(first posted 7/7/2017) My daughter is working out of town this summer and only gets home every couple of weeks. When her car needed some service work done recently, she took my Honda Fit and left me with her car, this lovely little 1998 Civic. After spending a couple of weeks getting better acquainted with it, I thought I would share the experience.
My used car buying habits have been remarkably stable over the years. I have tended to buy the cars of grandparents. Usually they were other peoples’ grandparents, but sometimes they have been grandparents within my own extended family. My three children have continued this trend, and have bought an ’89 Grand Marquis, an ’06 Buick LaCrosse and this Civic.
I have had a passing familiarity with this car for its entire life. I had written about my mother in law’s Chevy Spectrum (Isuzu I-Mark), which served as decent transportation but which was a really awful little car. This is the car that replaced it, and it could not have been more different. The Anti-Spectrum? After Helen’s passing, her son kept the car until about a year and a half ago, mainly using it as a go-to-work vehicle to protect his pristine Toyota Avalon from the hard life of commuting and parking downtown. But when he decided to upgrade to a new Honda Pilot, he cut a deal with my daughter and she found herself the owner of this little Civic, with all of about 65,000 miles on it.
In 1979 I bought a twenty year old Plymouth Fury. Although it drove in a relatively modern way, the car was a rolling anachronism. Every control was different from what one might expect on a typical mid ’70s counterpart. I pushed buttons to shift gears, pulled on a refrigerator handle to open doors and had to plan way ahead for oil changes to be sure that I would be able to get the cartridge-style oil filter element from my local parts store.
This is not my actual car. Mine was a sedan and lacked fender skirts. Otherwise, it is representative of my car’s color and condition.
I did the same thing all over again in 1987 when I bought a ’66 Plymouth Fury III. By this time the driving experience was way out of sync with the typicical 1980’s car, not to mention that it was of a size that had become completely obsolete outside of the world of big American pickups and vans. I started it with a key on the dashboard, blew the horn by pushing a chrome ring with the palm of my hand and parked it with a single index finger as I spun the big turquoise plastic steering wheel boosted by the (in)famous Chrysler “Full Time” power steering. Both of those cars got attention wherever they went and were of styles that stood out in any parking lot.
This Honda? It is hard to imagine a more normal car, even in 2017. This thing is within rounding error of 20 years old but with a couple of exceptions it is very hard to tell. A small silver four cylinder sedan with air conditioning, power windows and cloth seats. You could go into a Kia or Hyundai dealer tomorrow and buy something very much like this car, a nice little silver sedan that will take you where you need to go for a very long time.
But let’s talk about those exceptions. First, it has been a long time since I have driven a car without a remote control for the door locks. To get in, put the delightfully thin little key into the lock cylinder and turn it. No, the other way. Do you have a passenger? Unlock the other doors from the switch inside. Do you have something to put in the back seat? Unlock the other doors. When you get out, put the key in the lock cylinder in the door and turn it to lock all the doors. No, the other way. After you get twenty feet from the car and wonder if you locked it – turn around, walk back and try the handle. Life in 2017 without a clicker is hard!
The other problem is more common and affects cars a lot newer than this, and that is the lack of any connectivity between the radio and your phone or other music devices. One of those little adapters that beams a radio frequency to the antenna takes care of this one, but it is (again) not a perfect solution.
Beyond these things, there is not a lot to note. OK, other than that I am driving one of the classic Hondas of all time. This is the car that so many remember fondly, but I am experiencing it afresh. And let me tell you about it. First, this car is very low, significantly lower than my ’07 Fit. It is a bit of a fall to get into it and a bit of a climb to get out. In fact, I exit by my Miata-Method, which is to swivel and get both feet on the pavement before standing up. You put the thin key into that wonderfully precise-feeling Honda ignition, turn it two distinct “clacks” and get that sound. The “Du-whir dwir dwir dwir” always reminded me just a bit of the old Chrysler reduction gear starters of my youth, only without the metallic edge.
The little four fires right up and settles down to a smooth idle, albeit one that you can feel in your hands just a bit as you hold the steering wheel. Shift into drive and your are off. I expected the car to be very similar to my Fit, but I was wrong. The Civic is much more of a cruiser than a zippy little sportster. I understand that this generation of Civic moved the needle away from boy racer, though the car was still equipped with Honda’s signature double wishbone suspension. The steering is significantly slower than that of my Fit and the ride is significantly smoother. In fact all of the inputs seem a little slow and, dare I say, old fashioned. As are the cute little windshield wipers.
The other big difference is that Honda 4 speed automatic. My ’07 Fit with its 5 speed automatic was the first automatic mated to a four I ever drove that did not constantly shout in my ear how much better life would be with a stick shift. This car takes me back to the old days. With a 5-speed and a clutch pedal, this would be a fun car. With the automatic, it is a droning little four that never gets to the happy spot in its rev range until perhaps you are at 75 mph on the highway. There, its 3,000 rpm cruising speed works, and nicely. Another gear in the autobox or a third pedal would improve the experience a lot. What would also help a lot is replacing the shifter cable which seems to be sticking when shifting into or out of Park. I improved things with a little lubrication, but this seems to be a problem as these cars age and a job that will no doubt be done before too much longer. So to summarize, the little 1.6L four will really scream if you stand on the gas pedal and hold it there so that it gets into the 4,000-6,000 rpm sweet spot where all the magic happens. But for all other driving it is just sluggish in a way that every high-revving four used to be when mated to an autobox.
