more crap on crap.
I think they did a good job with the exterior though; the Focus looks good and feels like what an economy car should be - unlike the interior, where the Focus is trying to be this high-tech car, but fails due to poor quality.
I have yet to make a decision on the new Civic because I have not driven one - maybe Consumer Reports is right? But in any case, I disagree with their take on the Focus... and from what Motor Trend says, I'm not exactly leaning toward the Cruze either (exterior looks good too!)
I think they did a good job with the exterior though; the Focus looks good and feels like what an economy car should be - unlike the interior, where the Focus is trying to be this high-tech car, but fails due to poor quality.
I have yet to make a decision on the new Civic because I have not driven one - maybe Consumer Reports is right? But in any case, I disagree with their take on the Focus... and from what Motor Trend says, I'm not exactly leaning toward the Cruze either (exterior looks good too!
)
08-02-2011, 06:39 AM
#9
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Fwiw CR also trashed the Passat because the new one isn't as luxurious as the old one, despite the lower price to offset that, which is BS imo. Car reviews from pretty much everywhere else on the planet still call the Passat a nice car even if its not as nice as the old one.
CR is good for crunching numbers and showing trends and facts, but their opinions are junk.
CR is good for crunching numbers and showing trends and facts, but their opinions are junk.
08-02-2011, 07:45 AM
#10
They got 47 mpg in the car (!!!), it's quieter than the last one, more spacious, has improved features/amenities and the look hasn't changed much. It's less sporty but quite a bit more compliant while still handling as well or better than almost everything else (new Focus being better, most others being worse). While I understand that the GAP between the 9th gen and 8th gen is much smaller than the one between the 8th gen and 7th gen, the 9th gen is still the better car (by quite a bit, in some cases).
It's a simple case of people comparing to the old car rather than to the competition, I think. Virtually EVERY test does the same thing and it's getting old. The Civic isn't competing with itself - it's competing with the other manufacturers.
It's a simple case of people comparing to the old car rather than to the competition, I think. Virtually EVERY test does the same thing and it's getting old. The Civic isn't competing with itself - it's competing with the other manufacturers.