1996 Honda Civic EX

One editor capsulized that reality by noting: "This is a 90-percent car-it's perfect for 90 percent of the people 90 percent of the time." The undeniable truth of that observation was decisively supported by our owners, whose top response to the "Specific complaints" question was "No complaints," and prime reply to the "What changes would you like to see?" query was "No changes."

Those observations notwithstanding, holding down a solid second spot in both the "complaints" and the "changes" categories was a plea for more go-power, an entreaty with which we, too, heartily concur. Honda's 16-valve VTEC-equipped four is eager enough, happily spinning to its 6900-rpm redline. Even when fitted with the four-speed autoshifter in place of the sportier five-speed manual gearbox, the Civic can confidently negotiate the most daunting rush-hour traffic and effortlessly cruise the open road for hours on end. However, banzai charges up freeway ramps and high-energy passing maneuvers are a different issue. Another 15-20 ponies and an equal bump in torque output would work wonders here. Are you listening, Honda?

Two other powertrain-related gripes appeared on several surveys, as well as in our logbook. The first involved suitable detents-or lack thereof-on the gear selector, which permitted a driver inadvertently to engage the "D3" rather than "D4" position when shifting through Neutral. The second complaint related to the Civic's cruise control, which regularly allowed an initial 4-6-mph dropoff from the selected target speed and failed to prevent a similar level of velocity gain on sustained downhill runs.

After all the glowing praise most owners showered on their Civics, we were surprised to find a relatively high 24.5 percent of our survey cars experienced problems. Within that group, only three items appeared with double-digit frequency: non-specific brake troubles (a portion of these, no doubt, related to the 161,000 Civics Honda recalled last year to service an improperly lubricated brake booster check valve), assorted wind noises, and sunroof leaks. Our car was on the opposite end of this spectrum, proving completely trouble-free throughout its first 15,000 miles. Total cash outlay was $131.93 for a pair of routine scheduled maintenance appointments and $2.25 for one quart of oil midway through that service run. Shortly thereafter, the ratchet-locking device on the car's emergency brake lever failed, but it was repaired at no charge under warranty.

Save for its original cross-country sojourn, most of our Civic's remaining miles were run up locally. That factor, plus an endless cadre of lead-footed drivers, yielded a 27.0-mph average fuel economy for our long-termer, about 10 percent under the 29.9-mph figure logged by the survey cars.

The ultimate arbiter of success for any vehicle is the potential for a repeat purchase. In the case of the Civic EX sedan, 95.3 percent of our owners said they'd buy another Honda, and 94.4 percent would recommend the Civic to a friend. This is a bit lower than the respective replies from Odyssey owners we reported on back in February, but still above average. One owner from Austin, Texas, summed up the Civic by saying, "Although it does not excel in any one area other than value, it's without a doubt worth every penny." Another from Hiawatha, Florida, spoke for several respondents when he opined: "Dollar for dollar, it's the best car on the market." A final, equally powerful endorsement comes from one of our ad salesmen-himself an '89 Accord owner-who is currently negotiating with Honda to make our long-term Civic part of his personal fleet.

For a car that's been driven by more than 15 hard-charging staffers during the past year, that speaks volumes about the Civic's durability.