Speaking of highway driving, this car tops my Fit in several ways. There is a lot more leg room in the Civic, although the raw numbers don’t make this very clear. The driver of the fit sits higher, thus increasing the volume calculation. In the Civic the driver’s legs have more room to stretch out forward which I find more comfortable over long stretches. The legs-out seating is a huge improvement over my Fit in one particular respect, which is that it is so much more relaxing on the gas pedal ankle which is always at rest rather than pulling up against gravity. I will add that this car passes the Jason Shafer Console Test (TM) with ease. As mentioned earlier, the fatter Michelin tires smooth out the bumps a lot better than the low profile numbers on my Fit. This car can take an entrance or exit ramp at significantly higher than the posted speed, but it isn’t quite as fun as in my Fit. And finally, I find the seat more comfortable for drives of longer duration.
My daughter had been wanting a “cool old car” and has been a bit let down about this Honda. She loved the odd purplish burgundy of our old Crown Victoria (Dark Cranberry Metallic in Fordspeak) and finds this little silver sedan to be rather lacking in personality. After spending a couple of weeks in this car I have to disagree. This car is a wonderful example of the era when Honda’s small sedan was morphing from a curious Japanese subcompact to the big time mainstream. So many people my age recall Honda’s golden age, and this car was right smack in the middle of it. It may lack some of the driving dynamics of earlier Civics, but it also lost the tendency to rust to powder in five years. If driving a twenty year old car is about impressing others, this is not the twenty year old car for you. But if you are willing to be content with soaking up the good (and the little bit of bad that comes with it) of Honda’s peak years, this is the way to do it.
You’re going for a double today, Jim!
Nice write-up of a classic Civic. And what a cream-puff! Can you imagine what a 20 year old car in Indiana would have looked like in 1975? Looks like it’s good for another 20 years.
Interesting comparisons with your Fit. I love the super tall seating in my xB, and had never thought about the gas pedal ankle angle. But then I use cruise control every possible opportunity, even on our two lane highways winding up into the mountains.
Yes, every car needs 5 gears.
How ’bout this: Every car needs at least 2 forward gears! I have ‘P-R-N-D-L’ on my automatic. I also live on the side of mountain in GA. Thankfully it’s not a ~steep~ mountain. → Were it a steep incline I had to drive up and down I don’t think the humble Falcon would, shall we say, perform at its best. The ’64 definitely has its driving limitations in regards to high winding roads.
Paul’s right! Your daughter’s Civic looks immaculate for a 20-year old Civic residing in the rustbelt!
As a kid, I really liked these Civics when they were new and still do. The prior generation to this, though a bit more radical, I just never was able to warm up to. The succeeding generation seemed like a conservative “growing up” refresh of the same basic car. While offering all the same positive virtues with a few refinements, it just didn’t invoke the emotional reaction this sixth generation did.
You’re right with your judgement though. I bet this car would be a joy to drive if it were stick.
Actually, JPC has scored a triple today if you count the article on his personal blog:
https://jpcavanaugh.com/
Interesting summary, and yes the car needs a 5-speed manual. With your family’s car buying program you could qualify for honorary Dutch Canadian membership (but it gets you no discount 🙂 )
Dutch Canadian – I have been searching for the description of my car buying/owning habits and I think you have now supplied it. 🙂
We, too, went from a Sputum, er Spectrum to a Honda (’89 Civic DX 3-door hatch). Wretched car (the Chev, not the Honda). Now ours was ~10 years earlier than yours, and it definitely felt ‘sporty,’ with a 5-speed manual. Even the ’90 Civic (base) 3-door hatch I bought for myself the next year (1500cc and 4MT) felt sporty. When I bought my ’15 Fit, I felt right at home again (mostly).
By 1998, we had outgrown the ’90 (we sold the ’89 after learning of the impending birth of our first son), and went Honda shopping again. That stopped quickly, as prices had drastically shot up beyond our budget. We ended up in our first of many (Chrysler platform) minivans.
Agree with your observation that Hondas of this timeframe were more in the ‘appliance’ category than the ‘quirky, cute and fun.’
I believe this model Civic was peak Civic. Despite the newer Civics being both full of modern gadgets and safety things, they don’t feel as well built as the older ones.
The good thing about the two exceptions you spoke about (no Bluetooth and keyless entry) is that for less then $400 those can be added. my Probe had power windows and locks but did not have the remote entry option(the radio box for the remotes was not there from the factory)
Since my Probe had power locks, I had the local radio/alarm shop (not BestBuy!!) install a remote entry system for $200 total.
I then bought a Pioneer FM/AM/CD/USB/Bluetooth car stereo from Crutchfield for $100.00 (it came with the wire harness adapter(so no need to cut car wires) ), I wired it up and put it in and it looks great and works well. So for $300 I solved those issues.
I think that 1998 Civic is a cool old car that can blend in with cars of 2017. it should serve your daughter very well for years.
