Consumer Reports lukewarm on Civic models
In its February issue, Consumer Reports criticizes the Honda Civic Si sedan for what it calls "vague steering, cheap plastics, a jittery ride, and lots of noise." Credit: AP
It turns out there's at least one 2012 Honda Civic that Consumer Reports likes: the sportiest "Si" model, which has earned the magazine's coveted "recommended" status. But, while the magazine likes the Si, deeming it better than its predecessor, it doesn't love the Si. In its February issue, now on sale, the magazine criticizes what it terms "vague steering, cheap plastics, a jittery ride, and lots of noise."
Those and other complaints doomed the more pedestrian versions of the redesigned-for-2012 Civic to also-ran status in the eyes of the Yonkers-based magazine's auto testers, despite what it says is the likelihood that all the new Civics will be reliable cars based on Honda's past performance.
Last week, The Associated Press and others reported that Honda was reworking the Civic line to address criticisms by the magazine and other professional auto critics. The February issue focuses on the Si and the Volkswagen Jetta GLI -- the latter not earning a "recommended" label because it is too new for its reliability to be known.
The magazine praised the Civic Si for the "terrific acceleration" of its 201-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. "The Civic Si has a great powertrain, but it needs a better car wrapped around it," David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' Automotive Test Center, said in a statement.
