"The interior has this Japanese blandness, it's lacking in character" Nobody understood at that time that this "Japanese blandness" actually WAS Japanese character. Japanese people are functional, tidy, efficient and of course that mentality is represented in the interior of a car. Many people nowadays are searching for that Japanese 90s style in their cars since they don't want to have that "techno high tech 100 knobs, switches, pushbuttons, radiobuttons and toggles per square-inch" anymore. They want the "Japanese blandness" back...
This is very true. There is a beauty to the Japanese interiors of the 90s. They're simple and to the point. One of the most favorite cars that I've ever owned is a 1996 Nissan Maxima SE with a 5MT. It had a very simple interior that didn't squeak or rattle. Everything was within reach and it had the perfect amount luxury in it. If I were to own a 96 Maxima all over again the only thing that I'd want is Bluetooth connectivity and steering wheel audio controls which I've honestly come to very much appreciate. You can even keep the stock Bose sound system that came as an option.
Something Fail Driving a '97 Mitsubishi Galant EA0 and I love the simplicity. The steering-wheel is tidy, you can see the speedo without hindrance, the only thing in the middle-console is the AC-automatic and the radio (which can be swapped with one that one likes) On the left of the steering wheel you have front and rear fog-lights, speedo-light and headlight-height and on the armrest of the door you have the 4 buttons for the power-windows and the knob for the adjustable side-mirrors. On the roof you only have 2 switches for the interior light. Every button has it's legit function and place, it's not overcrowded, everything is assessable and tidy.
I wished they they could have styled it a bit and actually used some colour contrast, the second other uni get around car which I have; the Corolla hatch has a dark, silver contrast with nothing more than a stereo, air conditioning controls, clock, vents and instruments. It's basic, but at least more pleasing to look at.
Seems amazing that in 1991 Honda were offering a 1.6 with a 158bhp while most competitors couldn't even reach that with their 2.0 liter engines. The chassis was quite amazing too. Multi link independent rear and double wishbone front. In some ways I actually prefer the clean simplicity of this car to the ridiculously overstyled and gimmicky current Civic.
@@buffkangaroodog the 10th gens look the same idk what you're talking about with the SI and R. The R is a hatch which is why it stands out from all other civics. The SI is a Sedan look alike besides the tail lights, and OEM spoiler. The grille and front aren't much different nor is the body. Touring included...
They were built under the 20 year plan. So 30 years on they are still cracking great cars. 20 years from now you will STILL see these. A testament to their engineering and execution.
@@dualcoregam3rs612 even euro cars and $30k+ cars use macpherson strut and I absolutely hate that suspension it's simple but does not perform well as wishbone keeps the wheel flat to the ground you can even see the arc of macpherson struts as it moves looks horrible.
2:03 it’s funny now that when I look back at the 90s Japanese vehicles I’ve own (‘92 Toyota Celica, ‘91 Honda Prelude, ‘01 Subaru Legacy, ‘92 Lexus LS400) that “lack of character” is exactly what there the character was. And it holds up today as simple, functional and tactile
Back in 98, I bought one for $500, it had 70,000mi on it.. I drove it until 2007, and had 230,000mi on it when the timing belt broke... If I would of known then what I know now, I would be still driving it... Was a fun car
+DestroyerOfBurgersGaming (Games4thapeople) belts last anywhere from 60-100k miles. design is fine it was just way overdue. not overly hard to replace but not the most exciting job.
You're so right! I have a black one, still learning to drive a manual. But sometimes I wish she is a brand new model. But, meh..it's tough to find a good condition one.
Clearly your not looking mate, there was a white esi 35k for sale at the time you made this comment on gum tree, I was gonna get it, but I've got a DX that's still going strong
@Bruce Jenner that's nice! These weren't expensive in my country, but nowadays it's very hard to even find a touched Civic Hatchback under US$11000, while its sedan sibling cost under US$6000.