Sadly a lot of folks tend to junk an older car that only has a small issue with it. I was at the local junk yard last week and as I was leaving, a young couple was junking a 2003 Ford Taurus wagon because the transmission was slipping/bang shifting from 1st to 2nd when warm and the local trans shop told them it needed a $3000 reman transmission. So they were junking it because it was not worth the money and went and bought a new car. The car only had 90,000 or so miles on it. The real issue most likely was a dying VSS sensor that confuses the computer and causes it to shift erratically. It is a $50 part that sits on the transmission case and takes 10 mins and a 10mm socket to replace. Sadly they had already sold it to the junk yard when I had passed or I would have bought it and fixed it myself and used it as a spare car.
My Honda buddy in the 90’s refused to trade in his ’92 Si for this generation. Had an ’86 before. The ’96 a let down to him, so not all Honda-philes would say “peak”. Got a VW GTI and then Mazda 3 afterwards.
I think the previous “generation” (92-95) was the peak – this one was decontented from that due largely to currency exchange rates going against Japan’s favor over the preceding years. The Chassis and engines were the same, so you weren’t missing much, just a few things that were noticeable in the interior. The ’99 Si made up for it, though.
This is the car both of our kids learned to drive in (licensed instructor’s, not our’s). The 20 year old metric is interesting. We recently gave our almost 20 year New Beetle to our daughter, as a graduation present, and our last drive in the VW was the farthest we’d ever taken it, from California to Oregon. It was very pleasant; far more than I suspect a similar drive would have been in a 20 year older VW (Westmoreland Rabbit??). When was that “tipping point” of modernity, in cars? I think it came with some combination of ubiquitous fuel injection, rack and pinion steering, lower profile tires, power steering and windows, AC, and (mostly) standardized controls. The first time I drove a Volvo 240 in 1985, it felt very sophisticated compared to a 20 year old 122S, but the last time I drove one, 25 years later, it definitely felt pre-modern. On the other hand I think our ’93 Corolla (despite wind-up windows) was a fully modern car when I last drove it in 2004 … but would I think that now?
How true that the line between “modern” and “pre-modern” keeps moving on us. I still think of something from the 90s as a late model used car, so I’m sure my personal scale could use some adjusting. My Mrs. and I borrowed this Civic on the day in 2006 when we made the 120 mile round trip to pick up the 93 Crown Vic from my mother. I remembered the Civic as being so fun and sporty, but then our two cars at the time were a Ford Club Wagon and an 89 Cadillac Brougham. Now that I am used to my Fit and a 97 Miata (that are not as far apart in character as you might think) the Civic feels like a boulevardier and much closer to “pre-modern” than my Miata does.
The 20 year metric is one of constant but irregular diminishing severity, basically since the first cars ever turned 20 years old. The first car ever was what? 1885? A 1907 car made those things look like sewing machines with tricycle wheels, while a 1927 car just made a 1907 car look merely crude. By the 50s basically everything made pre-war looked positively ancient.
I enjoyed reading the Honda story and these posts. Interesting automotive things to think about. Going to 30 years instead of just 20 . . . I reckon a 1939 car on the road in 1969 would look verrry much out of place and a 1949 model year auto would look like a dinosaur on a highway in ’79. How ’bout seeing a ’59 Caddy or Cat’s Eye Chevy rumbling down the road in 1989?
I noted the humble ’98 Civic is ‘dated’ in some ways without a keyless lock fob and other such more-modern amenities, but it’s still ready to rock ‘n’ roll down the highway at age 19. Like a good teenager should!
I still believe that a vehicle that is 1996 and newer is still modern at least in the sense that a 1996-current vehicle is OBDII compliant and has Fuel Injection and ABS and Airbags. True a 1997 car might not be as advanced as a 2017 model car but it is still safe and able to be driven daily. That 1997 Civic equipped with a manual could achieve better gas mileage then a lot of new cars.
While I agree that it’s not as ‘dated’ as the ’59 Fury in ’79, there’s a few things that are make this outdated.
4 speed automatic is a “Powerglide” these days.
Horn buttons because of the older style air bag.
Cabin is small compared to current Civic.
Wheels are tiny by today’s trends.
Black side trim/door is way out of style.
Crash test this Civic with a new one and the ’98 would be obsolete.
Phone connection? Tech? etc.
To a Millennial, this Civic is “old”, to a middle aged/senior driver, it’s a “good old car”.
Not so sure about that. Many 20 yr olds don’t have money. This is one of the cars I see first time drivers in. Pretty much any Japanese car 90’s to mid 2000’s are green drivers. And the gen 1 VW gti are dominated by 20 something’s at shows. The previous gen civic to this one in the article is dominated by 20 something’s. 1st gen riced up miata’s. 240sx…. Vw gti’s and there’s so many more decades old cars teen and 20 something’s gravitate to.
Your last few points, with the exception of safety most likely, could be thrown at some <10 year old cars though. The deletion of rub strips are a recent phenomenon, infotainment, in this class of car anyway, really wasn't expected until maybe 2010ish, and even then was usually optional – I know it was on my Focus at least, whose infotainment is an AUX jack, not the optional SYNC – Same could be said for wheel size, and a lot of that has to do with physical growth of the model itself – aspect ratios aren't all that much different – On that point however, I would add hub caps on steel wheels, I see very few cars besides police cars made in the last 10 years without alloys standard.
I'm a millennial FWIW, I may have been in third grade when these were new but these still aren't anachronistic enough for me to call them old. Especially since these were 90s cars and state of the art infotainment is a single DIN headunit away. For my peers who aren't into cars they'd likely know it's old"er" but still not realize it's 20, or better yet not think being 20 years old is relevant the way it was in the past.
