Honda Civic - poor rear visibility?

butterfly72

OH is thinking of getting a honda Civic. It seems to get good reviews but there are a few comments regarding poor visibility with the back spoiler and back pillars obstructing the view.

We will go for a test drive, but of course that gives limited time to see what its really like. ie. on the motorway. I just wondered if anyone here had any veiws on the vis or indeed the civic in general?

OH is captain safety so a bit concerned about the visibility!!

thanks

vikingaero

The split window does hamper visibility. But the lack of a rear wiper is unforgivable.

Crabman

I did a test drive in one of these last year and didn't like the rear visibility at all. I tried to reverse park into a space in the dealership car park and it was almost like being blind.

If the optional rear-view camera is installed it wouldn't be too bad but still it's a concern if you do motorway driving and have to cope with some of the types of idiots I saw today who seem to think undertaking at speed is entirely safe.

Contessa

I also test drove one 2 years ago and did not like it-the poor rear visibility was a major concern for me.

Mobeer

A friend has one of these and he likes everything about it except the rear view, especially the lack of a rear wiper. He has rear parking sensors factory fitted that unfortunately start a continuous tone when still about a metre away from an obstacle, which makes the sensors quite useless.

That said, it is a very nice car in all other respects.

verybigchris

This issue was covered on The One Show last week, and they panned the Honda Civic. You can read more from their website.

anewman

Many prestige cars like BMW/Mercedes don't have rear wipers either. Use something like RainX or better stuff like Aquapel and the rain will just bead and run down.

Inactive

It is yet another case of style over substance, bad move Honda.

ailuro2

A member of family has one, and says it's a fantastic car apart from the rear pillars blocking a bit of the view. The rear spoiler stops you getting dazzled by other cars headlights at night, so can be seen as a good thing.

I said the same when we bought our Mondeo, that the wing mirrors were small compared to what I was used to.
DH didn't drive at the time, now he does he hates the wing mirrors, it's not something either of us had got used to. Not worth changing the car for, but something to bear in mind when we do get a new one.

If your initial impression is that you won't see enough to feel comfortable, then you probably won't.

hethmar

It was one of my options when I did scrappage in the autumn. I hit my head as I got in - lol - which rather put me off. The salesman laughed and said a lot of people do that. Hmm, decided I didnt want to have to be careful every time I got in and out and Im not that tall. Settled on the Golf Plus.