BY H. THROTTLE
AUTOMOTIVE COLUMNIST
It is refreshing to drive a lower priced vehicle that is just good.
The 2022 Honda Civic touring model is exactly that, a very good car for the totally competitive price of $28,695 complete with options.
This vehicle compares to some other brands that are considerably higher priced. In today’s very competitive auto market consumers get what they pay for in many forms. The long list of popular options can raise prices by large amounts. Generally the options add to the comfort and value of the vehicle.
This Honda Civic is loaded with options, safety features, and turbo power assisting the 1.5L engine with 180 horsepower. A variable transmission with paddle shifters gives the driver many choices for rapid acceleration. The 4-cylinder engine produces 34 mpg fuel consumption with 38 freeway mileage. With higher gasoline prices and future fuel challenges fuel economy once again becomes a purchasing factor.
The Civic is a very popular model and this new model is very desirable. The appearance is sleek with “Morning Mist” exterior paint that had frost on the windshield for the first-time last week.
The metro trees received the freeze message from Mother Nature and started to dismiss those gorgeous fall golden leaves this past week. So important to get the leaves off before the first wet snowstorms arrive.
Thinking of snow, the only weakness detected with driving a Civic is that this is a front-wheel drive car without the all-wheel drive feature. The car does ride on 18-inch alloy wheels with all-season tires.
The interior is classy, with leather trimmed seats, steering wheel and shift knob. A Bose premium sound system is easy to operate with 12-speakers. Driver’s seat has eight-way control and passenger seats 4-way. Dashboard has speed limit alerts that blinks warnings if exceeding the speed limit. The cruise control radar system works very well and the car play allows group telephone conferences.
So many features, along with front MacPherson strut suspension, gives a solid ride and masters the curves with little sway. The design of the Civic seems to defer the front range winds hitting the highways. The heated front seats were appreciated on the colder mornings.
The lane safety features work very well and in particular the lane keeping assist system shows on the dashboard and keeps the vehicle within the traffic lanes with a tug and alert if straying out of the lane.
A very good feature with phones, dialing, and drinking coffee.
Overall this is a very versatile car that can be used for work or pleasure. Powerful, economical, comfortable, loaded with safety features and operating with an engine and transmission made in the good old USA.