Wonderful road trip - 2018 Honda Civic sport 6mt. How did we miss this?

M

meep

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My son‘s car. He’s moving with a rental truck in a few days, so I drove his laden 2018 civic up a few days ahead of him. His is a 1.5T with the 6MT, civic sport trim. My daily is somewhere between an 18 F150 and a 14 Lexus GS. my wife has a mid-teens crv.

i didn’t realize the true gold mine honda has in this car. I had 4 hours of back roads, heavy traffic, interstate, fast traffic, and then heavy rain. It’s more sure footed than the Lexus, is quieter than the CRV, the stick is smoother than hot butter, and the engine power curve is wonderful. Want to lug it uphill at 1300 rpm? It will do it just fine, and accelerate if you ask. Want to blast ahead to pass? Downshift to any gear, or simply mash the throttle without shifting and wait for the turbo. Want to get 42mpg? It’s already doing that. need to let vehicles pass and then accelerate hard through grass and gravel in deep rain water? It will grab, growl, snarl and go, the entire time with muscular authority and confidence. Want a rattle-free interior? As tight as the Lexus (actually, it’s better.)

there’s still road noise, and the radio is only ok. The dash is surprisingly effective at telling you what you need to know quickly so you don’t spend time scanning it. Seat was superb. Interior materials are obviously very plastic-y, but they don’t sag like my ford.

the manual trans in this car truly is next level. I wonder why it doesn’t get more press. Truly a drivers car. I’m not a big FWD guy - really prefer RWD. But this… i could absolutely commute in one of these and enjoy it completely. Do people write them off since the majority are CVTs? How have we missed this?

-m
 
Because traffic and roads are allowing less and less enjoyment in driving. Also, younger generations don't care:

1670907767078.jpg
 
meep said:
My son‘s car. He’s moving with a rental truck in a few days, so I drove his laden 2018 civic up a few days ahead of him. His is a 1.5T with the 6MT, civic sport trim. My daily is somewhere between an 18 F150 and a 14 Lexus GS. my wife has a mid-teens crv.

i didn’t realize the true gold mine honda has in this car. I had 4 hours of back roads, heavy traffic, interstate, fast traffic, and then heavy rain. It’s more sure footed than the Lexus, is quieter than the CRV, the stick is smoother than hot butter, and the engine power curve is wonderful. Want to lug it uphill at 1300 rpm? It will do it just fine, and accelerate if you ask. Want to blast ahead to pass? Downshift to any gear, or simply mash the throttle without shifting and wait for the turbo. Want to get 42mpg? It’s already doing that. need to let vehicles pass and then accelerate hard through grass and gravel in deep rain water? It will grab, growl, snarl and go, the entire time with muscular authority and confidence. Want a rattle-free interior? As tight as the Lexus (actually, it’s better.)

there’s still road noise, and the radio is only ok. The dash is surprisingly effective at telling you what you need to know quickly so you don’t spend time scanning it. Seat was superb. Interior materials are obviously very plastic-y, but they don’t sag like my ford.

the manual trans in this car truly is next level. I wonder why it doesn’t get more press. Truly a drivers car. I’m not a big FWD guy - really prefer RWD. But this… i could absolutely commute in one of these and enjoy it completely. Do people write them off since the majority are CVTs? How have we missed this?

-m
Click to expand...
If Honda ever builds an AWD Civic Type-R, the Type S might get sold off. The Civic has been punching above its weight for a while, but sadly, no one buys cars any more. I truely hope Honda keeps developing the platform...fingers crossed.
 
meep said:
My son‘s car. He’s moving with a rental truck in a few days, so I drove his laden 2018 civic up a few days ahead of him. His is a 1.5T with the 6MT, civic sport trim. My daily is somewhere between an 18 F150 and a 14 Lexus GS. my wife has a mid-teens crv.

i didn’t realize the true gold mine honda has in this car. I had 4 hours of back roads, heavy traffic, interstate, fast traffic, and then heavy rain. It’s more sure footed than the Lexus, is quieter than the CRV, the stick is smoother than hot butter, and the engine power curve is wonderful. Want to lug it uphill at 1300 rpm? It will do it just fine, and accelerate if you ask. Want to blast ahead to pass? Downshift to any gear, or simply mash the throttle without shifting and wait for the turbo. Want to get 42mpg? It’s already doing that. need to let vehicles pass and then accelerate hard through grass and gravel in deep rain water? It will grab, growl, snarl and go, the entire time with muscular authority and confidence. Want a rattle-free interior? As tight as the Lexus (actually, it’s better.)

there’s still road noise, and the radio is only ok. The dash is surprisingly effective at telling you what you need to know quickly so you don’t spend time scanning it. Seat was superb. Interior materials are obviously very plastic-y, but they don’t sag like my ford.

the manual trans in this car truly is next level. I wonder why it doesn’t get more press. Truly a drivers car. I’m not a big FWD guy - really prefer RWD. But this… i could absolutely commute in one of these and enjoy it completely. Do people write them off since the majority are CVTs? How have we missed this?