Before reading the story above I’d never heard of a ‘Honda Fit’. I still don’t know what it is exactly except it’s a vehicle from Honda. Now I see something about the recent phenomenon regarding the deletion of ‘rub strips’. Never heard of those. Hmm . . . learn something new every day on here. I reckon I’ll have to Google ‘rub strips’ to see what they are.
That may or may not be the technical term but that’s what I call them, since they are very effective at protecting the steel door in parking lots. Most of the time they’re simply referred to as side mouldings or simply trim.
Most of the time they’re simply referred to as side mouldings or simply trim.
I call them “bodyside moldings”. Yes, they have pretty much disappeared, at least as standard equipment. It may be a styling choice, or simply more cost cutting. When I bought my VW in 2014, I saw the moldings in the accessory catalog, so told the salesman I wanted them put on the car. He said “huh?” as he didn’t know they were available. The dealership did not have the kit in stock, so I had to head back to their shop when the molding kit arrived to have it installed.
Here I am pointing at the newly installed moldings in Feb 14.
The old still daily driven ’86 Jetta (5 speed) I own has thick side mouldings, along with thick plastic wheel arch moldings and bumper covers (not painted) that wrap around the sides and meet up with the wheel arches. The car has been side swiped more than once while parked, and every time the plastic protected the sheet metal. A big reason why the car with original paint still looks great even after all these years. It feels as modern to drive as a mid ’90’s car.
Bought a family member a ’95 Prizm (Corolla basically) about a year ago, has ice cold AC, 1.6 engine and a 3 speed automatic! 3 speeds only in 1995, must be one of the last hold outs. Over 65 MPH the engine is begging for a 4th gear. But for a $750 (200k miles) old car, it’s been trouble free and runs great, need to wind it out to get any real power. Mostly an around town runner and works great for this.
Have to agree, this time period is peak for Japanese car quality.
I would not say that the car is outdated due to having a 4 speed auto trans, there are some car makers (like Toyota) that are still selling cars with a 4 speed auto trans. Take the current Toyota Corolla, still being offered in the USA with a 4 speed. (there is a CVT trans offered as an option)
It was (finally) discontinued for 2016 or 17. Corollas now come with CVT (or 6-speed manual on the iM hatch and S trim)
I actually kind of prefer the older 4-speed automatics. They seem more durable (perhaps not in Honda’s case, though that’s more more a Odessy/Accord issue). They also tend to know what gear they need to be in. The newer automatics seem more fragile, and with all those extra gears it seems like they are never sure where they should be and hunt a lot. Perhaps an extra gear or two doesn’t hurt, but what’s the big advantage of a 9-speed? Why not just use a CVT at that point?
My 1999 Accord EX with 210k miles and the VTEC 4-cylinder/4-speed automatic drives and shifts perfectly, better than my previous 91 and 94 Accords which were very jerky shifters and not nearly as refined. If a 4-speed automatic vehicle can be as close to perfect as possible than I consider my ’99 Accord to be that car. I have faithfully changed the tranny fluid since I bought the car every 30k miles, and it has never ever let me down. In fact, it still rides and drives like a new car. To me, in many ways these Accords were overbuilt. These cars were not “tech-loaded” cars and thus Honda could focus on the overall build quality which you can really feel. I see tons of these on the road today. They are fantastic vehicles.
True that Honda went through a rough period with their transmissions, but I believe the 6-cylinder vehicles were the affected ones. I for one have never had an issue and feel that my car could easily go another 200k without a glitch.
JPC writes: “The “Du-whir dwir dwir dwir” always reminded me just a bit of the old Chrysler reduction gear starters of my youth…”.
You bet (and a good phonetic script of that sound). Wherever I am, I can always tell when someone is starting their Honda, a slower and lower sound than the high strung Hamtramck Hummingbird of 1962 plus Chrysler products.
That’s a nice Civic.
Count me as a Civic fan, but the ones I drove were 2009, 2012 and 2014. These are the 8th & 9th generation, I believe.
Each one was unique to the others. The ’09 (leased) was a hybrid and had my first & only leather interior. The 1300 cc engine with CVT transmission and “electric boost” was fairly peppy and returned a pretty solid 42+ MPG except for when the temperature dropped much below 40 F or so. Even then, 40 MPG was probably the lowest I ever saw.
The ’12 was an EX model (leased) with 1800 cc gas engine, 5 speed automatic and cloth seats. This was my “peak Civic.” There was plenty of pep and the 5 speed automatic did an excellent job of matching RPMs to any road,
The ’14 (owned) was again the 1800 CC’d but this time, an LX model with CVT transmission. After a short adjustment period, I didn’t mind the CVT much, but it wasn’t quite as satisfying to drive as the ’12.
When I clicked on CC this morning and saw this article I had an immediate sense of déjà vu. That is because my sister-in-law’s mother drives a Civic exactly like this one (same color combo inside and out). She got it new in 2000 after her 1990 Civic was totalled in an accident and still drives it to this day. It’s amazing that after all this time this particular generation of Civic still remains so anonymous because it blends into the background of life so well.
On a side note, my older brother (who worked as a mechanic during his undergrad days during the mid 90’s) maintains that this represents the best generation of Civic that was ever made.
I owned a ’98 Civic with a 5sd many moons ago and have driven a few automatics of this generation. The stick shift transforms it from slug to fun to drive.
