Originally Posted By: gofast182
My stepdad just got a new 2017 Civic. Being retired, he's trying to watch the funds so, on the surface, this was a bit of a "downgrade" for him. With that said, he says this may be the best driving car he has ever had. The more he drives it the more the combination of ride, handling, and steering feel has blown him away considering what the car cost. I've yet to sample it but that pretty much lines up with other reviews not only of Civic but of CR-V and the new Accord which all come from this platform. Honda really nailed it with this one.
Well I got my hands on the new Civic over the Christmas holiday. I was a bit skeptical about my stepdad's report re: the car driving better than his '15 Accord Sport but he is correct.
The first thing I noticed is the ride, it's much more compliant than the '15 Accord. It was firm but never harsh. The 2.0 has adequate acceleration and moves the car a bit better than I thought it would. The noise at high RPM wasn't as good as some other Hondas I remember but it was OK. It was, however, the smoothest Honda I4 I can remember since my '97 Civic EX from idle through moderate throttle acceleration. The CVT was not objectionable at all and, although it would take some time to get used to the quirks of its operation, its response time to inputs was surprisingly quick. This is the best of any CVT I've driven to date (Honda, Subaru, Nissan). The steering is weighted OK, maybe a bit light for my taste but it's direct and has just the right ratio. I didn't get quite enough time with the car to quantify mid-corner road surface feedback to the wheel. From there it was the handling which stuck out to me. There was virtually no roll, good grip, and remarkable lack of push from the front end (it felt quite neutral). The handling is even more impressive when you consider the ride is more compliant than the previous gen. Accord Sport was. Inside they made the compromises in the right places. It has some great features for the money (auto climate control, auto headlights, and auto up/down windows) and the materials you interact with are of reasonable quality with the high points being the dash cover and upper door panels (it's also more solidly put together than my BMW). The low point was the feel of the steering wheel control buttons.
Despite being a base model, this was the best Honda product I've driven since my '12 TSX. It may even be better in terms of ride, handing, and steering and shows what years of evolution and development with lofty targets in mind can do for the driving experience, even in an economy car. It made me question whether I'm getting another $300/mo worth out of my car.