New Lancer Vs. New Civic

gunat · January 28, 2008

Ok- first off, i don't want any brand bashing on this thread. I'm looking for some basic opinions on two cars we now have on the local market.

A non car-techie friend is looking to buy a new set of wheels (brand new).

Question 1.

New Lancer- Apart from Velocity, has anyone had any interaction with the new car?

New Civic- this is a great looking car, apart from the loopy dashboard...

A few things i've found so far:

Lancer is 1.5l vs 1.6 for Civic; no semi-luxury tax thus

Both cars are similarly equipped (Almost all options, Automatic, CD player, etc)

Lancer is made in Japan vs. Civic is Thai, i believe.

Lancer is about 100k cheaper.

Question 2.

After sales service (especially maintenance, quality of workmanship, etc)- how is Stafford vs. Unimo?

thanks

Edited January 28, 2008 by gunat

GTAm · January 28, 2008

Can't comment on the Lancer as I have not driven it. But recently drove the 1.6 Civic and the Mazda 3 in quick succession. Both were similar for performance, the Civic seemd lower geared, but the Mazda ride comfort was on another level compared to the Civic. I actually prefered the drive of the 3. But you know the agents are said to be crap!

The Don · January 28, 2008

Ok- first off, i don't want any brand bashing on this thread. I'm looking for some basic opinions on two cars we now have on the local market.
A non car-techie friend is looking to buy a new set of wheels (brand new).

Question 1.

New Lancer- Apart from Velocity, has anyone had any interaction with the new car?

New Civic- this is a great looking car, apart from the loopy dashboard...

A few things i've found so far:

Lancer is 1.5l vs 1.6 for Civic; no semi-luxury tax thus

Both cars are similarly equipped (Almost all options, Automatic, CD player, etc)

Lancer is made in Japan vs. Civic is Thai, i believe.

Lancer is about 100k cheaper.

Question 2.

After sales service (especially maintenance, quality of workmanship, etc)- how is Stafford vs. Unimo?

thanks

Gunat, the Top Gear review on the New Civic might give you some valuable insight,

There seem to be quite a widely held view that the suspension on the new civic is too stiff for standard road use comfort and the interior noise levels are above average, and I think Honda has struggled to get the balance right with the new Civic.

On the other side I cannot comment about Stafford but I can about Unimo and in my humble opinion I think they can do a better job, especially at offering spares and services at reasonable prices, providing value for money sensible repairs (for example a friend of mine took his car in for an AC repair and what he really needed was a new evaporator, but the experts at Unimo decided he needs a completely new A/C system and charged him 150K or something !! which in my opinion is bordering on absurdity) , but a lot of this applies to motor vehicles which are no longer under manufacturer warranty so I do not know how they deal with repairs and services covered by the warranty.

Edited January 28, 2008 by The Don

gunat · January 28, 2008

Gunat, the Top Gear review on the New Civic might give you some valuable insight,
There seem to be quite a widely held view that the suspension on the new civic is too stiff for standard road use comfort and the interior noise levels are above average, and I think Honda has struggled to get the balance right with the new Civic.

Thanks- however, there is one distinct difference with the UK civic...its different from the Asian model, being as its made in the UK.

Can't be sure if the Thai Civic suffers the same fate, but i'm willing to bet they have different suspension setups.

But i know that even the previous Civic was also a bit stiffer than the average, having driven one.

That said, if anyone can comment on the service at Stafford, please share....

The Don · January 28, 2008

Thanks- however, there is one distinct difference with the UK civic...its different from the Asian model, being as its made in the UK.
Can't be sure if the Thai Civic suffers the same fate, but i'm willing to bet they have different suspension setups.

But i know that even the previous Civic was also a bit stiffer than the average, having driven one.

That said, if anyone can comment on the service at Stafford, please share....

Historically cars originating out of Thailand have had stiffer suspension setups or a rough road package of sorts as is the case with the Mazda 3 in comparison to the Axela.

I can understand why they might have done it, as the Civic has an image problem as an old pensioners car and I am sure they wanted it to become all retro and too stiff for its most dedicated clientèle in the UK, so it might just be the UK model,

But this should be fairly easy to ratify or dismiss using a test drive

gunat · January 29, 2008

Any words from our Forum Honda Owners?

seeker · January 29, 2008

Any words from our Forum Honda Owners?

As a user of the 1.6l version of the new civic, I can highly recommend the car, in terms of the ride, stabilty & control. didn't have an issue about suspensions and related comfort.... and mate, I do love the two tier dashboad

Downside is the high fuel consumption rate of 7-8 /l in city for a car of it's class.....

Haven't used the Lancer, or the Mazda3 extensively, so can't compare... one test ride may not reveal every thing a long term user would experience..

Agents.... well I guess there are ethics that we'll have to adhere in our posts, so I won't go into details... but in my case, the preferred agent's new model was an ugly crap, and I had to end with the 'best out of the worst' situ, if you get what I mean.. :unsure:

Decision should depend on what he wants... whether it's to be at least 5-6 years use, the fuel factor, etc.. to me, in terms of driving pleasure and the looks alone, Civic takes the upper hand... :rolleyes:

gunat · January 30, 2008

Agents.... well I guess there are ethics that we'll have to adhere in our posts, so I won't go into details... but in my case, the preferred agent's new model was an ugly crap, and I had to end with the 'best out of the worst' situ, if you get what I mean..

Thanks Seeker...i think i can figure the rest out...

Edited January 30, 2008 by gunat

nira74 · January 30, 2008

As a user of the 1.6l version of the new civic, I can highly recommend the car, in terms of the ride, stabilty & control. didn't have an issue about suspensions and related comfort.... and mate, I do love the two tier dashboad
Downside is the high fuel consumption rate of 7-8 /l in city for a car of it's class.....

Haven't used the Lancer, or the Mazda3 extensively, so can't compare... one test ride may not reveal every thing a long term user would experience..

Agents.... well I guess there are ethics that we'll have to adhere in our posts, so I won't go into details... but in my case, the preferred agent's new model was an ugly crap, and I had to end with the 'best out of the worst' situ, if you get what I mean..

Decision should depend on what he wants... whether it's to be at least 5-6 years use, the fuel factor, etc.. to me, in terms of driving pleasure and the looks alone, Civic takes the upper hand...

Actually the 'preferred agents' don't presently offer a model on par with the Civic and Lancer which are both bigger vehicles compared with the respective outgoing version.