I'm currently in the hunt for a first car. All the signs point in the civic direction. I was originally going to get a Honda ridgeline from my granparents, but that plan has fallen through due to some family issues. The civic has had a loooooong production run and there is lots of variation between each generation. Which civic is the best, is there one generation that does something better than the others?
that depends how much $$$ u have if you have enough the si would be my first choice
EF....lock the thread please.
well... what are you going to do with it? As an Autocrosser, I would go for an old CRX.. but if you want something to drive everyday, get the newest you can afford.
It's gonna have to be a jack-of-all-trades I guess. I will occasionally autocross it but its mostly just a DD and fun project with some tasteful mods. I'm thinking 7th gen, cheap enough with good performance. Am I wrong?
I am going to push getting an si no matter the generation, because racecar.
They're all pretty good, and this is coming from a guy who has owned an '86 Civic Si, '88 CRX Si, '88 CRX HF (w/B16A), '92 Civic Si, 2000 Civic Si and our current one, a 2014 Civic Si. Plus I babysat our 2002 Civic Si.
Find the best one for your budget. That's my basic advice.
In reply to kevlarcorolla:
an EF would be rad, but it think it's a little too old and a bit of a unicorn to find in DD condition.
In reply to David S. Wallens:
How did you like the '02? That's the ep3 right? With the best shifter in the world 
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At the time, almost everyone slammed the EP3 since it didn't have wishbones. Today I think it's a heck of a deal that's overlooked. It makes good torque and can carry a bunch of stuff. The trouble comes when you lower it too far. Solution: don't lower it too far.
A friend of mine bought one a few years ago as a second car--something a little less valuable/a little more practical than his E36-chassis M3. I forget what he paid, but it seemed like a screaming deal. He had a 2000 Si until it was stolen. He's still digging the EP3.
There's a lot of good base RSXes out there if you can't find an EP3. Same car underneath.
I second the EP3. Fantastic seats, great shifter, a screamer of an engine, and relatively unassuming looks. The jack of all trades.
If you can find one that hasn't been thrashed into oblivion or modified heavily, the EM1 is arguably the best Si sold here in the states.
Set a budget, then pick whatever generation your budget would buy the best one out there you can find. There's a lot of Civics out there that have been abused, neglected, or driven into the ground.
kevlarcorolla wrote: EF....lock the thread please.
QFT
Another EP3/DC5 vote here.
MCarp22 wrote: There's a lot of good base RSXes out there if you can't find an EP3. Same car underneath.
This is the way I would go, I think it would provide you a good basis for starting out, you seem pretty savvy already but will still mention like MCarp22, that this is basically a different style civic.
From a value proposition the EP3 is pretty fantastic right now. On top of that it's very practical for when you need to move to college or some such thing. However, you should really check insurance rates before you buy. That little Si on the side may be expensive.
I was just going to say, the one you can afford the insurance on. Unfortunately insurance on an SI for someone under 25 is not very price friendly. Sad thing is for young drivers, just because you can afford the car doesn't mean you can afford the insurance.
If you ever want to get more seriously into autocross, I'd stick with a DWB Civic.
I do like the hatch of the EP3 though.
An EP3 won STF at SOLO nationals last year and the same driver is looking at a repeat in an RSX-S this year. The platform has potential.
mazdeuce wrote: An EP3 won STF at SOLO nationals last year and the same driver is looking at a repeat in an RSX-S this year. The platform has potential.
Ah, yes... only because DWB Civics aren't allowed in that class. But yeah, its not a bad place to play.
I think the EF is probably going to be a little more maintenance intensive given that it's nearly a 30 year old car at this point. You can generally get pretty good deals on the last DWB civic Si's from 99-00. Also, if we're looking at cars that are 15+ y/o, keep the Integra in mind, too. EP3 is definitely a good choice. I have an EM2 (coupe version, non-si of the EP3) for a DD and it's been great in the 3 years that I've owned it. The d17 is much maligned, but a 5 speed gets it up and going pretty well and a couple suspension tweaks make VERY fun on the back roads.
Are you tall? I've not driven an EP3 with a helmet on, but the sunroof in the EK chassis was a dealbreaker for me. Other than the Type-R, every performance model Civic-ish Honda from the last 20 years is going to have a sunroof.
It's a tough call, finding an unrusty 2000 LX with a manual is going to be tough, but that would be my pick. You only get 106 horsepower but it's a Honda, you can solve that easily enough.
penultimeta wrote: Also, if we're looking at cars that are 15+ y/o, keep the Integra in mind, too.
Good point. An Integra might very well be the best Civic.
They go for reasonable money when compared with '90s Civics as well.
just add V-Tec + turbo 
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