2001 Honda Civic EX
by: Jim

Owning a Honda Civic is much like riding a bike...once you've owned one, you pretty much know what you get. Affordability, quality, and what makes a Honda a Honda, reliability. And the newly redesigned 2001 Honda Civic seems to not miss a beat entering Honda's entry level fleet.

The most notable change on the redesigned Civic, is the larger, much subdued exterior. Honda apparently set out to make the Civic at least appear to be more roomy than it's predecessor, shrinking the tail and headlights to give the illusion of having more car. The cab also seems to have receded slightly, attempting to give the somewhat bigger car, a more aerodynamic feel. Though the overall design is a refreshing change to what some have said to be a stagnating, tired, design, the new 2001 Civic now has more of the look and shape and overall feel of a Ford Focus. So, if the Focus is more your cup of tea than that of the smoother styling of Civics past, than the new 2001 Civic might be the car for you.

The interior of the Civic has also faced a slight redesign, with the new, ever so trendy, brushed aluminum accents in carefully selected places, (shift knob, hand brake, center console, etc...we've never looked at a TT, not us, no way) giving the interior a little less plasticy of a feel than that of the last series of Civic. The Civic I tested had cloth interior with power locks, windows, and the ever essential air conditioner...(hey, they list it as an option.) Overall, like all Hondas, everything is in easy reach of the driver making the Civic a breeze to get comfortable in fast. No fancy instrumentation, just basic, easy to use switches, buttons, knobs, bells, and whistles, that even the most timid of car driver can easily use and understand.

Honda seems to have also given its driver a little more head and legroom than allowed in civics past. At nearly 6'4, my head often brushes the tops of most compact size economy cars with the legroom being even more unbearable. The new Civic however, gives me almost one to two inches between my skull and the ceiling of the car making it far more comfortable than the last model Civic. For my lanky frame, the legroom is still lacking. Forcing me to bend by knees which could be highly uncomfortable on any drive longer than thirty minuets.

The safety features, which anyone in the market for a Civic will undoubtedly want to know about, seem adequate enough, with front and passenger air bags partnered along with the tried and true safety harness (a.k.a. Seatbelts). Another safety aspect where the Civic improves greatly from the previous model is visibility. It's hard to exactly pin-point how the 2001 model improves over it's predecessor in the area of visibility, but needless to say it does. Looking through the back glass of previous models was like watching a television that was just not big enough for your living room...adequate though it may be, you always find your self wanting more. The rear glass of the 2001 model however, seems to possess a slightly larger porthole to the outside world, enabling the driver to see beyond the confines of the vehicle itself, making it far easier to put in reverse and back up...making those cats, dogs, squirrels, and God forbid, even children in your neighborhood, much, much happier.

The most significant change for the 2001 model Civic however, is it's more powerful, smooth running, 127 Horsepower engine. Having logged many driving hours in the last model Civic, my most notable complaint was that the vehicle had a very poor lack of power. Each time I would drive my girlfriend's Civic, I would get out shaking my head, ashamed for Honda at their lack of supplying an adequate power source for one of the best selling cars in the world. In fact, I would even go as far as to say, that the older Civic was "unsafe" from it's shaming lack of power, getting me nearly rear-ended countless times while merging onto the highway with busy commuter traffic. So needless to say, the engine was my prime target in my short experience behind the wheel of the 2001 Civic. And the verdict...undecided. That's right, call it a shameful cop-out, but the jury is still out on the Civics power source. Initially, the car seemed to have more power than that of the previous model, but on the highway while trying to kick the dainty beast into passing gear, I still felt the under-whelming power surge I knew all too well. With a proper ( I mean by the books) break-in period and regular maintenance, I'm sure the 2001 Civic will feel marginally more peppy, but overall, the Honda workhorse could stand to gain another twenty or thirty horses or so. DISCLAIMER: LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I GENERALLY FEEL THAT EVERY CAR CAN BENEFIT FROM EXTRA PONIES IN THE STABLE.

Conclusion: The newly redesigned 2001 Civic is still a wonderful driving machine that is fun, easy to drive, even easier to maintain, and above all, still affordable. Though the Civic generally remains to be a low frills auto, the upcoming SI version of the coupe with an upgraded motor and possibly even an upgraded suspension, will give even sport car enthusiasts something to look forward to. And from all preliminary reports, the 2001 Civic will be as after market ready as ever allowing even the hard core tuners to perk their ears up. With models beginning in the sub-twenty G area, the Civic is a bargain, even with it's lack of horses. And because of Honda engineering, you can drive for years, and years, and years, and years to come...and that's probably without a bloody oil change!

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