2017 HONDA CIVIC COUPE.....ONE OWNER'S OPINION

     I wasn't crazy about the Civic when the redesign showed up for 2016. In fact, being the 2-door Coupe fan that I am I had pretty much decided on leasing a 2017 Accord Coupe in June of last year when I was thinking of turning in my 2013 Altima Coupe early. The 2-door Coupe body style is almost non-existent these days in the automotive marketplace. As a sidebar, let me be clear when i use the term "Coupe". A coupe is a 2-door! That's it. End of story! I am very passionate about this subject because manufacturers keep making these sleek looking "4-door Coupe's" and it pisses me off that consumers have now bought into the hype. It's nothing more than a marketing ploy to give automakers a reason to offer more model choices than is entirely necessary. Anywho, I always liked the Accord Coupe but had never sat in nor drove one so off I went to my local Honda dealer to check it out. I let the salesman talk me into looking at and driving the Civic Coupe. Much to my surprise, I really really liked it. Then came the Accord. Again but on the opposite end I was surprised. I didn't like the way the Accord drove and it's interior was awful. So I leased the car tested here today. Back to present day. Currently, this test vehicle (my personal car) is being repaired after some jackass plowed into the the back of it over a month ago.

I Like the Civic Because...

     It's an inexpensive, efficient and reliable commuter car with a spunky little turbocharged, engine. Throw in a design that grows on you, a 10-speaker sound system, an amazing list of standard features, and you have a real winner. You'd be hard pressed to find another car in this class that comes w/ a Power Moonroof, Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, Automatic Climate Control, and a blind spot monitor that pops up automatically in the infotainment screen each time the right turn signal is turned on, all standard.

What's New for 2018

There are no changes or updates for the 2018 model year.

Driving It

A big part of the 2017 Honda Civic's winning formula is the way it combines practicality, efficiency and everyday comfort with modest to maximum dashes of sportiness. The smaller but more powerful turbo 1.5L used in higher trims of the sedan and coupe and all versions of the new Civic hatch offers good acceleration and nary a hint of turbo lag. Most buyers will prefer an automatic, and the Civic's CVT (continuously variable transmission) is among the best at mimicking a traditional one.

TEST VEHICLE =                   2017 Honda Civic EX-T Coupe
                                           White Orchid Pearl
                                           Black/Gray Cloth Seats
                                           175 hp 1.5 4-cylinder Turbo
                                           CVT

BASE PRICE =                        $23,300
PRICE AS TESTED =               $24,350 including options/destination fees

MPG =                                   31 city / 39 highway / 35 Combined

COMPETITION =                    Hyundai Veloster..........$20,000
                                            Volkswagen Beetle........$21,000
                                            MINI Cooper................$22,450

COLORS =                              White Orchid Pearl
                                             Energy Green
                                             Aegean Blue
                                             Rallye Red
                                             Lunar Silver
                                             Modern Steel
                                             Crystal Black Pearl

2017 FORD EDGE...ONE MAN'S OPINION

     The Edge reviewed here came from the folks at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. About 3 weeks prior to this review my daily driver, a 2017 Honda Civic Coupe (review forthcoming) was plowed into while parked in front of my apt. by some dumbass at 1:30 am driving a Nissan Versa Sedan. The occupants fled but left the car behind so the police impounded it. Anywho, when I went to pick up my rental car they gave me a base model 2017 Infiniti QX70 which quite honestly sucked ass! I cannot believe they charge $62/day for that thing! No navigation, leather that felt like cheap vinyl, a so-so sound system, no bluetooth audio, not even roof rails. But enough about that. After the QX suffered a flat tire, I swapped it out for the Edge. 

      The Edge surprised me. Now I've never been a big fan of it's looks & I'm still not. However, the Edge drove amazingly well. In this particular rental, the driver's power seat recliner & lumbar support buttons didn't work as well as the seat heater. In spite of that though I still managed to find a comfortable driving position. There were a lot buttons controlling many different functions and the gauges in the instrument panel were very hard to read. I now know first hand why almost all of the major automotive publications dislike the Ford/Microsoft SYNC infotainment system. It is NOT very user friendly and at night the buttons do not illuminate very bright at all. Speaking of poor illumination, the headlights just out & out sucked. Maybe amongst the many available option packages there is one w/ better headlights included. If there is....OPT FOR IT....you'll be glad you did. 

     The 2017 Edge comes in SE, SEL, Sport, and Titanium trim styles. The base SE trim level w/ the EcoBoost 2.0 Turbo 4-cylinder and 6-speed Automatic starts at $29,850 including destination fees. At the opposite end a loaded up Titanium AWD with the 3.5L V6 and all of the option boxes checked off runs about $47,000. Although I don't shop in this particular crossover category, that sounds like it's priced about the same as all the rest of 'em.

And now here is some vital information about the Edge which to your average non-car loving reader will mean absolutely jack squat! Bring on the car geek specs!

TEST VEHICLE =                   2017 Ford Edge Titanium AWD
                                           Shadow Black
                                           Ebony Perforated Leather Seats
                                           245 hp EcoBoost 2.0 Turbo 4-cylinder
                                           6-speed Automatic

BASE PRICE =                        $38,500 including destination fees
PRICE AS TESTED =               $41,350 including options/destination fees

MPG =                                   20 city / 27 highway / 22 Combined

COMPETITION =                    Buick Envision.....$35,000
                                            Kia Sorento........$26,500
                                            Nissan Murano.....$30,750

COLORS =                              White Platinum
                                             White Gold
                                             Canyon Ridge
                                             Blue Jeans
                                             Ruby Red
                                             Burgundy Velvet
                                             Ingot Silver
                                             Magnetic
                                             Shadow Black

& NOW I REVIEW THE...

     Howdy readers...long time no post. The next several postings will be reviews mostly of the current Nissan and Infiniti models for 2018 plus a few other makes/models thrown in for the sake of variety. 

     Here's what you can look forward to reading about:

Honda Civic Coupe

Ford Edge

Nissan Z

Nissan GT-R

Nissan Versa Note

Nissan Sentra

Nissan LEAF

Nissan Altima

Nissan Maxima

Nissan Rogue Sport

Nissan Rogue Hybrid

Nissan Rogue

Nissan Murano

Nissan Pathfinder

Nissan Armada

Nissan Titan

Nissan Titan XD

Infiniti Q60

Infiniti Q50

Infiniti Q70

Infiniti QX30

Infiniti QX50 (model year 2019)

Infiniti QX60

Infiniti QX80

Read On...