Honda Civic rear windscreen

M

Marie

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I test-drove this car today and am thinking of buying one. It is a beautiful vehicle in my view - and handles very well but I was surprised it has no rear windscreen-wiper. The dealer assured me its slope and design mean there is very fast run-off.

Has anyone heard of/experience of driving this car and does the rear windscreen actually clear quickly?

Any other comments - particular criticisms - would also be welcome. I like the interior and dashboard but thought they'd slipped up putting a traditional rev counter but a LED speedometer.........bit of a mish-mash.
 
The new Civic I assume? I love them too but no wiper and maybe more importantly, no spare wheel! The ride is reputedly pretty firm. The dash has been criticised a little too.

The window design should be OK for run off but to be honest, I think even the best designed cars that don't have rear wipers, could really do with them.
 
got a new one last week, it only takes a while for you to get used to the rear window, it hasn't the greatest visibilty but its not too bad at all,

i really like the dash, there's no need for a digital rev as there is rev leds beside the digital speedo that light up when you're in the red, all in all it means that you don't have take your eyes off the road, whole view with radio etc is very intuitive. the only criticism I would have would be that the dash is so well lit up that you can forget to put your lights on when driving out of a mutli story, petrol station etc

the spare wheel is an optional extra so its hardly a deal breaker and i found the ride grand although i did have an MG before
 
In my opinion Honda are the most reliable car and i never had any problem with the rear window vision. I wouldn't think twice , if you decide on it , your guaranteed a great car, good luck
 
I bought one (Type S, 3-door) in July. I wouldn't let the issues raised put you off.

I agree that you get used to the rear window very quickly. Both the spoiler and the lack of wiper. The wing mirrors are good and they are heated so visibility is not really an issue. The only time I notice the spoiler is when a car pulls up behind me since the spoiler always sits right across the other driver's eyes.

Plus points: nice engine (typical Honda), nice looks, comfortable interior, really good dash and instruments, totally reliable, good mileage, excellent space - really good boot space and flexibility on seats.

Minus points (nothing major however): Sloping bonnet and prominent A-pillar means you have to be careful cornering and pulling up close to anything. Ride is not as good as previous Civics (not helped by atrocious Irish roads - potholes and speed bumps need care, in the Type S at least). Mine's a 3-door and when you dip the driver's seat to put stuff in the back you have to push the seat back into place each time, it doesn't just snap back.

Oh, I had a spare wheel included when I bought it. Cost about €130 if I recall correctly. There is a space for it in the boot.

That's about it. I would make the same purchase again. And four months later I still enjoy pressing the bright red starter button...

:D
 
Caveat said:
The new Civic I assume? I love them too but no wiper and maybe more importantly, no spare wheel! The ride is reputedly pretty firm. The dash has been criticised a little too.

The window design should be OK for run off but to be honest, I think even the best designed cars that don't have rear wipers, could really do with them.
Click to expand...

Yes - I'm looking at the 5-door 2 litre diesel sport model. Performance and comfort were wonderful and Honda's reliability is uncontested.

Limited rear visibility due to that spoiler plus rivulets of rain on a dark winter morning still worries me and Jethro, I hadn't thought about this till reading your post but eye-contact with whoever is travelling behind is important to know what's happening around you and the odd position of that spoiler precludes that.

Hadn't realised there was no spare wheel and phoned dealer who said there's a can of foam.
 
If you are a bit put off Marie, what about the new Leon? In a way it's a similar kind of car (in as much as anything can be similar to the new Civic).

As I've said I love the new Civic but have to admit the lack of a rear wiper would annoy/slightly worry me. I haven't actually driven one so can't comment on the overall impact of this + spoiler + quite (I think?) high rear window. If I was reasonably happy about this set up and was prepared to spend this kind of money (which I'm not) I would probably still go for it.

If you are still interested in the car, it's maybe worth pushing the dealer for the spare wheel - but I'm sure the dealer will be confident in selling it elsewhere without - Civics don't exactly clog up forecourts, even older ones.
 
Thanks for the advice Caveat and you are right about them disappearing fast. Today I noticed quite a few high-spec Rover and BMW models have similar highly-curved rear windscreens with no wipers...........so it must be kosher. Think I'll toddle back to the showroom and ask if I can douse the Civic with a couple of buckets of water as an experiment........:D
 
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This car is so reliable its unreal, I am on my 3rd, presently have a 07 one and the rear window and lack of wiper is not a problem at all, there are plenty other cars I have driven that did not have a rear wiper either I might add. I did find that the last models 1.4 engine was quicker than this so I would go for 1.8+ is its pep your looking for, I managed to get the 1.8 ex sport with all the extras anyone could ask for and LOVE IT to bits
 
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