Maybe not, but seriously, these Civic Coupes–especially EXs with the 125-hp D16Z6 VTEC engine–have became mighty rare. For that matter, even the ones that were molested in the usual fashion all have pretty much been destroyed at the hands of their molesters, or are very much in the process of being so. Which is why this one caught my eye: a survivor of the great Honda Fartcan-acost.
I guess I’d forgotten that the EX lost the standard alloy wheels it had a generation or two earlier. The inevitable de-contenting virus, to which Honda was hardly immune.
Aha! An automatic; that might explain why it’s still unmolested, but only up to a point. I’ve heard plenty of Accords, and Civics, bleating away through their torque converter. Sometimes I wonder if some of the kids with their big-wheeled and fart-canned Hondas actually know how to drive a stick shift. And if some of them may well have been a hand-me down from Mommy or Daddy. A riced four-door Accord is a bit of a giveaway.
If this blog were written twenty years earlier, the pictured car would be a Chevy Nova.
in light yellow.
Honda Civic Ferio 1992-1995 EG Civic EG5, EG6, EG8 ,EG9 Trunk Fender Emblem Decal Sticker Gray Silver Gold And Chrome ,JDM OEM Can Ship Worldwide
https://www.ebay.com/usr/tausibuy
Around here, the ones that got past the boy-racers succumbed to the rust-monster.
This is another in an ever-growing list of cars that I wish I had paid more attention to back when they were plentiful. I suspect I would have been rewarded.
Was there much difference between these and the immediate next generation, which at a casual glance looked much the same except for bigger headlights? My brother had one, a silver EX coupe with a 5-speed. I drove it a few times and while it was an entirely competent car (with a rubbery shifter) I didn’t find it worthy of love in the slightest.
I am more familiar with the next generation (96-2000, IIRC) myself. I understand that those are supposedly considered the height of Civic-dom. I know that they were the last with the double wishbone front ends. My mother-in-law has a 97 or so LX auto sedan. Silver, of course. My impression was just like that of my wife’s 88 Accord. Competent, goes where you point it, and it seems quite unremarkable. Then you pick up a magazine and read that its skidpad numbers are amazing and that it will handle right with a GTI. It just does it so competently, you don’t realize how good it is.
Speaking from experience, that’s absolutely true. All on skinny 14″ tires too. They could take a cloverleaf at insane speeds for such an appliance. Plus, the Civics rarely if ever wore out front end parts. Once in a while, we’d replace a leaking strut in the shop but that’s about it. The 96-00 was a beautifully designed car from bumper to bumper.
The next generation had some de-contenting compared to these; perhaps the most notable difference is that the EX models lost their four-wheel disc brakes. (I think the only U.S. Civic of the ’96-’00 generation with discs all around was the Si coupe, although non-U.S. cars with more powerful engines usually got them, I believe.)
I am pretty sure my ’93 EX had rear drum brakes. Only the Si got rear disks back in the day, even on older generations Civics, at least in the US.
The EX coupes initially had drums, but the EX sedans and later EX coupes with ABS had rear discs. (Non-ABS EX coupes still had disc/drum brakes.) The next generation U.S. cars had rear drums even with ABS, except for the Si coupe.
Ah yes, you couldn’t get ABS on the 94, that came in 95. So that’s probably when the rear disks were added too. So in 96 they had rear drums again but with ABS? Odd.
I posted farther down about the decontenting of the 96 version compared to the 93-95, there was a lot of stuff that IMO made it feel cheaper.
Honda was very, very good at giving these small cars an attractive shape. Then they lost it in 2002, briefly regained it in 2006, then immediately lost it again. What gives, Honda?
I’d still trade 10 of these for a CRX Si that nobody destroyed…but those are a myth…
I bought a 1993 EX sedan in ruby red pearl. I had looked at the coupe, and thought that it was very sharp, but between full-time work, night law school and visits to the gym, I was always placing items in the back seat. So I wanted the convenience of four doors.