This Civic’s interior reminds me very much of my wife’s former 2001 Accord. The Accord was as sturdy and reliable as they come, and there wasn’t anything wrong with it when we sold it at 171k. Her current car, a 2008 Civic, is a looker from the outside, but I’ve never grown accustomed to the interior. It feels much cheaper, with miles more hard plastic, and when I drive it, I feel like my butt is lower than my feet. I think the 90s Hondas were peak Honda, as some of the other commenters have said.
A co worker of mine recently acquired a Civic just like this. He bought the car for his mother 20 years ago. This past spring, she had to stop driving it for health reasons. It has a low 40k miles on it, rust free and is like new.
He thought it was simply a worthless old car, and had no interest. Then his mechanic offered him $1000 for it, sight-unseen. Realizing something was up, he asked my opinion. I explained to him the virtues of low mileage older Hondas.
So now he enjoys the car and uses it for commuting, and occasionally driving his elderly mom around. It’s a pleasant drive, cheap to insure and maintain and rarely needs repairs. What’s not to love about them?
If you put that 40K-mile Civic up for sale, at $1000, they will be lining up and pounding on your door to buy it. You could probably start at that price and have an auction!
Happy Motoring, Mark
I believe that Indiana law legally considers this vehicle antique which means you could put the Amber Waves of Grain license plate on this car and have no mileage or usage restrictions as far as I know.
http://15q.net/in.html
Nice write up on a era defining vehicle. I actually ended up buying and am currently driving a 93 Camry stick shift since I did not think I could comfortably fit inside a Civic sized vehicle especially when I have to move my legs often. I was also unsure about ride comfort and road noise as well given I do a bunch of highway driving.
I had a 97 Civic coupe with the 5 speed and had the loan of a 98 Civic sedan that was a twin to the car featured here…right down to the color and having an automatic transmission.
Having owned a 92 Acura Integra with automatic transmission I expected the Civic with automatic transmission to be a real slug, but it was actually fairly peppy.
As far as driving those late 90s Civics: I agree this generation of Civic was probably the best ever, they were (slightly) quieter than any previous generation, better engineered and built, and the controls spoiled me with their logical operation compared to my father’s 02 Taurus and my “new” 09 Crown Victoria. I still have to really concentrate whenever I adjust the wipers while driving.
The difference was that the Integra’s 4 valve design was much thinner on low-end torque than was the regular Civic engine, making it all the worse mated to a 4 speed automatic.
03 Civic
15 FIT
With 292xxx miles the Civic is almost perfect, One repair in 14 years.
At 60xxx miles the FIT is doing some funny things. Our daughter’s family
has the same model FIT which was bought one month after we wrote that
huge check. So far $7000 and a month with out the car for them.
I have said I would not buy another Honda. Make that another NEW Honda.
If you have a 7th gen Civic for sale let me know.
The several Honda dealers that we have encountered since buying the FIT
have been less then stellar.
Ironic the fit is doing funny things and the old civic runs forever. The fit is made in Japan… The civic in Canada.
The ’15 Fit was Hecho en Mexico. Early production units had a fairly high number of early-hour issues. By the time I bought mine (around unit 19,000 or so), these had pretty much been ironed out, although I did have a couple of warranty recall items and one TSB. Our ’00 Civic hatch had exactly two quality issues over the 160K miles we had it – a stress-cracked windshield the dealer replaced free and a failed ignitor module, also repaired free (they paid towing, too).
Oh rats… I remember the first gen fit in Canada was built in Japan… I was in the market for one then… So I always thot fits were built in japan.
The Mexico factory started up with the third generation, new car built in a new factory. Since 2015 or ’16 only manual Fits are made there, CVT cars come from Japan to free up more factory space for the HR-V.
On a sidenote I think it was a mistake to give the HR-V its’ own (overstyled) body stampings, there’s no reason why they couldn’t have carried over the Fit’s body intact into the raised-and-cladded version.
Ron Ananian, the car doctor says Honda means
Had
One
Never
Do it
Again.
I took a chance and have been fine so far.
These were very nice cars. I had a 1996 and 1999 EX sedan, both traded when the odometer hit 90,000 miles. The size was right, the interior was of decent quality (considering the price) and the ride and handling were quite good.
They had one intrinsic fault – weak front brake rotors. They warped far too easily. This problem plagued Hondas in the late 1990s. I never had that problem with my 1993 Civic EX.
Thank you for the shout out in my valiant attempt to better society by minimizing console size (and invasion of personal space).
I’m glad you wrote this. I’ve been curious about this Civic since you first mentioned it. It looks like a real sweetheart.
Oh my! You have to actually put the key in and TURN it! As Jay Leno was always saying “How lazy ARE we?!”
My ’98 Altima came with keyless entry & antitheft, and it was fun. But I stopped carrying the little plastic transmitter as my key-ring is crowded and heavy, and sometimes gets dropped. Plus my factory antitheft also works with the regular key anyway.
Nowadays, we have a little fob that stays in pocket or purse – so we don’t even have to press the button, except the one on the dash.
Of course, that little fob costs hundreds if it needs replaced. And who knows how much if the system breaks!
The 4-speed automatic works better with the relatively large 2.4/155 hp engine in my Altima. Yes, it’s not as much fun as a stick – except during rush hour, or many urban traffic conditions where ‘fun’ isn’t possible.
