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Hi Everyone,

Tonight I'm going to look at a 1998 Honda Civic HX 5 speed for my daughter. I believe this is the VTEC-E engine which is considered lean burn, correct? Does anyone care to comment on this choice of vehicle for a soon to be college kid (er, student/young adult)?

Thanks,


Andy

Well, I have a 96 DX 4-door. The body is the same, except for the doors. It's a great car, I love it. The HX has about 10 more horsepower, while getting better mileage at the same time. DX = 33/38, HX = 36/44. Sounds like a winner to me!

Andy--

I owned a 97 Civic EX that I bought new before college, and it got me beautifully through four years of undergrad and two years of grad school. In fact, I wish I had never sold it to get my A4 (grad school graduation present to myself), which was a heap. In the Civic I think I only had one no-start in six years, and that was a fluke. And even in the EX I could pull mid-30s easily.

I think the main trim difference between the HX and EX was that the HX lacked cruise control and sunroof. The cruise was an important issue for me, and the sunroof was nice.

All in all, if it's in good shape I can't think of much better as a commuter car. --RN

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, we bought the car! My daughter now owes us a wopping $3300 (interest free of course ;) )

She's a black beauty, with alloy wheels that I'm told are the lightest alloy's Honda made to increase mileage.

RN: You're right, not having cruise is a drag for me, but she never uses it on the family Camry because she is "scared"- bwahahahaha. It DOES however have a sunroof, PW, PL, Power side mirrors, and it shifts smoother than our 07 Camry Manual!!!

I'll post some picks when I get her washed. I'm going to go through her this weekend flushing the fluids and lubing her up! I think I'm more excited about this car than any of my cars! Honda sure makes a nice car!

I think the civic's a perfect car for a student, especially an older model. I like the idea of buying used for a kid, and allow them the thrill of buying their first new car on their own. This sounds like a dream car for that money. She's a lucky girl to get it, and a Dad like you.

I had an aftermarket cruise-control installed on mine. I just couldn't make it without. Good choice of cars!

Hi Andy:

___Congratulations on the purchase! It is new enough for a SG-II install as well which imho is far more important then a CC. Unfortunately, lean-burn engines do not produce a code in the OBD-II stream saying they are in Lean-Burn so that the i and aFCD’s are way off in one :(

___Talk to your daughter and see what she wants from her new – used car. With gasoline at $2.50 + in a lot of areas in the country, I think she might be interested in even more FE which may mean a new set of LRR tires (B381’s or SP20 FE’s) and of course a full blown clinic hypermiling from dad :D

___Good Luck and congrats on the purchase. I hope it provides a lot of fun for you daughter!

___Wayne

I had a 1995 Civic VX before my Prius. It is a good little car. Very few problems and I averaged about 40 mpg for the seven years I had the car. My next door neighbor bought it from me, and he has no complaints. He really beats a car up, and it is holding up well.

A Civic is a great car for a college student.

Jeff