Civic 1.6 i-DTEC tops real-world MPG test

[RichardA]

It's What Car? magazine so as usual it's damning with faint praise:

1. Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC – official 78.5mpg: True MPG 66.4mpg

The Civic is far from the best all-rounder in its class, but its impressive fuel economy makes it worthy of consideration if your annual mileage is high and mainly on fast roads. The ride is disappointing and the dashboard is odd, but the huge boot and cinema-style flip-up rear seats mean that it is at least a practical family car.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/real-world-mpg-2013s-top-10-beat-58mpg/1226015

If rumours are to believed, this engine will make it into the Jazz so it all sounds promising.

[guest4078]

They must be spitting blood it is not a German marque. As you say, the 1.6 is a nice engine if you want a derv. I like the idtec but our new ivtec is looking very good already. Giving 55 mpg even on my short local trips.

[culzean]

It's What Car? magazine so as usual it's damning with faint praise:

1. Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC – official 78.5mpg: True MPG 66.4mpg

The Civic is far from the best all-rounder in its class, but its impressive fuel economy makes it worthy of consideration if your annual mileage is high and mainly on fast roads. The ride is disappointing and the dashboard is odd, but the huge boot and cinema-style flip-up rear seats mean that it is at least a practical family car.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/real-world-mpg-2013s-top-10-beat-58mpg/1226015

If rumours are to believed, this engine will make it into the Jazz so it all sounds promising.

In spite of the great 1.6 i-dtec which they can't fault, they are still trying their best to make Civic sound like a crap car - 'the Civic is far from the best all rounder in its class' - and 'the dashboard is a bit odd'  - what the hell is that supposed to mean - I drive a Civic 1.8 i-vtec every day and it is a fantastic car with a great engine, plenty of power, very quiet with the right tyres and all the room you could wish for.

What have these testers got against Honda ? if they can't find anything bad to say they normally come out with the 'very expensive' chestnut.

[guest4512]

It's What Car? magazine so as usual it's damning with faint praise:

1. Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC – official 78.5mpg: True MPG 66.4mpg

The Civic is far from the best all-rounder in its class, but its impressive fuel economy makes it worthy of consideration if your annual mileage is high and mainly on fast roads. The ride is disappointing and the dashboard is odd, but the huge boot and cinema-style flip-up rear seats mean that it is at least a practical family car.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/real-world-mpg-2013s-top-10-beat-58mpg/1226015

If rumours are to believed, this engine will make it into the Jazz so it all sounds promising.

In spite of the great 1.6 i-dtec which they can't fault, they are still trying their best to make Civic sound like a crap car - 'the Civic is far from the best all rounder in its class' - and 'the dashboard is a bit odd'  - what the hell is that supposed to mean - I drive a Civic 1.8 i-vtec every day and it is a fantastic car with a great engine, plenty of power, very quiet with the right tyres and all the room you could wish for.

What have these testers got against Honda ? if they can't find anything bad to say they normally come out with the 'very expensive' chestnut.

Totally agree.

Whatcar always had a bug up their arse about Honda and other Jap manufactures, they continue to perpetuate the myth that Honda et al are expensive to buy and run. There are loads of folk out there who believe that kinds crap as well.

This engine in the Jazz would result in 80+mpg.

[peteo48]

Yes - I agree with all that has been said. It's a bias pure and simple against Japanese cars on the part of What Car.

You get a better picture from Which and JD Power. On the Jazz Which said recently they had written more words about the Jazz than any other car so enthusiastic were their owners.

[guest4078]

I think you will find that some manufacturers are more 'generous' to motoring journalists than others when enthusiastic words are written.

[culzean]

I think you will find that some manufacturers are more 'generous' to motoring journalists than others when enthusiastic words are written.

at a stroke you have just destroyed all my long held illusions about journalists - I always thought they were impartial and free from pressure and bias - and always told the truth about things - It never even crossed my mind that some car makers would actually stoop to pay money / or 'payment in kind' to ensure good reviews LOL

PS I know that Jeremy Clarkson never had a good word to say about Vauxhall at one time, but only because they truly deserved it because their cars were on the wrong side of the 'fit for purpose' line.

[madasafish]

Motoring journalists make the former News of the World journalists appear honourable.  In my view.

They are full of articles apparently written by illegitimate teenage scribblers who have never had a girlfriend..and who tear around the country in cars they neither pay for nor refuel at their own cost.

If the car is a make they like and the ride in unbearably harsh, they mention it as a throwaway line - "it's a bit firm on rough surfaces". If it is Japanese, it's "unbearably bad on bad surfaces"

Anyone who believes what they write and uses it as the basis of decision making is - in my view-  "intellectually challenged"


Note : I have tried not to libel journalists who clearly think 0-60mph times are relevant in modern driving.. and who criticise fuel consumptions based on EU figures..

[culzean]

Anyone who believes what they write and uses it as the basis of decision making is - in my view-  "intellectually challenged"

totally agree,  also some people will buy a car because it has 10 cup-holders,  5  MP3 sockets, a large screen on the dash where they can search the internet and watch a video while they drive, and whether the ICE system includes blue-tooth and a 'text to speech' feature so that they can have a text read out to them while they drive (available on latest Ford Fiesta - so it should sell like hot cakes), and voice dialing - they don't really care what the rest of the car is like (as long as it has a new registration plate).

As far as good engineering goes many people don't even look at reliability stats, they will look for alloy wheels, all round discs and what colours are available.  Japanese cars are portrayed in the press as 'dull and boring' even though they always come top of reliability stats. We are told that German cars are high quality, which is probably why they are so unreliable, French cars are 'stylish' but fall apart after 3 years.

[RichardA]

What Car was the only magazine that didn't like the Jazz when it came it out 12 years ago. You could understand them disliking the Jazz if they were aimed at the hardcore enthusiast (like EVO magazine), but for a consumer-focused title it's unforgivable.

Ironically, Autocar magazine - WC's sister publication and unashamed enthusiasts' title no less - has always been positive about the Jazz. Autocar rank the Jazz behind only the Fiesta and Polo in the top five supermini rankings. (Incidentally, nos 4 and 5 are the Kia Rio and Chevrolet Aveo, demonstrating that Autocar really do look past the badge: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/honda/jazz).

[culzean]

I just don't know where these 'manufacturers fuel economy' figures come from - they have a disclaimer on most if not all adverts now stating 'stated fuel economy figures may not be achieved in real conditions and are only for comparison between vehicles'. - The Honda 1.6 i-DTEC claims about 75mpg and gets about 65,  but some claim 85 and get 50    how does that work.   The Toyota Prius is probably the biggest con trick of all time, no-one gets anywhere near the claimed mpg even when people drive like every cc of petrol has to be extracted from their own body.  Toyota made the PR coup of giving a car free to every Hollywood 'A' lister - and gullible people the world over were convinced that George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez et al were the kind of people that would freely buy this car and 'save the planet' when really they all drove Bentleys and Ferraries every day,  and only drove the Prius for Toyota photo-shoots.

[madasafish]

Toyota made the PR coup of giving a car free to every Hollywood 'A' lister - and gullible people the world over were convinced that George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez et al were the kind of people that would freely buy this car and 'save the planet' when really they all drove Bentleys and Ferraries every day,  and only drove the Prius for Toyota photo-shoots.

I would drive a Ferrari everyday if I could get out of one...without damaging my back.