I miss my 95 sedan... it was only DX trim and an automatic, but it's still the most comfortable car I've ever driven, and I never had a single doubt about its handling and ability to do what I asked of it. I've always loved the understated styling, especially the lack of a grille between the headlights. Such a wonderful car.
@5:53 the unmistakable sound of a Honda starting up. Car probably sounds the exact same all these years later. Only cars I've ever had that started stronger the colder it got outside.
I’ve owned 6 of these models in the past 15 years, 5 have now sold and I own only 1 now which is the exact same colour as this, exact same interior in pristine condition. completely standard! Most likely the next best & cleanest one in UK to this.
I owned a new '90 Civic Si hatch and a few years later bought a '93 Civic Si Coupe....the difference in build quality and h.p. was truly amazing. I still think the 93' Civic Coup Si was one of the best cars I have owned. That generation of Civics was very good.
I use to steal them easily during my wild teenage years in the early late 90’s and early 00’s Would break the steering lock and unscrew 3 bolts underneath the steering wheel, get to the ignition lock and start the car with a flat head screw driver. Then I discovered using an old shaved Honda key. I could just start the bitch up easily.
ståle starheim Of course! hence why I have bought vtec controllers to engage earlier! However, you need to also adjust the oil pressure pump for that too. It;s expensive when it's done properly. I prefer to just do a b18 swap and use fourth and fifth in a y28 gearbox.
juan def my Volvo once had a 10v top then i got a 20 valve top that was bored up, 60hp+ and not the big cost. why are people persisting on making those Honda engines better when there is cars on the market with 4 valves per cylinder working at ll times already?
ståle starheim Honda has the reliability and they are better economy with a 4 cylinder engine. High revs too! Other engines do not rev up the way a Honda does. You would have to go to either bikes or exotic cars for exotic money. Honda is the best handling FWD cars on the market. Fact.
juan def to be fair i don't give a shit about fuel economy as my Volvo is rather thirsty, but 223hp without turbo from a 2,5L is not to bad i think, and it revs to 7500rpm before it loses power. but sure, stock the Honda engines are almost as reliable as Volvo engines xD, but try to load a civic to the max and you will see that they lack power, compared to normal cars that got some torq at low rpm as-well
When it comes to older designs like the previous generation car, maybe. It's still hard to associate the newer feeling cars of 1990 or 1991, with that era for me, because of being born then and then remembering them as stylish, new cars in late 1993-1995 (earliest memories). Whenever someone refers to 1991, I tend to think of stuff with semi-rounded edges and automatic seatbelts (no airbags), versus stuff like this Civic, SC 400, or 3rd generation Camry, which were very, very modern compared to a GD Mazda 626 or an 2nd gen Integra. Let alone learning stuff like the Z32 Z were designed until 1986 and sold in 1989. Didn't understand the concept of years (let alone model years) until early 1998 (never understood the meaning of 1995/1996/1997 prior to that). But I knew I liked cars as early as age 2ish 5-6 years beforehand, particularly stuff that was rounded and monochrome, versus boxy and black plastic/chrome. First time I learned about model years, was as 1999 models started coming out a few months later in Summer/Fall '98 and it being weird to see the same 3 numbers in a row in 1999, then understood to always pay attention to "next year's model". It was weird at age 8 to realize the concept of model generations, meaning that bodystyle you liked as a toddler/kinder kid was no longer current and now old, if not as old as you even (ie this generation).
My '88 CRX's best is 48mpg. But that's American mpg; the Imperial gallon is notably larger, so that translates to 57.74mpg(imp). And that's just the D15B2 model; if had the D15B6 I'd really have something.
