1996 Honda Civic EX

Honda's all-new-for-'96 Civic line wasted little time in endearing itself to the Motor Trend staff. Shortly after our first encounter with the latest iteration of this perennially popular offering, we requested an EX sedan for long-term duty. A year later, it's a decision we reflect on with great satisfaction. Based on the experiences of the vast majority of owners in our survey, they're also a pretty happy bunch. In fact, their single most often-voiced opinion was a heartfelt "I love my Civic!"

The top-line EX four-door comes loaded with standards, including a 1.6-liter SOHC four-cylinder engine that makes 127 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque, 185/65SR14 all-season radials, anti-lock disc/drum brakes, air conditioning, keyless remote entry, power windows/locks/mirrors, cruise control, 5-mph front/rear bumpers, three-way electric moonroof, and a lockable split/folding rear seatback. Our Cyclone Blue Metallic Civic EX automatic also had the security system, a CD player, and floor mats-extras that pushed its $17,080 base sticker to $18,083, including a $380 destination fee.

With no factory delivery program, that latter charge was still appplicable despite the fact that Mike "The Roadmaster" Collins picked up our vehicle as it rolled off the assembly line at Honda's production facility in East Liberty, Ohio, and drove it back to MT headquarters in Los Angeles.

Average transaction price of the Civic EX sedans in our survey was $16,838, and just over one-third of the respondents paid between $17,000 and $17,999 for their cars. In 65.4 percent of the cases, the primary driver was a female; and 34 percent of all drivers were between the ages of 25 and 34.

As might be expected, those who took the more conventional purchase route had a broad range of reactions to their close encounters with Honda dealers-from outright ebullience to invective-laced eye pokes. The bottom line: Over 75 percent rated both the sales and service practices of their respective outlets excellent or good. That puts the typical Honda store right in the middle of the competitive rankings.

Overall quality was the main reason given by 79.8 percent of our buyer pool for purchasing a new Civic. This was followed by looks/style (60.5 percent) and resale value (58.3 percent). Fourth on the list was prior experience with Honda product (56.2 percent)-and nearly 60 percent of that extremely brand-loyal sub-group was composed of previous Civic owners.

Post-purchase upgrades were done by 16.1 percent of buyers we heard from, with CD players, alarm systems, tinted glass, and cassette players heading the list of aftermarket add-ons.

Numerous entries in our Civic's logbook reflect favorable impressions with its basic interior styling and generous passenger space in all seating positions. By and large, the owners agreed. Comfort ratings-both general and specific to the rear seat-were skewed to the top two scoring categories, although "good," not "excellent," was the most frequent call in each case. Despite generally positive marks for ergonomics, there was one glaring anomaly. The CD player, buried low in the center of the dash just ahead of the cupholders, drew universal criticism.

Despite fairly modest empirical test numbers-0-60 mph in 10.8 seconds, 0.77 g on the skidpad, 62.7 mph through the slalom, and a 144-foot 60-0-mph braking distance for our car-over 93 percent of survey respondents rated the performance of their Civics as excellent or good, the former category by a two to one margin over the latter. Fun-to-drive rankings reflected a similar split, with 87.1 percent of these owners placing their vehicles in the top two scoring slots. Logbook notes showed that our staff evaluators largely echoed those sentiments. There's just something about the way Honda has tuned the Civic's full double-wishbone suspension and weighted its power rack-and-pinion steering that makes this delightful little sedan feel better than one would expect under virtually all driving conditions.