-m
Click to expand...
I drive my BMW 6mt every day. Kid to school, other kid to daycare, gym, office, back home, pick up kid from school, another one from daycare. Go ski twice a week, go do anything that does not require extra space for 4 and luggage. Then go track the same car with child seats in the back.
Life is good.
 
Since 2016, the Civic has upped its game. The 2012-15 was universally disliked by the press. However, I loved my daughter's 2015 LX.
Personally, I thought it was the nicest COROLLA, I mean, Civic that I've driven. It really was a nice car to drive daily in all situations; smooth/quiet, nice riding while still handling well(enough). Maybe not as Honda-like as other Civic's(i.e., Si) in their respective generation but a nice car just the same and incredibly reliable. I actually like the 2014-15 Civic LX/EX very much.

Now my daughter bought a 2022 Civic LX(in my signature) and it too has upped the ante on so many levels. When she travels, she rents a car and coincidentally she often happens to get a Civic SPORT w/1.5T(in various years/2016-21). She calls them the WOW factor car. She didn't buy one as she does like the simple-ness/everyday-ness of the LX but the SPORT is a nice change. During her rental car experiences she has has several different vehicles and has her favorites as well as the ones she calls JUNK.
 
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Honda standard transmissions seem like the best of the best. I was wondering the other day which car would be more fun to drive, a Civic Si, or a 370Z?
 
aquariuscsm said:
Honda standard transmissions seem like the best of the best.
Click to expand...
Definitely the best I've ever driven (I've never driven, say, a BMW so I can't compare there).

I recently bought a Honda Fit as a winter beater. I could have searched harder and bought a manual.... But I didn't. If I had, it would have really emphasized how clunky the manual is in my WRX and i didn't want to face that reality.
 
aquariuscsm said:
Honda standard transmissions seem like the best of the best.
Click to expand...
Since I started buying HONDAs in the 1980s, from my reading, the automotive press alway mentioned how good Honda manual tranmissions are even compared to other higher end sport or performance vehicles with manual trannies. The press would always say that Honda manuals are consistently the best on the market. And over the past ~40 yrs, this hold true today with only Mazda getting a mention in certain vehicles.
 
My dialy is '17 civic with 6mt, but in LX trim. Absolutely love this car. The best upgrdae I've done is switching to Amsoil MTF, made the shifts so much more enjoyable. And some 5w30 for the lovely 1.5T engine lol
 
Last edited by a moderator:
parshisa...you mean, you have an LX with the 1.5T and not the 2.0 NA engine? 🥳...sedan, hatch or coupe?
I thought all LX's only came with the 2.0?

To me, the most reliable setup would be an LX w/2.0 NA & 6 spd manual.
No TURBO, DI or CVT to worry about. Just good 'ol Honda drivetrain goodness.
 
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CharBaby said:
parshisa...you mean, you have an LX with the 1.5T and not the 2.0 NA engine? 🥳...sedan, hatch or coupe?
I thought all LX's only came with the 2.0?

To me, the most reliable setup would be an LX w/2.0 NA & 6 spd manual.
No TURBO, DI or CVT to worry about. Just good 'ol Honda drivetrain goodness.
Click to expand...
yes, LX with 1.5T engine and 6MT, hatchback. Had also Katzkin leather interior installed prior to delivery. They were built in UK and shipped to US. 67K on the clock and I've had rear hatch struts replaced under warranty (leaking fluid), front passenger shock replaced under warranty as well (probably didn’t even need to be replaced but they did it anyway), and recall for 3-way connector. No fuel dilution to speak of. Still original battery
 
CharBaby said:
parshisa...you mean, you have an LX with the 1.5T and not the 2.0 NA engine? 🥳...sedan, hatch or coupe?
I thought all LX's only came with the 2.0?

To me, the most reliable setup would be an LX w/2.0 NA & 6 spd manual.
No TURBO, DI or CVT to worry about. Just good 'ol Honda drivetrain goodness.
Click to expand...

LX sedan is 2.0. LX hatchback is 1.5.

I haven't driven the 1.5, but the 2.0 is a really nice engine. More quieter and responsive than other similar 4 bangers.
 
camrydriver111 said:
LX sedan is 2.0. LX hatchback is 1.5.

I haven't driven the 1.5, but the 2.0 is a really nice engine. More quieter and responsive than other similar 4 bangers.
Click to expand...
The thing about the 1.5… it has gobs of low end torque - a flatter, more robust torque curve than a v6. I prefer it that turbo characteristic very much, knowing it takes 1.5 seconds for the boost to roll in at 1500 rpm. If you want snappy response, you have to “drive the car” and be ready in a lower gear. Otoh, classic Honda fans will probably find the upper rpm’s a little boring since it doesn’t have the peaky roar of vtec chorus at 6000 rpm.

rolling into the throttle in 3rd at 35 mph has enough torque to simply break the front end free in the rain. It’s got a lot of power. This engine in the s2k would be an elegant match.
 
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