For the past 1000 miles, I had been driving a 2008 Volvo XC70 3.2 AWD. It was quite the car: plenty of power, AWD traction, comfortable seats, and the wagon hatch to fill with book bags, musical instruments, and my toolbox. The only problem I had with the wagon was the gas mileage. It seemed that I was constantly putting another $20 in the gas tank—seemed like every day! According to the window sticker, the XC70 is rated at 15 mpg city and 22 mpg hwy. As most of my driving was in the city, I decided to ask for a different demo.
We had a number of interesting vehicles on the lot, but instead of looking as usual for an interesting, fun, or versatile car, I looked for one with the best mileage possible. Thankfully, I was able to find several economy cars in Leikin’s used car inventory. There was a bright yellow Chevy Cobalt, a Hyundai Sonata, and a Honda Civic. The Cobalt was a coupe and the Sonata’s mileage wasn’t that impressive. But the Civic promised 24 mpg city and 36 mpg hwy. So, with the used car manager’s permission, I have begun to drive the 2009 Honda Civic.
Perspective is everything. And being that I have grown accustomed to primarily Mercedes-Benz and Volvo vehicles the last few years, my perspective has not been that of the common person. I’d forgotten that economy cars are aptly named. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not a snob who thinks that owning an economy car makes you a lesser person than those who buy luxury cars. But after driving them for so long, this car was a bit of a shock.
The first thing I noticed about the Civic was the road noise. There must not be much padding in the doors as it is rather loud on the highway. Actually, it’s rather loud at 35 mpg, too. But the car gets 36 mpg on the highway, right? So, for the next I don’t know how long, I’ll live with the road noise. And my wallet and family will thank me for extending the length of say each paycheck has in our bank account. In all seriousness, the Honda Civic is a nice car for someone who needs good gas mileage and doesn’t mind hearing the road sing. And at $14,490, this one’s a pretty good deal.