Honda Civic 1.8 VTI-S Review: Still classy

Honda Civic 1.8 VTI-S Review: Still classy

One of Singapore's best-selling sedan gets an update to keep it abreast of the competition. Will that be good enough to attract buyers, who are more careful of their buying decision in a tough time like now?

OneShift Editorial Team
OneShift Editorial Team
21 Jan 2009
What we like:
pros
Excellent build quality. Generous amounts of leg and shoulder room.  More colour options.
What we dislike:
cons
Stock rubber which causes tyre roar. In actuality
cons
the so-called updates are very minimal.

In comparison, its nearest competitor - the Corolla Altis 1.8 - comes with a 1,794cc VVT-i unit. Despite being 10bhp and 4Nm down, and at the same time 43kg heavier than the Civic, it can still manage to do the century sprint in 10 seconds. Yes, it’s still narrowly faster, but in terms of refinement, the Civic still leads the way.

The Civic’s helm feels properly weighted - not as meaty as the BMW 3 Series’, but close enough. It has pin-point accuracy, and on-road dynamics wise, is simply superb stuff. You can just chuck it hard into a corner or enter the turn without much brake - and the Civic will gladly do so with almost zero drama, and minimal body-roll. Out on the expressway, the Civic’s commendable refinement level once again has to be highlighted - the cabin is well insulated against wind and road noise.

But there is still no escaping from the tyre roar. Surprisingly, the 205/55 R-16 Bridgestone rubbers doesn’t seem to enjoy being pushed, and ultimately, underwhelms the Civic’s handling prowess. As you can see, the tyre seems to be an issue for the Civic – it doesn’t compliment the chassis, is noisy and squeals easily. If you’re driving a Civic currently and face the same situation, do consider a tyre upgrade.

Braking power is just perfect in the case of the Civic, and the centre pedal doesn’t need to be stomped hard just to get it working. In case the inevitable ever happens, rest assure that ABS and EBD is standard issue.

It’s hard to fault a car such as this Civic here.

However, if you’re the anal sort, well, maybe the minimal changes done just so it can be considered an “updated” version is quite a disappointment. But then again, the Civic here is a proven formula that just sells itself, so with or without the “update”, doesn’t really matter to the average buyer.

After all, as long as it offers premium feel without the premium price tag, it will sell like hotcakes. Especially if it's a Honda.

Credits: Story & pictures by Azfar Hashim

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