I miss my Civic SiR2 (JDM) with the B16A engine :(. It was my first car, my brother who used to import japanese cars from time to time, passed it down to me and I quickly realised just how quirky it was. The VTEC that kicked in about 5.8k revs, the japanese stickers, the km speedo, flare in the footwell (wtf?!), split level boot door, the lidded storage either side of the backseats. If I recall, my particular model has LSD and the engine topped at just under 180bhp... an instant classic. Still one of my favourite cars. Im older and more boring and drive a family sized Merc now, but whenever I see one of these civics drive past me I always give a little nod :)
I use to own a 95 civic coup. Love the experience so I now own a '06 accord sedan, '13 civic si coup with the hfp package and a '16 civic lx sedan. "Vtec kicked in yo!"
bought 6th gen civic back in 2012, 1.4 is EJ9 from 2000, with just 80 000 km on clock, 1st hand and the previous owner was women. Car was driven perfectly in mint condition. Now its braking, and i started to work for the first time on the engine and suspension and i can tell you, im in love with honda from this. Wanna buy type r or Vtec atleast so i can drive little faster that 180km/h tho. Prelude or civic will be my next car and i can tell it will be for a long shot
They looked sexy, had some Italian flair with japanees build quality, so what can I say more about it? Had a lovely 1.6 VTEC engine too! Only thing that was lacking was the availability of some nice leather for the interior. But then ofcourse, this was 1991 and Leather was only to be found in a Jaguar :p
The Honda Ballade (civic 4 dour) was available in South Africa with full leather on the 160i Luxline and 180i Luxline models. If you compare the UK spec to the SA spec, the UK is a joke. Honda was marketed through Mercedes Benz dealerships and because of this tie up, the interiors of the Ballades were really plush. Even the base model 150 had a decent interior. If I am not mistaken, there was even an option of leather on the 150i .
I got a civic eg hatchback. And a guy I work for complemented my car the other day and thought it was newer than his mid 2000s vw Passat. Needless to say it was a suprise when I told him it was 24 years old 😂
+Toyota4Life its cause that civic was single cam and not the 160hp b16a. toyota needed extra valves or a supercharger just to match the b16a's 160hp power output.
The things that stuck out about those civics back then was how quick and responsive that little engine was. You didn’t have to push the gas pedal down much to get adequate power from it, it was a very peppy car for it’s time.
Think Honda, and you think of VTEC Think Honda, and you think of [c o o l v i b r a t i o n s] Think Honda, and you think of Shingo and his red EG6 from Initial D Think Honda, and you think of "DABURU CRASHU IKO SE!!" Welcome Initial D fans. VTEC's about to kick in in three, two on-- BRAAAAAM OH SHI--
I had a P reg 1.6 VTI wonderful car, ran it to 150,000 mls no probs just changed the oil on time not that it used any. Sold it when we needed something bigger, It went like muck off a shovel when needed but still returned mid 30s for commuting and mid 40s on a run. Often wish I still had it. ,
This guy was a Pus driving both cars. The Si hatch is still a SOHC monster today "bisimoto has the same engine laying 700 whp. Love the interior of the sedan, I'd have that B16 screaming in the straights. God forbid there's not enough storage " not a car to take a family vacation". If they only knew all the advances we have today this top gear episode would be A1 in its time.
EG ftw!!! Friend had one and got it down to just over 1800lbs!!!!!! Do you understand how phenomenal that is pared w/ good suspension, tires and some power!!!!
Absolutely revolutionary car in the early 90's. Suddenly everybody else's small cars looked very angular and frumpy. The real magic though was the chassis and light weight, man these cars were fun to drive with a stick, even if they weren't very fast. Pity we never got the 160hp engine until the 1999 Civic Si, which was priced quite dear.
My Grandad had one of these Civics (not a VTI though) from 92-01 He did 190000 miles in it (including a year ban) and from what I know nothing broke on it he had 3 Civics over 22 years
I had the red one it was a lsi m reg 1995. It had same sun roof but different steering wheel and I put 17 inch alloys on it. Loved that car it only cost me 900 pound
i got a Honda Civic EX 1991 model - 12700 KM till now-rarely to be used in great shape as new-all original.but this record shows the Civic 1992 that came after the 1991 model.