That 1993 EX was a really great car – very reliable and refined for the price. It was my first car with a standard sunroof, and every car I’ve bought since has had one. That car received more compliments, in the ruby red color, than any other car I’ve owned since.
I had a Honda moonroof on my ’91 Prelude, which made me decide that I will never buy another moonroof-equipped car. (When I bought my current car, I told the salesman I wouldn’t take one with a moonroof/sunroof even if they gave it to me at no extra charge.) I got sick of having cold water down the back of my neck after heavy rain. The worst part was that there was nothing wrong with it — admittedly, the first time that happened, the drainage tubes were plugged with dirt and muck, but even after they were clean and clear, same deal. It was a basic design limitation and as long as I was parked outside on an inclined surface, it was a problem. The only thing to do for it was to put the car on the street, where it would be level, and try to remember not to get a street cleaning ticket.
Either the moonroof on your car was especially bad or Honda eventually fixed the problem. I had a ’95 Civic EX 4-door with a standard moonroof and never experienced any leaks.
Over the years I have owned or had family or close friends that owned over a dozen Honda/Acura products with sunroofs, starting in 1984 on up, including a 91 Prelude 4WS. Never had one sunroof that leaked. That Prelude was “my” car when I traveled to DC every week (my buddy let me drive it as it was his winter beater by then), it had 180k miles or so on it, still no leaks.
Seems like you had a lousy dealer or badly clogged drain holes that never got really fixed.
I’ve had a few Hondas with a sunroof. The only one that ever leaked was my current 2003 Accord, and that was because the drainage tubes got clogged at around 180,000 miles.
One Honda that IMO benefits from a riceboy makeover is the Civic del Sol. With stock ride height and wheels/tires, they are ungainly, but properly lowered and with wider tires they look quite nice to me, like a CRX convertible.
Thats not “riceboy”, those are called tasteful mods, and most all Hondas can have a performance suspension and nice wheels installed and look better than stock.
Riceboy is when they stick gaudy bodykits and Pep Boys accessories all over the car, neon underlights, huge ugly wheels and other such mods. Those never work. never.
Don’t forget the scissor doors. I’ve seen some Del Sol horror shows.
dats sick yo
Do you seriously like that Junqueboi?!
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no. Kill it with fire please.
Once upon a time, in Honda parlance, there were three basic levels, DX which of course was the basic model with no power windows and minimal amount of trim. The LX got you the power accessories and a few more goodies, while the EX models got you a sunroof (on most cars) and usually a special engine. There seems to have been other models over the years like the Special Editions, Tenth Anniversary Editions, etc. Oh I forgot, EX models got a chrome tipped tailpipe like this models wears.
Unmolested examples are fairly rare and highly sought after if not for huge money. My niece had a 1999 Civic EX sedan with 5 speed in college. When she got married she decided to sell it when they moved for her husband’s job. She asked me to look over the car and give her a fair estimate of its value. It had a fair amount of miles on it (I think about 126K) but was well maintained and most significantly, original. To her surprise she advertised it on Craigslist and had no less than 11 people call within 24 hours to look at the car. The car sold for what she asked for but it is testament to what happens when you find cars who largely end up modified by the end of their lives.
What often happens, as well, is people remove the engines and put them in other cars. VIN tracing directly started because of this phenom and with Hondas and Acuras specifically.
Of course the pic below represents the other end of the scale. What is interesting about that car (and not the modifications) is that because Honda was selling the CRX as the hatchback coupe, they created a squared back hatch back as a regular production model.
What’s funny is to see DX and LX coupes all ‘modded’ out. As if. LOL
I believe I have seen no less than two others without the annoying modifications. Both automatics, both fairly rusty.
My parents had a whole string of Civics: 1985, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2008 and a 1990 CRX. Each one was a great car, and I learned to drive a manual trans with the 1991 model. Eventually I owned the 89 and 00.
After 2008 they started buying Mazda because my Dad said, “The Mazdas remind me of how Hondas used to be.”
