Returning to Honda

**Skid Marx** · 18-12-2011 01:58 PM

After owning rusty old crud heaps when I was paying off the castle, I finally got something nice in 2003 - a '99 metallic green Prelude VTi-L auto with bone leather seats and not a mark anywhere and only 27,000ks. Polishing it was like rubbing baby oil over a super-model. It got written off in a prang in '05 that wasn't my fault and I'm still angry about it!

Since then I've had an '05 Subaru Impreza RS hatch which was battered to death in a hail storm (Perth, March 2010) and currently - well for about 3 more days - I have an LV Ford Focus XR5. I've never grown so tired of a car so quickly as I have with the Focus. Many will think I'm mad but I am currently in the process of swapping it for a plain old vanilla Civic VTi auto. I just want something thats roomy, reliable, economical, easy to drive and looks pretty good.

I take delivery of it later this week, and yes I have prepared myself for the drastic downgrade in ooomph (from 166 kW/320 nM down to 103kW/174nM albeit in a lighter car)

**jeremydawg** · 18-12-2011 06:24 PM

Welcome abourd!

Quite a change your going through. Enjoy your new car!

regards,

Cassandra

**mooshie** · 18-12-2011 08:59 PM

Why are you bored with the Ford?

I do know what you mean however, older cars can be so much more fun. Funnest car I ever had was a standard 85 civic!

**Skid Marx** · 19-12-2011 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by mooshie

Why are you bored with the Ford?

Nothing too bad, but I've actually gotten tired of changing gears because the Ford gearbox is really too slow to do justice to the fantastic Volvo 5 pot turbo motor that comes with it. Other little things like a general lack of reliability and lots of little things not quite right. The clutch on mine is also very sudden and seems to vary from day to day making learning what to expect impossible. It's pretty heavy on fuel - I can only get down to 11 L/100ks and thats premium. It chews tires and its air con is unbelievably weak.

It IS however fantastic fun to drive on open roads and that motor sounds beautiful when you give it a boot full. But when I'm stuck in heavy traffic, trying to keep that dog-clutch under control and changing gears up and down every few seconds, well, I decided it's time to pick a car with my head and not my heart.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't get Ford to fix the clutch and other things, I did but Fords standard response is to say "That's normal".