2009 Honda Civic Sedan LX-S 5-Spd AT

Pros

Great looks, very good fuel economy, interior, reliability, Very sporty

Cons

lilttle more horse power and improved audio

Purchased As New

I have owned this new car for 8 months now. Its perfect for my first new car.

Things i like. Got royal blue exterior with black interior ( bet wont be more than 100 in whole east caost), feel proud.
Awesome miles per galon - 40 hwy, 28-29 city and 32-33 mixed.
Love the speedometer gauge. Chrome exhaust and alloy wheels.
Best feature, cruise control- especially on a hwy- u will stay on 75 and easily pass through all higher class vehicles. The torque it generates uphill on cruise control is awesome.

Very comfortable seats. spacious enough even in the back seats.

Have driven almost 7000 miles and havent had a single issue(touch wood).


I would say it as cons but would have been happy with a good audi system and a little more horse power....read morehide

Pros

Good fuel economy, dashboard is great, firm suspension (almost no body roll), nice styling.

Cons

Visors continually break. Radio is so-so. One speed Int. wipers.

Purchased As Used

Good solid car. Bought used from a friend (24,000 miles) and the only thing wrong was the backlighting on the stereo. Got it fixed under warranty and no other problems. Love the handling and low road noise. Seats are OK, but I have a bad back so they actually might be pretty good. Great head room. Can fit all five of us inside, though it's a little tight for three boys in the back. Great trunk room. Love the futuristic dash. Know my speed instantly without taking eyes off the road for long. Not a rocket, but can get up and go if it has to. Like how it sounds when I punch it. I love to take it into twisty roads and emergency lane changes are a breeze and not scary at all (trust me on this one).

The long wheel base and sloped hood does make parking weird and I seem to always park to far to the side and to far forward onto the sidewalk or curb scraping the air dam. The visors break a lot. The dealer doesn't even flinch when I tell them, they just replace them. The one speed intermittent wipers are a pain. The radio is OK, not great.

If you put the good against the bad, there is no contest. This car is great....read morehide

Pros

fuel economy, style, solid mabe car, comfort

Cons

None

Purchased As New

very please with my purchase of this car. This is the best car in the class. handles and ride like a sport car, yet it can conformity fit a family of five. I highly recommended to people with family and still like to drive a sport car.

Pros

Fuel Economy, Trim, Visual

Cons

Ride Noise, Headlights,

Purchased As New

I've had this car for a month and it's awesome. Ride is smooth compared to most other cars in its class. Fuel economy has stayed steady after 3 fillups: 29, 28, 32... so I don't know what that other guy is doing wrong (doesn't know math?) or driving up hills on a constant basis. I have the LX-S and the interior is beautiful. Leather steering wheel, silver stitched black bucket seat, it's really cool, imo.


Ride noise is noticeable (but any economy car is going to have ride noise). Stereo is weak (but... economy car) and I plan on beefing it up anyhow. Headlights are weak, but I'm probably going to go for a HID upgrade for my low beams. Acceleration is a little weak, also. But these are all things I knew about when i saw the consumer reports report on the car, and weighed it in with everything else in my price range....read morehide

Pros

Firm but comfortable ride, decent acceleration, cool design in/out, low NVH

Cons

Front seats need more travel for tall drivers, base stereo is very weak

Just got my 09 Civic LX-S about one week ago and am mostly happy with it so far. My previous car was a 2007 Mercedes C280 4matic which I had leased, and while that car was phenominal I wanted better fuel economy and the ability to use regular gas in my next car. Mercedes-Benz vehicles are known for being rock-solid on the road, exceptionally quiet, and very well built, and my C was no exception. However, it returned an average of 21 mpg on premium gas over my 27 month lease, and so I decided to go green this time around.

I had a difficult finding a stylish compact economy sedan that would not make me feel like I was "stepping down" too far, and considered the Corolla and Mazda 3 as well. The Civic had, by far, the best combination of sporty driving dynamics along with a quiet, compliant ride on the highway. To tell you the truth, the overall feeling of the build quality (stiffness of the structure, ride quality, suspension isolation) is not that dissimilar from the Mercedes. Also, the steering has that same well-weighted, accurate, and responsive feel of the Benz. I am very impressed with the driving dynamics of this vehicle.

The combination of 140hp and the 5 speed automatic provides perfectly adequate acceleration, though I would certainly not describe the car as being fast. I was worried that I would miss the V6 torque but so far I have no regrets. Perhaps If I lived in a hilly area (which I do not) it would be more of an issue.

My biggest complaint is the fact that the front seat track is not long enough to provide enough leg room for my tall (6'5") frame. I realize this is an economy car, but with the seat all the way back there is still a ton of rear legroom. 2-3 more inches of seat travel would be much appreciated for times when there are no rear passengers. Also, the seat bottom cushion can be lowered, but the angle of the cushion cannot be adjusted for additional thigh support. This is not a huge problem on the highway b/c I can use the cruise control and kick back, but my knees get cramped after driving for long periods around town.

Otherwise, the seats are comfortable, and the suede-like material used on seat bolsters, door panels, and center armrest on the new-for-09 LX-S model gives the interior a special feel. The LX-S does not include a sunroof or upgraded stereo like you will find in the EX, but it does come with the aforementioned interior changes along with sporty 16" alloys, a trunk lip spoiler, and chrome exhaust tip. This package gives me just enough sportiness so that I do not feel like I am driving an econobox.

Speaking of the stereo, the base 4-speaker system in this car is WEAK. I'm no audiophile, but the base system in my wife's 09 Matrix S is light-years better. The Civic does at least come standard with an AUX input port and CD player.

Otherwise, I think the interior ergonomics are cool, if a bit unusual, but I am really starting to appreciate the digital speedometer. Also, the car has tons of useful storage cubbies and bins.

Overall, I give the car 5 stars for its class but 4 out of 5 total for not accomodating drivers of all sizes. Seriously, 2 more inches of seat travel would not have broken Honda's bank....read morehide