[nature boy]

Need to help my daughter find a new car, her 2000 Honda Accord was recently totaled.  Leaning toward a 2013 Honda Civic LX.  Any AC'ers own one of these and could you share some thoughts.  This will be her first new car.  Thanks.

NB

[persisting1]

The 2013 model seems to be a no-brainer. The great thing is that it received the Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS. I'd consider the Civic Hybrid which gets 44 city and 44 highway and it's not priced that much higher than the LX. If she's sitting in class and not driving much, then the base model makes sense.

Knowing this would make me feel much better.

[nature boy]

She is working FT but has a very short commute.  Probably putting 7,500 to 8,000 miles a year.  Safety and reliability are paramount.

NB

[RDavidson]

For safety and reliability you can't go wrong with a Honda.
The latest Civics are supposed to be very nice. I have a 2009 Si Sedan (8th generation) ; Same year my son was born. I often have thoughts of keeping the car until he can drive, then it'll be his. I totally baby it and has just a little over 26000 miles on it. At this rate it will still have plenty of life left for my son, and he'll be one of the few kids that knows how to drive a manual transmission, let alone knows what a manual trans is.
If you're not into buying a new car for the sake of having a new car, Civics have great longevity and should keep you from needing to buy a new car.

Anyway, with the 9th gen Civic, Honda totally dropped the ball. I believe they were only made from 2010-2012 which is very short for any make or model of car. The 10th gen (2013 model) is a revision to the 9th gen and MUCH better quality. It is what the 9th gen should've been. Drive train and mechanicals are the same (which weren't an issue with the 9th gen), but everything else about the car has been improved.

[Doublej]

She is working FT but has a very short commute.  Probably putting 7,500 to 8,000 miles a year.  Safety and reliability are paramount.

NB

Honda CRV. A bit more $$ than a Civic but a lot beefier which should be better in the event of a crash. I have a 2012. It's has a bunch of minor annoyances such as no light in the center armrest bin and a pathetic premium stereo but so far it's been rock solid as a vehicle. Great resale value too.

[RDavidson]

I completely concur. We had a 2005 CR-V. Amazing all around vehicle. Handling was awesome in the snow. Maintenance was very inexpensive. The older model like we had is still very desireable. I wouldn't mind owning another one. I don't know how true this is, or if it is only true of the older model, but from what I was told by Honda was that the transmission in the CR-V is geared to be very easy on the engine........which may explain why you still see a lot of older ones, even first generation CR-V's on the road.
No, I'm not a Honda dealer. Just a believer in a quality, no BS, product.

[TomS]

My wife has driven the wheels off our 3 CR-V's 2007, 2010, 2012 to the tune of 40k+ per year with nothing but fluids, filters, tires, and routine inspections. Our 2012 gets 30-34 mpg with all of her highway driving. These have been great low cost of ownership cars and she'll likely get another one if they don't screw it up. My daughter still drives the '07 nearing 175k with the only major thing being an AC compressor.

[nature boy]

Thanks for responses.  It's either a Civic or other subcompact vehicle due to budget constraints.  CRV is not viable due to budget constraints and I don't want to purchase a used vehicle at this time.  My wife however is eyeing a CRV to replace her aging Odyssey in a few years.

NB

[Mijknarf]

If it helps, my daughter just test drove the 13 Civic LX, Chevy Cruise, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra.  She chose the Civic for comfort, ride, fuel economy, features and price.  No regrets.

[standub]

As a car guy I would say either the Focus or Civic if you are looking for a C class car.  Personally I would take the Focus because the civic looks like ugh, then again what one thinks of looks is personal so pay no attention to me 

[Austin08]

I do not know if the newer generation from Ford reliability is improving or not but my 98 mustang GT was famous for "Found On Road Death"....