Honda Civic Hatchback (95-01) - Review

Review by Parkers on
Civic is a long-running model name for Honda, but the late 1990s version had the most extensive range ever. Built in Swindon and co-developed with Rover, Honda’s version of the Rover 400 enjoys better residual values. As such, Civic is not a cheap used car choice, but ride and refinement are among the best in the class, engines are smooth and quiet, and excellent Honda reliability gives peace of mind for a great used car proposition
3 out of 5

Other Honda reviews

4.5 out of 5

Performance

A host of petrol units, ranging from 1.4 to 1.8 litres have found homes in this generation of Civic. All offer impressive power for their sizes, but need to be revved to deliver performance, because of the variable valve timing system (VVT-i) used on many of them. This is generally not a problem as they're very smooth but can take a little getting used to. 1.6 and 1.8 VTi units in particular are scorching performers with a red line set at around 8000rpm. Manual gearboxes are slick to use too. A Rover sourced 2.0 litre turbo diesel was available from May 1997.

4 out of 5

Handling

Generally agile and responsive handling, particularly on sporty VTi models. Progressive power-delivery of high-revving engines helps it to remain composed even when driven hard. Behaves safely and inspires confidence in the driver.