If you are not living under a 'tempurung' by now you should heard or droll over the tasty 2007 Honda Civic. This sleek and sexy 5-door car is now branching to its 8th generation - making the family tree chart looks like the English Royal family .This generation is a blessing since the previous one looks unconvincing .The 7th generation was being cursed just like the legendary Mahsuri. Yes, and I believe we are relieved that the curse was finally lifted. Check the smooth the silhouette on this car ,the headlights,the taillights ,interior designs and off course the 2.0 liter i-VTEC engine with paddle shifters transmission. Paddle shift or not ,this Civic is a blessing from the Pegoh Plant.
 

Sleek, sexy and flashy.

This is a design that would create a lasting impression compared to the previous Civic generations . Design wise it has thrashed all the competitions coming its way for the past two years. This 8th gen Civic is also offered in different styling be it JDM, EURO and the North American market with different trimmings ,powertrains and badges with each body style having its own unique characters. The Malaysia lineup is similar to the one offered in Japanese Domestic Market ( JDM ). Honda Malaysia badged it as Civic 1.8S and Civic 2.0S ( with the later being our test car).The JDM taillights alone could left other car manufacturers in tears; so original that anyone would love to tailgate this car. Our test car comes with notable features like 17-inch alloy wheels ,Sparkle Gray Pearl color ( that's what Honda calls it ),High-Intensity Discharge ( HID ) headlights ( which is remarkably bright ) ,fog lights, side mirror turning light and a dual tail pipes .

If you feel the car is not flashy enough, Honda Malaysia offer a full Modulo bodykit at a package price of RM5280( inclusive of paint works and installation ). That's only about an additional RM 50 a month on your monthly payment.

Two tone leathered interior with futuristic theme.

At first look ,the cabin looks real awesome. The doors will swing wide open and provides solid feel when closing and opening. Sitting inside the car for the first time is like seating on an arcade game unit. The two-tiered dashboard feels very spacious bundled with a massive windshield which offers good visibility up front plus a stunning sized legroom. If you are seated in the back you would find the seats to be very comfortable even if the front seats were adjusted all the way back.( thanks to the flat rear floor ). Although we comes at a weight of 90 KG and about 6 feet tall the seats still give real pleasure to the ass and back. This driver seat is also fully adjustable, apart from sliding back and forth it has the height adjustments that requires some pumping actions but overall we think it should be better off with electric seats.However,the front seats do come standard with integrated side airbags. 

The radio unit is enough for a non-Ice enthusiast like us, the auxiliary jack is a blessing as we can listen straight for favorite MP3 from our IPOD hence the no need to listen to non-sensical morning shows. A 6 in-dash CD-changer is integrated with the headunit plus the availability of audio controls on the steering wheel; intuitively situated and easily reached. The headunit is not a standard 1 din or 2 din unit so it would not be a wise investment to change it with a different head unit as it would not complement the flow of the cabin.

However the inner door handles could have been better; it felt too plasticky  (easy to be scratched or rubbed off ) ;The handbrake is small and also silver painted .( it could've been leather wrapped ) .We felt being surrounded by plastic all around.( Sorry we are leathered fetish)
 

The boot space is fairly big although the car has a short rear overhang. It is big enough to fit one huge Eddie Bauer stroller. ( we have real difficulties filling them even in a Proton Perdana )The rear seats are collapsible with 60:40 split allowing and freeing extra space at the back which definitely makes loading two golf bags even easier .



 

Driving Experience

The driving experience for a car at this price leave us breathless hence we dont have much to say about it. There is nothing wrong at all with its performance. The K20 powertrain - a 2.0 liter four cylinder delivering 153hp @ 6500 rpm with a maximum torque of 188 Nm (kg-m) @ 4,500 rpm complement the car.

The 5-speed automatic with paddle shift complement the K20 powertrain well.There are also very minimal body roll when driving fast through sharp corners ,engaged to 'S' mode and the car will push forward with more punch.More punch you could rev to maximum cut-off point of 7000rpm in seconds .Yes, you will still experience the sound of engine jerking just like when you rev your stick-shift transmission over the redline. Just tap the '+' paddle shift and you are about to break the speed limit in very few seconds.

We certainly love the pedal shift. We are gonna say it over and over again 'Pedal Shift' , 'Pedal Shift' and 'Pedal Shift' but there is one thing that could have been better in the drivetrain department. It lacks the gear hunting when it  slowing down. You need to downshift manually ( with the pedal shift off course ) when emergency stopping or 'toying' with the car in order to gain speed again. However ,it will automatically change to 1st gear when the car comes to a complete stop. While other makes mounted their paddle shifters on the steering column, the Civic 2.0S mounted them on the steering itself ,making it convenient to shift when navigating corners but there are also tough times especially when trying to paddle shift while taking sharp corners at the same time .

 
Wider Choices

We were only given 3-days to do a road test for this car and were very disappointed once it has to be returned. It is not just the car you'll love at first sight it will grows into you. This is an awesome car to anyone looking for an upgrade from 'a typical flat looking girlfriend to a sexier' - big busted supermodel.' Although the design is a bit off for some people we certainly feel it's still one of the coolest looking machine around. We bet it can whisked away any new competitors for another year. At $128,800.00 it is worth the buck.

However if you need more performance and don't mind paying $70K extra; the Civic Type-R is already here ( we were told the 80-unit were already sold out this year ),and last but not least for the green at heart the Civic Hybrid ( gas electric hybird ) is yours for $162,800 and it emits less carbon and would make Al-Gore real happy at the same time.

Or if you cant spend too much for the monthly payment, you can settle for Civic 1.8S (it's RM13,000.00 less ) as it compensate the lack of horsie with a better fuel economy than the sporty 2.0S. So out of the 4 different Civic lineups there should be a Civic built just for you. If the costly repairs worrying you too much nowadays every new Civic is backed with 3 years or 100,000 km warranty.