I feel like I should mention something about the steel wheels. I buy every car I can with steel wheels. If you curb it, it’s 70 bucks for a new wheel. They’re easier to balance, no need for stick on weights. AND the trim levels with steelies usually have tire sizes that are affordable when it comes replacement time!
I had a 1995 CIvic EX sedan with the 5-speed manual, in white. A bit bland, but a very classy, reliable little car. I honestly really wanted an Integra sedan (I liked the practicality of 4 doors for my passengers), but I wasn’t convinced of the value since it was about $2,000 more for the model withOUT the VTEC engine (which the Civic had).
I NEVER would have picked this color (gone by ’95, I think) but now it’s fun. I hope this one gets preserved.
I had a black 1994 EX Coupe, except for the color it was exactly the same as the ’93 above (sadly including the automatic thanks to my ex-wfe). It was a GREAT car in every way. Maybe the wheels were decontented, but nothing else about the car was, the quality was better than the previous 2 generations of Civics and the one after. And honestly I cannot remember any earlier Civic having alloy wheels standard, except the CRX Si. Alloys were a dealer-installed option on regular Civics IIRC.
I know the 96-00 Civics are considered the last of the good ones, and that is true for the suspension and the availability of the “better” Si engine. But for quality they decontented the 96 Civics quite a bit to keep the prices down. Things like double-seals doors, padded plastics on the doors and dash, better grade carpeting, better seat cloth, the “floating” headrests, etc, all went away in ’96. I also think the 93-95 looked better, without the larger headlights and more creased body of the next gen, and notice how the rear decklid was much higher, giving the car more of a wedge shape? Much more of a cohesive design than the 96.
My personal favorite would be a 1995 EX stick in white. That was the only year you could get a white one, and white had black interior, which looked better than the tan interior that I had in my black ’94. Then swap in a K-series drivetrain.
I am a huge fan of any car with a 5-speed, steel wheels, and crank windows. Back when I was shopping for a cheap work car for myself, I could not find one. Nothing beats the peace of mind that comes with driving a simple car that will never need a $300 window regulator. A true purpose-built workhorse. I’d rather keep the fancier/ sportier stuff in the garage for the weekends.
The Sonic can be had that way. Drives pretty nice too, I was actually impressed with the car and the simplicity. Pretty sure the Corolla comes with crank windows on the base model, the Ford Fiesta too. Maybe the Kruze too, IIRC.
It isn’t impossible to find, but really most people want at least power windows. I have over 200k miles on a Honda and the window motors still work fine.
Sigh the last great Civic. Hated this color though.
I occasionally joke with a friend that his stripper 5 speed DX hatchback (6th gen) is the only stock Civic of its type in North Portland.
A really nice looking Honda Civic that somebody is obviously taking good care of. Every one I see has either a lot of rust, or fenders, hoods, trunks and doors of different colors, the obligatory fart-can, or some combination of the above.
Had a brand new ’92 Civic Si hatch with the 5 speed and no air, purchased for my wife. I didn’t drive it often but it was a blast to drive. Ours had the V-Tec 125 horse engine which was very quick for the day. I’m not sure you could get that engine with the automatic though.
Last time I saw it, sure enough, it had been riced out by it’s young owner. But hey, I did some pretty bad things to ’60s and ’70s iron that some collectors would hang me for today.
Edit-I think that’s a ’93 or later. If I recall the coupe didn’t come out until ’93, at least here in the great white north.
The 92 EX had the same engine as the Si hatchback, same suspension on the coupe too (the sedan was softer IIRC). But the EX could be had with the auto, the Si came only as a stick.
Was there an Si coupe, or was that a hatch only model? We bought our hatch in late ’92 after the ’93s were introduced. I vaguely recall driving a coupe but the hatch was a way better deal since the dealer wanted the ’92s gone but wouldn’t budge on the price of the coupe.
