2010 Civic LX sedan first impression and comparison.

Well my parents bought a new car and it happens to the the 2010 Civic LX 5 speed autotragic. No objections here until I drove it. First thing I noticed were the blind spots. Were they always so large on a compact car? Big giant triangles. I literally have to crane my neck to check for traffic. Secondly, when you step on the accelerator even ever so lightly, it surges. Good throttle response I guess, but not when you're creeping in traffic. You really have to feather the throttle to avoid piledriving into the car in front of you. I blame this on the drive by wire technology. So after this experience, I decided to test the throttle response with a semi-serious launch to the speed limit of 55 from a stop. Throttle surges me to 10 miles an hour and then proceeds to do nothing. Gutless. And this i-vtec motor is rated for 140 hp and 128 lb/ft. After 45 mph of oblivious nothingness, I hit vtec. Now I get up to 60 no problem, where I step on the brake. I don't where they got 7.5 seconds from. It weighs 2754 lbs. About the same as my 98 Corolla. 5 gears was a bit different. I noticed much lower RPM's while cruising compared to the Corolla. However, the EPA mileage ratings were almost the same for both cars, so I'm not too impressed. Shifting is so silent and smooth that I can't really tell which gear I'm in. At first, I thought it was one giant gear other than the fact that the RPM's would drop after each "shift." LOL I'll give the Civic the looks and all the nice commodities it comes with. It really looks and feels like a cockpit rather than a cabin. My knees are a tight fit and I sometimes hit the steering column no matter how I adjust the tilt wheel, recline, and seat height. Kind of annoying, but I can deal with it. OH, and the stock stereo sucks. The only thing I liked was the auxiliary line out for MP3 players. No matter though since it all sounded like crap. But then again the stock stereo in the Corolla was just as bad. The steering wheel is the nicest part of the car. Supple leather wrapped and awesome looking. The center speedo is... strange. I'm sure I would get accustomed to it over time though. Overall, if I had the chance to buy this car or my car brand new, I would still go with my car. Perhaps I'm old fashioned now. I prefer a cable driven square motor. The cosmetics and fancy shenanigans can kiss my ass. This still beats the Ford Focus though. Now that really is a pile.

1.8L RA18A1 SOHC MPFI 16-valve i-VTEC I4 engine
Aluminum-alloy engine block
Drive-by-wire throttle
Compact 5-speed automatic transmission w/OD

Afterthought: I do realize I'm biased and am judging a stock Civic vs. a modified Corolla. I'm sure with some modifications, the Civic would outperform the Corolla. However, something has to be done about that drive by wire. That shit is freakin scary.

It's a nightmare. I won't buy a car with it. Plus I can't tweak it. At least not cheaply. haha

Drive by wire IMO feels unsafe and like you don't have full control of the car. The throttle just doesnt communicate with you that well. Ive driven lots of vehicles with DBW and could say that I would never own one. (unless I absolutely had no choice)

Sounds like a nub driver.