Used 2012 Honda Civic Consumer Reviews
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Well built, reliable, stellar mpg.
2012 Civic NG bought new for 21k fall 2013 (dealer left over), sold for 6k end of 2015 with 229,000 miles. Used as a courier delivery vehicle on 3-700 mile per day routes. Hwy mileage through hilly western PA driving 60-80mph averaged 45mpg annually (mind you this is long range hwy driving). Mixed 50/50 city hwy around 35, city low 20's. Best was hypermiling round trip through flat Ohio in summer, 58mph, no AC; dash read 61mpge but actual trip miles divided by gge at station (same pump similar psi) was over 63mpge. That's 63 miles on $1.90 worth of fuel! Total maintenance and repair history for the nearly quarter million miles entails; Full synth oil/filter changes every 25k miles. (oil analysis three times by Black Stone Labs indicated oil was nearing end of life at 25k). I try to change both fuel filters at 40k. Rear easy, front used breaker bar and housing bent rather than loosened. Cost to replace the housing part only was over $600!!! It was essentially a glorified canister not very robust either. F U Honda! Manual says change rear every 30k and front every 15k is factually inaccurate. I did a drain on rear every 15, change rear at 30 and front every 60k and both filters were nearing end of life. Dealer charges $80 labor for front and my local guy charges $15 because it takes 10 minutes. Drivers side wheel bearing started to go bad at 60k miles likely because of tires kept at 44psi. Wheel bearing changed at 103k, tires deflated to 34psi and no further issues... Timing and plugs at dealer at 125k miles. Vehicle began idling poorly and mpg drops 10%. Took to local mechanic and had timing again and solved problem. Transmission changed every 100k miles, coolant never changed. Both low beams and one high beam replaced at some point towards the end. Sold car at 229,xxx miles with no other issues. If I had taken to local mechanic for front fuel filter change and kept tires at normal levels, I'm guessing there wouldn't have been any issues. The interior is a little cheap but is comfy and controls are intuitive. Seat comfort is middling although not nearly as bad as the 2016 I bought afterward which I had to sell after ten months because I was in such pain driving it. The engine really struggles up hills and jerky down shifts to maintain speed but the flip side is impressive fuel economy even for a Civic. Overall this is a great car if you have adequate filling stations around you. The 8gge tank realistically holds 7-7.5gge and as little as 6.5 gallons if temps are sub freezing or your station happens to not work correctly which happens relatively often. I have been stranded more than once because cold weather or lack of maintenance at stations. Hope this helps!
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Best of current alternatives
If you are looking for a state of the art vehicle for the early 21st century, this is the best of all current alternatives. Reasonably comfortable, roomy and well designed, with excellent engineering and attractive interiors, it is difficult to argue that any other 4 door sedan would be superior. Even though a 2012 model, dealer provided discount, good trade in value and .09% 5 year financing. It is difficult to comprehend the criticism of this vehicle. If you want a sports car, buy a Miata or a Ferrari. If you want comfortable, dependable and reasonably roomy transportation with a good list of features such as bluetooth and a sunroof, AND great fuel efficiency and reliability, buy a Civic.
- EX CoupeMSRP: $12,1898 mi away
- EX SedanMSRP: $7,99714 mi away
- EX-L Sedan w/NavMSRP: $8,96013 mi away
Traded my 2008 Accord for the 2012 Civic
The MPG is what they claim on the sticker but you have to have the econ mode on in order to achieve 30 in the city and about 40.5-41 on the highway. I have not tried to drive the Civic on the Off mode of the econ because I do live in Chicago and the gas prices , well you can fill in the blank. So if you are looking for a gas savior and do not want a hybrid then get the 2012 Civic without a question. I do have a word of caution if you are driving on the econ mode and you are on the highway, do Not expect acceleration or getting in front of a Camaro. The good thing about the econ mode is you can turn it off whenever you want to including when youre driving.
So far so good
Been driving a Civic for years. This is my third consecutive new Civic. Previous models were the 98 and 05. Unfortunately this model has impressed me less than the 05. I am 5 foot 11 and often hit my head getting out of the car. They seem to have decreased the cavity opening by 1-2 inches. The carpeting is not really carpet - more akin to a dish scrub brush. This was easily fixed by adding the rubber mats with the protection package. The dash is one huge mass of not so pretty plastic. The plastic on the prior models at least resembled the texture of leather. I find visibility reduced with the long window frame pillars. The good points help reduce the negatives however.
review of my 2012 civic
Excellent millage 32-45 mpg, excellent safety and road handling but very low to the ground, has no clearance in the snow or on uneven roads
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