And I agree that the ’90s were ‘peak’ for many Asian makes. I own three examples – the Altima, plus a ’96 Camry and a ’96 5-speed Tacoma – though ironically all three were actually built in the US!
Happy Motoring, Mark
This is a nice car, definitely “peak” Civic. I had a friend with one identical to this except for the color, and that car never gave her any problems. She sold it when she moved out of state; too bad I didn’t need a car at that time.
I wouldn’t consider this a modern car; I mean, you can see out of it! And, I can’t imagine anyone looking at a 2017 Civic sedan 20 years from now and admiring its design, either.
I think this has been talked about before on here, but that 20 year old comparison is an interesting one. The evolution of cars has slowed down to a crawl. I find it difficult to get excited over any new releases these days.
I had a 2000 HX coupe with the CVT that felt like a rubber band. It was a great commuter car – quick in traffic and 37 mpg all the time. And it never broke of course.
Ah yes four banger automatics I had a couple both were Toyota Coronas one a diesel 90 wagon the other a NZ spec 93 gas 2.0 both ok reliable cars but ruined by the transmission, I dont buy small automatic cars any more for good reasons.
Those Hondas are still very common here, not in the mint condition of the featured car though most are much more worn and with massive mileages clocked up before the inevitable headgasket failure brought on by lack of maintenance puts them off the road.
To lock the car with the driver’s door open, pull on the inside door handle and push the power lock button with your index finger. That will bypass the over-ride on the driver’s door that is meant to keep you from locking the keys inside.
All older Hondas had this strange quirk.
I know, but to someone with enough years in old Mopars locking the door with the key just seems right.
The timing belt service interval on a 98 Civic is 105K miles or 7 years. Whichever comes first.
Matthew beat me to the punch on the work around for the door locks.
My Aunt bought this 98 LX new, to replace her 87 Subie. Right after she got it, she wanted me to ride along and listen to the wind noise coming from the passenger side A pillar. Yes, I heard the noise, barely, at about 60. Told her the only reason she could hear it was that the rest of the car was so quiet, she would never hear that among the clatter her Subie had made.
Her car was built in East Liberty, Ohio.
The 4 speed auto was a non-issue as her 87 had a 4 speed and, iirc, the 09 Subie Forester that replaced the Civic also had a 4 speed.
I had one opportunity to drive it…we went out to her lake house in the spring to turn the water on and she realized she had forgotten her driver’s license, so I drove back to town. That car was nice from the shotgun seat, but super nice from the helm, being much smoother and quieter than my hatchback.
Besides routine maintenance, timing belt at the 7 year mark and a new exhaust pipe, the only service issue on that car in the 10 years she had it was a failure of the front O2 sensor, a couple months before she sold it.
Arthritis in her right thumb made it difficult to press the release button on the gear selector, so she decided to sell it in 08, with 78K on the clock. That was right when gas cracked $4/gallon and well kept older Civics were gold. I figured the Subie dealer would steal it from her if she traded it in on the Forester, so I listed it on Autotrader for her. My phone rang off the hook. First guy that looked at it handed me a $200 cash deposit until he could get to the bank for a cashier’s check on Monday. I figured $7,400 for a 10 year old car that only cost $16K new was pretty good.
The car lived only a couple miles from my home for several years so I saw it around regularly, then it disappeared in 2011. Carfax said it was in Iowa. The last service was 12/2/15, at 229,117 miles and the registration expired on 12/3/16, so somewhere in 2016 it died. My suspicion is the timing belt, last replaced in 2005 at 65K miles, had parted company years, and miles, after the recommended replacement and the Honda interference engine ate itself.
How my Aunt came to have that Civic is another story. I had bought a 98 hatchback a few months earlier, when I arrived at her house to find she was having what was probably a kidney stone attack. I drove her to the ER to be checked out, then went on to visit my mom in the nursing home. Picked her up at the ER a couple hours later, when she was feeling a lot better. She had been thinking about a new car anyway as her 100K mile Subie was leaking vital humor in alarming quantities, so she admired my Civic as we headed back to her house.
My hatch had a 5 speed, but, being a DX trim, did not have a tach. Always paranoid about overrevving the thing, I was reluctant to do aggressive downshifting, with the result that acceleration in the 40-60 range was near hopeless as old Civic engines simply did not cook under about 5 grand.
Sold the Civic in 2013 as it’s age, 110K miles and due for timing belt and needing new shocks, lack of A/C and cruise did not fit with my new role as retired road tripper. If I was still working, I would still be driving that Civic.
I sold it to an engineering student at U of M. Carfax says it is now registered in Bellefontaine, Ohio, which is about 25 miles from Marysville, home of Honda US, so it’s possible my basic, totally box stock, Civic is now in the hands of an engineer at Honda.
It was unclear whether the timing belt had been changed so we had that job done immediately. It was either due or kind of an insurance premium.
I have seen a few other really nice ones around here. Honda seems to have solved its body rust issues with this generation.
I have seen a few other really nice ones around here. Honda seems to have solved its body rust issues with this generation.
Not entirely solved. My Aunt’s spent it’s first 10 years in Kalamazoo, where they don’t drown the roads in salt, like they do in metro Detroit, just toss a little salt/sand mix around at intersections. The car was really clean when I sold it.
