I have finally succumbed to the lure of the Civic and traded the trusty Jazz in for a 1.8VTEC in September (the newest 'old' style one I could find before the 'ugly' model year 2012 came on to the market) . My wife still has a Jazz though so will keep interest with this forum.
Things that are better about the Civic -handles like it is on rails - turn-in is awesome
a lot more planted on the road generally, doesn't get blown around anywhere near as much as jazz
a bit less road and wind noise
awesome sound system
1.8 VTEC revs to 7K (very musical it is too ), 140BHP
I can overtake with a lot more confidence and less advance planning
dash display is something else
- easier to see speedo' etc.
6 speed gearbox, - but rarely use 5th, normally straight from 4th to 6th (see comment below about
position of reverse gear on wifes' Jazz)
Things that are not so goodit is much harder to park (it is the only car I have driven where I have no idea where back of car is
- and this is common amongst other 2006 - 2011 Civic drivers I talk to) - I have had to fit parking sensors.
fuel consumption - I am getting about 5 to 6 mpg less on daily commute (indicated 47 mpg)
which is still good for this size of car
when I drive my wifes' Jazz I keep looking for 6th gear (same place as reverse on the Jazz - ouch)
I hate the 'climate control' - controls much too fiddly - while the quick-clear setting is good for misted windscreen, I would rather have simple (separate) fan speed and heat setting knobs . temperature
seems to vary too much when 'full auto ' not selected, but with 'full auto' selected the air blows from the vents it feels like at the time, and when you start the car you normally get a misted screen from condensate in aircon system.
In general the VTEC is much softer than the previous Civics I had, it is more tuned to economy rather
than power (which is a good job).
