Honda Civic 5th gen and 6th gen

[jennyfurwhen]

Hi there,
I'm planning on buying a car soon and I was wondering what the differences in the mpg are between a 5th generation Honda Civic and in a 6th generation (specifically hatchbacks)?
Also, I'm wondering if any of the older 6th generation hatchbacks, like the 1996 model, came with power windows, locks, and cruise control?
Jennifer

[Cd]

Find a Car

Here is a site you might find useful.
The nice thing about the 5th generation Civic, was that there was a ( hatchback only ) version called the VX.
The EPA rating was 47 / 56 ( rated at 39 / 50 with the 'updated' ratings. )
It was a manual transmission car only, had one air bag standard and you could get cruise control, power windows ( locks ? ) as options.

The 6th generation by comparison had a version called the HX that got 39 / 45 MPG ( 33 / 41 'adjusted; )

The 5th generation hatch also has more room in the back. Yesterday, I bought a bicycle, and I didn't have an allen wrench with me. I moved the seats all the way up and managed to fit the full size bike in there by using the fold down seats.
In the past, I have also moved other awkward things, such as a 12' maple tree.
The 5th generation hatch has a small " tailgate" that comes in handy at times like this.
I just opened the hatch and rested the tree on the 'tailgate'. If I had tried this with the 6th generation hatch, the angle of the opening would have resulted in the tree falling out the back.
I haven't seen that many VXs around here ( I live in Austin too ) .
I have a DX hatch myself, and mine is an automatic.

[jennyfurwhen]

Ah, I've heard about those great VX's, but unfortunately, I have no clue on how to drive stick. I've been trying to find an automatic 95 hatchback, but the only ones I've found so far need some work to be done, the 96 models are much more easier to find and I was wondering if I should just wait til a 95 model model comes along.

[RobertSmalls]

I learned to drive a stick from the used car salesman who sold me my Subaru. Seriously, if you wish to learn it, it's easy, and benefits (fuel economy, reliability, and the joy of driving) are large.

The Honda Civic got a lot larger and a lot less aerodynamic for 1996. Hold out for a clean 5th gen.

[jennyfurwhen]

On another note, would a coupe/sedan be lighter than a hatchback? Thus making it more fuel efficient? The coupes and sedans are also easier to find but I would've liked the extra room just in case I needed to carry something large. But if it means better fuel economy...

[Cd]

Originally Posted by jennyfurwhen

On another note, would a coupe/sedan be lighter than a hatchback? Thus making it more fuel efficient? The coupes and sedans are also easier to find but I would've liked the extra room just in case I needed to carry something large. But if it means better fuel economy...

The hatchback is the lighter of the two, but not by much.

The hatchback has more room as well ( and just try putting a 12 ' maple tree or a complete bike in the trunk of a sedan )

If you are really after fuel economy, the standard VX would be the way to go. If you must have an automatic ....like me...then the next best choice would be the DX. It was rated at 42 MPG highway.

You're right about sedans being easier to find than hatches. There are still quite a few of them around here though.

[Cd]

Here are some pictures of that 'tailgate' feature that I was talking about :

[Ryland]

The 1996-2000-something civic HX came with an automatic in a few of the years, not best mileage but better then average, so if you must have an automatic look for one of those, otherwise with a good teacher you can learn to drive a stick, do hill starts and the whole deal in an hour or less.

[jennyfurwhen]

I think I'll try to hold out for the 5th generation Civic, although I hope another one comes up soon. On Craigslist, I only saw two postings and one was recently and the other was last month so it looks like they only come up about once a month (and I looked in San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas as well!) Does anyone know a place better than Craigslist for older Honda Civics?

[jennyfurwhen]

I don't think stick shift would be a good option for me because I have a tendency to get distracted easily but I'll see what comes up.