Overrated

after hearing so much of the civic for the last two years, we finally got down to doing a test drive of the automatic version..

the state of how popular an automatic is, shows when the dealer starts explaining which foot you use for the brake...but given the little over enthusiasm, in the automatic mode we take an open road..

what hits me first is the drag of the vehicle..my first question to the dealer seated behind was, “was this test car involved in a crash?" as the feel on the wheel was very front heavy..i did not get a balanced feel of the car (may be my ford fiesta was spoiling me:-))..and for something that costs upwards of rs. 14 lacs..no steering mounted audio controls..hmm

the low slung seating, ride position and quality of the interiors is definitely interesting and having heard from a reasonably sized 6.2 individual of how comfortable it is in the drivers seat, I guess that’s a point well scored for the civic. In the "S" mode, it was novel to play the role of an F1 driver using the paddle shifts, but that novelty soon wore off as if I wanted to shift then I'd might as well buy the manual, do the shifting using three limbs, and save almost rs. 3 lacs..also get some exercise in the bargain..

so the drive lasted about 6/8 kms and at the end..I got out very sure that this is not the car I will buy..the same day, I also test drove the crv auto and came out more impressed..but that story is another to be told another day..