My hatch was well treated as hatchbacks seemed to be on the brink of extinction by 98, so I resolved to make it last. In it’s 15 years in my possession, it saw 6 winters. The rest of the time, it was put up in the winter while a progression of second hand beaters took the winter salt bath. The kid that bought it was amazed at how clean it was.
I have seen plenty of late 90s Civics with the back corner of the wheel arches rusted through and a few that look positively leprous.
very nice story! congratulations on your car buying habits and on how well you got to teach your kinds. What a nice car too!
I had to laugh at your comments on the remote. I just got rid of my beloved 97 Grand Cherokee a few months ago and the main reason was it was dying the death of a thousand electrical shorts. My favorite one was if you unlocked the doors with the remote the drivers seat would recline !
So needless to say the last few months I had it we went back to the old ways of unlocking doors. Unless I wanted to give someone a laugh for the day.
Very nice write up of a car that I have long regarded as a peak of automotive virtue. Your daughter may not be driving the vehicle of choice among ironic millennials, but if my recent visits to college campuses in the Southeast are any indicator, she has lots of company among young people seeking safe, solid and reliable transportation.
My parents owned a 1997 Civic LX of this generation, which they sold three years later when my mother gave up driving due to health issues. The Civic served admirably as a commuter car and was absolutely trouble-free, a new experience for a couple who had suffered through a parade of lemons in 1970s and 1980s. Reliability alone may be what distinguishes “modern” cars of the 1990s onward from their often troublesome predecessors.
The lack of all the electronics required by regulators and customers today, means reliability may also distinguish some of these from their descendants!
Happy Motoring, Mark
While waiting for my ordered manual 2012 Fit Sport (replacement for my ’07 that was T-boned!) I bought a 98 Civic. It was a 5 speed manual, and a one owner high mileage, unmodified car. I actually drove it more than I drove the new Fit after its’ arrival.The Civic allowed me to tinker and improve, whereas the Fit was *NEW* and untouchable, LOL!
Not having a warranty to invalidate by tinkering is sort of a freedom, isn’t it? I’m eying all manner of Tanabe type ‘upgrades’ to the exhaust and suspension for my Note, but those will wait until the warranty expires.
I bought a 98 Civic. It was a 5 speed manual, and a one owner high mileage, unmodified car.
I had a couple too, a somewhat scruffy and high mileage 97 5-speed stick as a winter beater as the hatchback was put up in winter. In 97 DX trim coupes with a stick did not have power steering. Didn’t bother me at all, but the girls at work always cracked up at my shoulder action as I armstronged the car through the tight turns to get into the parking lot at work.
Good to hear the full story, you mentioned it on the road trip. I had to re-check my old articles, the one I wrote about the Civic GX (the NGV one) that I “car-shared” for a while was also a 1998 so I am familiar with these as a driver too. It turns out you commented on that story and mentioned this particular car (but it only had about 45k miles on it back them!).
It’s always fun having use of a different car for a limited time. No long term commitment but enough time to actually see what works and what doesn’t work so well rather than just a very quick impression when you test drive something or someone asks you to drive their car home from the bar or wherever…
Like this generation of Civic. We got a 2000 EX sedan (the last year of this generation). Visibility was great (you sat high enough). It wasn’t a speed demon at all.
Later, after 13 years & 130k miles, we traded it in on a 2012 model, also an EX. This was the newer generation that a lot of people just trashed in the reviews – for its cheapened materials, though it’s still reliable,
Great read as usual JP! It’s hard to believe these cars are 20 years old now. We had a ’99 Civic that was my wife’s daily driver for about 8 years. It seems like just yesterday we had the car, but now that I think of it, it was 2011 we sold it off. Our Civic was a pretty good car overall. For much of the time my wife had the Civic I had a lumbering Chev Suburban, so it sure felt sporty in comparison. I never had any issue power with the 4-speed auto. It was peppy enough around town, and if you kept the revs up it performed fine for what it was. I did actually like the 4-speed on the highway because it kept the revs closer to the power band. I remember driving my sister-in-laws ’07 Civic, and while it was gearing gave better fuel economy, it downshifted at any mole hill on the highway. Our ’99 could climb fairly large grades without needing to downshift, and had enough pep to zip past slower traffic. I do remember the handling being pretty neutral for a FWD car, while it had a comfortable ride. One thing I do remember about that car was it’s very small turning radius.
One of the main reasons we sold off the car was actually the lack of comfort. Both of us are tall and found the leg room lacking, especially on long trips. I found the seats okay, but my wife hated them on long trips. Our car was 12 years old and had been rust proofed the majority of it’s life, but some rust was starting to rear it’s head around the rear fender edges. For this area that wasn’t unusual, and it was in far better condition than the average Civic of the same age at that time (this generation is pretty well non-existent now). Our car was fairly reliable, but once it got over 100K miles it did need a few repairs (front upper ball joints, exhaust system, water pump, the A/C crapped out to name a few). When I put the car up for sale, it sold in a day. There was still a strong demand for these cars, and ours was in better shape than average. Overall, it was a good car, and fairly fun to drive for what was essentially an appliance, but neither one of us missed the car when it was sold.
On the 20 year old car comment, I remember starting a new job around 2005. At that time I had my ’85 Oldsmobile Delta 88 as my daily driver. I remember the having discussions with the HR coordinator when the topic of cars came up. She was surprised that I had a 20 year old daily driver and also thought it was relic from another era. Compared to what other’s were driving at the time, my Olds did seem to be from another era, especially being a carbureted car with a V8 (and zero computer controls). In fairness, I guess the Delta 88 was pretty dated in 1985.
