WHAT WE LIKE: After a few months of road-tripping, commuting, and tooling around in the 10th-generation Civic (a.k.a. Civic X), it’s clear that the new car’s chassis is a solid achievement on Honda’s part. Its dynamic fundamentals—things like going, stopping, and turning—are near the top of the compact class, with our editors praising the responsive steering, the composed ride quality, and the progressive feel of the brake pedal. Although the turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four may not evoke high-revving fevered dreams as did the Honda VTEC four-bangers of yore, it delivers torque low down in the rev range, which mitigates our criticisms of the continuously variable automatic transmission. Several drivers proclaimed this Civic’s CVT to be among the best of its kind for the way it modulates torque smoothly and unobtrusively, rarely eliciting the loud moaning from the engine that often accompanies this transmission type. Additionally, the powertrain is delivering an impressive average of 35 mpg thus far.
WHAT WE DON’T LIKE: For a new-for-2016 compact car engineered with tech-savvy buyers in mind, the Civic’s touchscreen interface and its active-safety systems are disappointingly behind the times. The central infotainment screen has come under fire for slow operation and overly complex menu structures. Several complaints also arose about an overly sensitive forward-collision-warning system that sounds its alert at the merest suggestion of a possible impact—such as when a driver has already begun slowing using the brakes when approaching a stopped car. (There are three sensitivity settings for the forward-collision system, which we will continue to experiment with.)
We’re also not thrilled with the amount of noise from the Firestone FT140 tires that came installed on our car, as they generate a bothersome thrum when cruising on the freeway and loud thwaps when traversing expansion joints. We’d be more inclined to forgive these transgressions in return for more dry-weather grip, but they recorded only a modest 0.83 g in our skidpad test. To prepare our Civic for snow season, we fitted it with a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 winter tires that, despite their more aggressive tread, counterintuitively seemed to reduce overall tire noise.
WHAT WENT WRONG: After a routine $64 oil and filter change and tire rotation at 9800 miles (and a recall fix for new stability-control software programming), we asked our dealer to take a look at an annoying rattle coming from the rear parcel shelf. The technician determined that the shelf was distorted, and it was replaced under warranty. The rattle, which had been most obvious when listening to music with heavy bass, appears to be gone for now. (Translation: It’s time to crank up the Kendrick Lamar.)
WHERE WE WENT: Although the Honda has been fulfilling its, ahem, civic duty as an efficient daily commuter, staffers aren’t shy to sign it out for road trips thanks to its comfortable seats and good fuel economy. It has already logged jaunts to Chicago, New York City, Louisville, Kentucky, and Columbus, Ohio, and has even ventured into the Great White North, rolling up miles during a trip into central Ontario.
Months in Fleet: 5 months Current Mileage: 11,034 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 35 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 12.4 gal Fuel Range: 430 miles
Service: $64 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0
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