2002 Honda Civic Walkaround Review at Automotive.com
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Honda
Civic
2002

2002 Honda Civic Review: Exterior

Below is a full, detailed 2002 Honda Civic review and road test from New Car Test Drive. A full evaluation of price, equipment, the driving experience, and specs are all here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with limitless ex ...     read more
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2002 Honda Civic Review

Hot Si puts some performance back into the lineup.
Walkaround
The styling of the Civic Si hatchback seems to polarize people. Some think it's ugly, others love it and are quick to defend it. It's edgy and wedgy. The huge, flat windshield is steeply raked. The nose slopes radically downward, giving the car excellent aerodynamics and driver visibility. The special Si mesh grille is framed by huge triangular headlamps. It's a bit slab-sided without any surface interruptions on the sides. Also, the wheels and tires do not visually look big enough for the bodywork. The Si gets a subtle roof spoiler, dual tipped exhaust, and comes standard with a moonroof.

The Sedan and Coupe are a bit more conservative in appearance. They offer a wedge-shaped profile with a high, curt tail and low, abbreviated prow. The hood is an amazing 2.6 inches lower than the hood of the previous-generation Civic. A compact engine is stuffed into a condensed engine bay, leaving more space for the interior. The clean, conservative face features a discreet horizontal grille set between larg triangular multi-lens headlamps that curve around the corners. A wide air intake stretches across the body-colored bumper with a low front spoiler added for downforce. Relatively flat flanks carry linear molding. Windshield pillars arch into the rolled roof to meet the rear arches of narrow C-pillars. Bold taillamps dominate the blunt rear panel underscored by a body-colored bumper.

Sedan and coupe differ in appearance, and more than three-fourths of the body panels are different. The coupe comes with a more aggressive windshield rake than the sedan for a sportier look. Civic coupe's taillamps offer a signature pattern of light at night. The sedan and coupe share the same wheelbase and structure. But the coupe has steel reinforcements for bulkheads, the floor pan and the front and rear roof pillars to compensate for the absence of the sedan's center side pillars.

The door handles are the lever kind, which are harder to operate than the kind you stick your hands through. Next Page


2002 Honda Civic