Golf vs Honda Civic

Threebabes

Looking at changing our car in new year and we like the look of both civics and golfs.

Anyone got pros & cons for both cars? any advice?

Thanks
:beer:

karenx

Well it depends on the model aswell? And what year?
Jap all the way though, had no problems at all with all my hondas!

pitkin2020

visit honestjohn.co.uk and view the carbycar breakdown for an independent view.
Id go golf though as i think the interior finish is nicer, jap cars seem to be very plasticiky and parts are expensive, although VAG parts arent cheap they can be obtained cheaper from GSF

waynedance

do not like the lack of view out the rear of the civic, small rear screen & no rear wiper.

I like it when the front windows close and the door cards push in, poor finish,

goldspanners

just bear in mind that vws recent reliability has suffered,especially on the new golf.
if it were me i would go for the civic every time.
as for lack of visability and no rear wiper,you can use the wing mirrors they do the same job.

arrowsmith

Avoid both,

The Honda would usually be good but the current Swindon built model is very poor reliability wise, come very near the bottom of a few surveys.

If you want mid size car reliability then Kia Ceed (or ProCeed) and Hyundai i30 are the cars to go for. Maybe a Toyota Auris too.

ukjoel

Agree with Arrowsmith in that you should try some alternatives - his list of 3 is well worth a look and I would add Skoda Octavia to that list. Slightly larger than the two you are looking at but not by much (also lots of shared VWG components and a VAG feel.

To answer original question - Both are very good reliable well built cars.
You are however paying for that reputation with a pricing premium.

You get very few complaints from drivers of either vehicle. Both drive well, have good residual values, strong levels of safety and comfort and are fairly robust.

Only comment (and its not a criticism) is that some find the wraparound dash and overall styling on the civic a bit strange. Honda have made some big changes to the car to reduce its age demographic.

If you removed the type R from the demographics the average age of a Honda civic driver was in the mid 60's. To change this Honda made some fairly radical design changes to the car.

Only other one I would look at would be the Ford Focus - Its on 3rd generation now and its always had Golf and Civic firmly in its sights and all the comparison drives I have done it has more than held its own.
Appreciate it doesnt have the same exclusivity of the other two but it would be unfair not to include it on the list of test drives. It may surprise you especially in the value for money front.

PattyD

I own both a golf and a civic and have to say I much prefer driving the civic. It is the second civic I have owned and have never had any problems with either. Servicing costs for the civic are reasonable and their customer service is excellent. Servicing for the golf is slightly higher and their customer service is ok but nowhere as good as honda. I definitely would recommend buying a honda.

ses6jwg

bungle4x4 wrote: »

simple, buy japanese.

Shame they don't build it, a load of Terrys and Roys do!

flyingscotno1

The good news is the choice you have- the bad news is selecting from it. I did it earlier this year.

I have to say I'm not too keen on the Civic. I didn't like back of it nor the digital dashboard which seemed a bit over styled and did nothing a normal analogue one couldn't tell you easier. I wondered how well the styling would date too!

VW Golf I liked, bit conservative but it was far too expensive for me compared to others and I wasn't sure what I was getting in return for the extra outlay, sure it holds it's value well, but if I have to pay an extra £3k it better!

Hyundai i30 was a bit plain for me, did everything but no real spark or flair about it, Kia was the same but dealer was an <cough> and didn't want to know us, so didn't even consider buying it.

I liked the Toyota Auris was a nice car, probably bridged the Golf and the Civic well, conservative styling but reliable. You could consider Skoda Octavia, Vauxhall Astra (new one out soon so many discounts), Ford Focus (seemed expensive to me), Renault Megane (not sure on the quality at the dealer), Mazda 3 (was just out so no used ones and expensive) plus many more.

In the end you just have to look at the choices and go for the one that meets your needs and ticks your boxes. We went for the Fiat Bravo which had a bit more flair than the Korean cars and had more kit for the money than the Japanese and German rivals. People of course say it will be unreliable, but in the end I know folk with VWs and Mercs that have been horror stories and it's not done us too badly so far!

rictus123

2 of my mates have a 53 plate civic

1 blue 1 silver

both have a cracked front bumber and no idea why

coming away at the sides and just poor quality

same problems in 2 cars is suspicous no?