Here is our Civic just before we sold it.
Manufacturers today have many, many challenges. Build a good safe car, load it with all the newest technology, make sure it gets better than ever gas mileage and keep the price at a point where the customer can afford it. My how things have changed in 20 years! So, in retrospect this Civic was designed at the period before everything started to change. My ’99 Accord is an example of this as well. I don’t envy those manufacturers!
The featured Civic is a great vehicle. I knew many people that owned them and they loved them. I don’t see quite as many as I do Accords of the same generation; maybe because they were geared towards younger buyers and they got used up quicker?
We had a 2000 Civic LX. The remote locks receiver is built into the factory radio in this Civic. All you need is a fob (under $20 on ebay), and to program it to the car.
My biggest problem with going from my tall body 91 Civic Wagon or 2012 Fit to the 2000 Civic is bashing my head on the top of the door frame when I got into the car too fast.
this generation Civic is an outstanding car. I had a ’98 Civic EX, the upgraded version of the featured car, had the V-Tec engine with the automatic. It went 225K miles before finally blowing a head gasket, really solid car, never a days problem, nothing more than 2 timing belt changes. As someone noted, it was not the most comfortable vehicle and you did drop into the car upon entry. A low mileage version of this car would still make a great car for a first time driver (if they would tolerate the lack of modern amenities)
You are right on in identifying the slowing pace of meaningful change in the automotive world come the 1990s.
The biggest difference, and your examples are case in point, is that your previous cars had boat loads of style and character, while the Civic has none. Absolutely no style.
As reliable daily transport, a 98 Civic scores 10/10. No arguments. Great car to transport yourself in reasonable comfort and minimal cost.
As a car that’s actually an enjoyable or interesting place to be, with style, looks, character, fun, class, and so on, it’s a baseline 0/10. In fact, I can’t think of a car that’s more devoid of motoring character, ever, past or present.
A Yugo is a MUCH worse car, but it’s a lot more interesting/fun and gives you a story every time you drive it.
So big respect to this generation of Civic as value for money to get yourself about, which is the whole point of these things. Zero respect as a car of enthusiasm/interest.
Those Civics were honest, dependable little cars. My favorite Spanish teacher in high school had one, until my senior year when it was totaled by some furniture that fell out of a pickup truck. She replaced it with a new CR-V, which I believe she still has.
Nice writeup @ this gen Civic. We have owned Civics starting with a 1988 base Civic 3 dr HB with the small 4 and a 4 spd up to my current 2021 Civic EX with its 1.5L turbo, but alas a CVT 🙁 Most of them have been pretty nice examples of 4 wheeled transportation, altho I must say that the base ’88 hatch back stands out the most in my memory. It wasn’t fast, but by rowing the 4 spd it moved along nicely. It sure did pa$$ gas stations (42 mpg hwy, 40mpg with A/C on) and because of its light weight it really was rather fun to drive on twisty back roads. Sadly rust started doing it in……so it was traded for a newer Honda. The clean design theme Honda had at the time of the ’88 Civic really appealed to my jaded designers’ eyes!
We have also owned CR-Vs,a Element-restyled CR-V :(, Accords and 2 del Sols (really a modified Civic platform), but overall I tend to favor the Civic line. Honda has a long line of winners, IMO. DFO
I can’t complain about my 2016 Honda Civic EX-T Coupe which I bought new just before the 2017 model year came out.
It had its share of little issues, mostly solved under warranty, as the first year cars of a new generation sometimes do, but overall, it’s been the best daily driven commuter car I’ve ever owned, full stop.
Mine’s the same color as yours Dennis, and I think that color was the best for that car’s ‘angry-angle-styling’ as I like to call it.
I typically get 42 MPG on a trip if the roads are flat and traffic’s good. In the mountains, it’s closer to 39, and for my commute with shall we say, more spirited driving, I average about 33-34.
This has made me somewhat of a Honda convert, although I just bought my wife a Mazda CX-5, as I preferred its driving dynamics over the CR-V which was also considered. Hopefully, the Mazda will turn out to be as reliable as the Honda has proven to be. The Civic’s odometer just rolled past 110K miles this week.
As to the CVT? I don’t hate it, and its fake shift points make it less noticeably annoying as other CVT(s) I’ve driven. But if it weren’t for the fact I don’t like dealing with a stick shift in our rush hours around here, the SI version would probably be a hoot to drive!
Since this was first posted I found my ex has a similar car.I got a message via our daughter could I jump start it? I arrived with jumper cables and the little four fired up straight away it turned out the brake switch was faulty and told her disconnect the battery when you park it to save the battery showed her how and left a spanner with her to do that, Later she told me she needed a newer car, I said why that Honda will go a long time yet keep an eye on
fluid levels and just drive it, last time I saw her 3 years ago she still had that Honda.
Buying cars from older people is what Ive done twice now I upgraded my classic getting a rare Superminx from a friend who has aged out of collecting things and replaced my high kms Citroen C5 with a later version with a bigger diesel more power more toys inside and low mileage too big for the guys wife he replaced it with a 3 cylinder turbocharged Peugeot 308, The address was a gated retirement community.