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发帖数: 3803 | 1 For years, the Honda Civic has been one of the bestselling and best-reviewed
compact sedans in America. Now a redesigned 2012 model year Civic is
rolling into Honda showrooms. Consumer Reports, long one of the car’s
biggest fans, doesn’t like the new version.
The negative review by the influential consumer magazine is expected to hurt
sales of what has been one of the most popular cars in America and shake up
the compact-car market, in which competition has escalated with new entries
by U.S. automakers and Hyundai of South Korea.
The magazine has recommended the Civic for the past 20 years, but said it
couldn’t endorse the car because the new version’s score was too low.
Previously, the Civic has been Consumer Reports’ highest-rated small sedan
as well as a "top pick" in five of the last 10 years.
"The redesigned Civic LX’s score dropped a whopping 17 points to a mediocre
61 from the previous generation’s very good 78. It scored second to last
in CR’s ratings of 12 small sedans, followed only by the recently
redesigned Volkswagen Jetta. Consumer Reports’ testers found the 2012 Civic
to be less agile and with lower interior quality than its predecessor. It
also suffers from a choppy ride, long stopping distances and pronounced road
noise," the magazine said.
"While other models like the Hyundai Elantra have gotten better after being
redesigned, the Civic has dropped so much that now it ranks near the bottom
of its category," said David Champion, who headed the magazine’s test
center.
Honda sold 260,000 of the previous-generation Civic last year, making it the
third-best selling car in America and the fifth-best selling vehicle,
including trucks. The current model sells for $16,000 to $22,000 depending
on trim level and options.
Some buyers are Honda loyalists and will shrug off a bad review by Consumer
Reports, said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst at Edmunds.com.
But the report could have a bigger influence on pragmatists looking at all
the offerings in this segment of the auto market, she said.
"It is so competitive that a negative review will hurt. Anything to persuade
people not to buy a vehicle is damaging," Caldwell said.
Honda said it disagreed with Consumer Reports’ findings.
"The new Civic excels in areas that matter to small-car customers, including
fuel efficiency, safety and reliability," the company said. "Among the
Civic’s greatest competitive strengths is a smooth and efficient powertrain
that, in Consumer Reports testing returned . . . an impressive 30 mpg
overall on regular fuel and 47 mpg on the highway."
Honda also noted that the Civic was rated a "top safety pick" by the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
http://news.bostonherald.com/business/automotive/view/20110802n |
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