These really were a fun little car to drive, and ours went 110,000 km with nothing more than regular maintenance. We sold it for just a couple thousand dollars less than we paid for it new. It was replaced with an Accord that served equally well and is still in the family last I heard.
For your generation Civic there was no Si coupe offered in the US, the Si was hatch only. The hatch and sedan came out in 92, the coupe wasn’t offered until 93.
Mechanically the Si hatch and EX coupe were nearly the same, the Si had rear disks and the EX had rear drums (until, as pointed out above, ABS was offered as an option with rear disks in 94/95 I guess). Both had sunroof and cruise, but the EX had power windows and locks. Performance was close but the hatch was a little lighter. Canada got an Si coupe so you will see them around occasionally, but I don’t know if the specs were like the US Si or EX.
I remember when we went shopping, I had wanted an Si hatch since high school so that was what I went to look at. But the coupe had just come out and I hadn’t even seen one (no internet back then lol). My wife wanted power options, the coupe was a real good looker compared to the hatch. The coupes were very hot, there was no bargaining. The Si was cheaper, not really by much in base form, but there were no options, so it was like $12k or so IIRC. The EX coupe had options available, and we got EVERYTHING. My first new car, they saw us coming a mile away and tacked on every fee possible, I paid it all not knowing any better. I think I ended up at $16k OTD, way more than the Mustang LX 5.0 I wanted a year earlier but “couldn’t afford” according to my wife (now ex-wife).
I loved that car, should have never sold it. But it was an auto, not a stick, so it never reached dream car status for me.
In light of The Great Tuner Movement, this is a very rare find, as the Civic is the poster child for the Fast and Furious crowd.
My parents bought a brand new 1992 Civic LX sedan in Rosewood Brown. It was quick, nimble and very good on gas. My mom loved that car. I drove it for a little while during college. When they wanted to trade it off I tried to get Dad to let me have it and trade my Corolla in, but he wouldn’t have nothing of it.
The Civic was traded in in June 1994 for a new 1995 Windstar LX. Needless to say, it was quite a departure from the Civic and Mom almost flipped us over while taking an off ramp at around 60! Of course the Civic wouldn’t have had a problem.
Such a nicely designed car…
I think this color was called “Camilla Red” but I think it looks purple!
I can’t even remember the last time I saw one of these in stock condition– even the newer (96+) is a rare find around here, unless heavily modified.
My ’98 Civic EX coupe was unmolested/unfartcanned for the first 253K miles of its life until son#2, 6 weeks after getting his permit, crashed it into a parked car last week. It will get fixed but will, like the featured vehicle, no longer be all original.
Just as a point of interest, salvage yards in No Cal are full of 5th and 6th generation Civics and within one month of arrival virtually every one has the entire front end (windshield forward) removed. This includes engines, even from cars with over 200K on the odometer. All I can conclude is that while unmolested 5th and 6th generation Civics will vanish, fartcanned and/or rebuilt Civics will be around forever.
My wife got the same car as the one in the pic. Brand new in Nov. ’92. Color is Camilia Pearl Red, front disc rear drum, no ABS available at that time. Waited 6 weeks to get that color. Dealer offered extras (floor mats, rear spoiler) to take a different in-stock color; wife wasn’t budging. It was her daily driver for college-work -home. 24k in about 6mth. Then drove it all over Germany and other parts of Europe after moving there (military move.) Topped out at 120 on the autobahn ONCE. (Hit a downhill at top speed.) I know , fuel cut-off is around 110 but like I said, downhill at top speed. ( Wife WASN’T in the car!)
From ’96-’00 it was her daily driver again until she got an Accord, then it was my daily driver until ’09. 163k, just changed all fluids. Getting around 35mpg again. Still runs like a champ. STILL ALL STOCK!! Even the steel wheels and plastic wheel covers. This car still has no rust. Only problems have been driver side window crapped out(REPLACED), radio crapped out,(replaced), and CC disconnected, (don’t need it).
I got a 1992 Honda Civic ex coupe (stock) with a 6th generation Civic vtec