I’ve been looking at cars recently. I’m most interested in getting a used Honda Civic, probably from the early-to-mid 90’s. The sedan seems like the most logical choice as far as hauling people around, and it’s probably more spacious. However, I think the hatchbacks are kind of cute, and they’re a bit cheaper and easier to find anyway. Does anyone have experience with either/both types of cars?
Also, do these types of cars have fold-down rear seats? It’s hard to tell one way or the other from Edmunds and whatnot.
I currently drive a hatchback ('94 Suzuki Swift), and it’s acceptable. It does hold more than it looks like it would on the outside, and yes, the rear seats fold down. I don’t know the Civic hatchback well, so I can’t speak for it, but I’d think it likely that the seats do fold down for cargo space.
The one thing I’ve found with my hatchback (it’s considered a 3-door car, including the hatch), is that getting passengers in and out is problematic. There’s not a lot of passenger space. There are claims that it seats four, but I’ve never had more than 3 people in there comfortably. I can’t imagine trying to get small children into safety seats in there. If you have passengers often or would be taking small children anywhere…I’d say go with the sedan.
I’m lovin’ my 1990 Civic Wagon (172,000 miles and still clickin’). Technically not the hatchback you’re thinking about; this has four doors and a rear hatch. The split back seat folds down. The car has a surprising amount of carrying space… I’ve carried everything from two-by-fours to dog kennels in it. If you could find one (I don’t think many were sold), you’d have the best of both the sedan and the hatchback.
I used to have a '92 Honda Civic hatchback and I loved it. Yes, the rear seatback folded down. It may have been a split fold-down, meaning you could just put one side if you wanted - I’m not positive, though; I may be mis-remembering that part.
The back cargo area was pretty spacious.
The back seat was fairly comfy. I never rode back there of course, but it seemed okay. My daughter was younger when I had it, and she was in a child seat, but it was just a booster seat that used the regular seat belt. It wasn’t a baby seat that had to be wrestled into place.
It was a great car. I never had any real trouble with it, and got great gas mileage. It was a very dependable car.
I sold it to buy a bigger car when my son was born. We just needed something with more room.
I’m the proud owner of a black 1996 Honda Civic. I bought it from a credit union’s repossession auction in 1998, and got a real steal of a deal. I’ll tell you if you care, but it is SICK how good a deal I got. Only 26,000 miles when I got it, and I’m up to 85,000 as of today. The back seats fold down, and there’s plenty of room in the back area, especially if you put the seats down. I’m moved between several apartments with that car, and helped plenty of friends move too. It’s tight with four people in there, don’t get me wrong, but nobody is hitting their heads on the hatch door glass or anything like that. Those cars are reliable, fuel-efficient, and relatively cheap for the value you’re getting.
As an aside, my transmission started to die this past summer so I had to replace it, but that’s a real anomaly. You can’t get much better than a Honda for reliability. The transmission cost me $2,000 (I’m still paying it off, since it came as quite a surprise), but with how cheap the car was for me originally, I can hardly complain. It survived a few minor fenderbenders (only one was my fault), so it’s scratched and dented and slightly bent up front, but still driving strong.
Very much yea to hatchbacks. The first time you have to move any kind of furniture, you’ll be happy you have it. My first decent car was a four door hatchback Datsun and it was a workhorse. The only problem with hatchbacks (and it’s a minor one) is that they are ever so slightly less secure – you can’t lock something in the trunk. But with the privacy cover thingy, no one can see what you’ve got in the hatch.
But definitely go with a four door if you can find one.
Hatchbacks I’ve owned:
[ul][li]1999 Jeep Cherokee[/li][li]1988 Chevy Sprint Metro[/li][li]1984 Chevy Sprint[/li][li]1977½ Porsche 924[/ul][/li]
Non-hatchback cars I’ve owned:
[ul][li]1979 Porsche 911SC (the boot was in the front)[/li][li]1977 MGB roadster[/li][li]1977 MGB roadster[/li][li]1966 MGB roadster[/ul][/li]
As you can see, the non-hatchbacks were all rather small. This occasionally caused some problems if I had to carry a lot of stuff. The case for my movie camera is a little larger than it needs to be, and it wouldn’t fit in the Porsche’s cabin or boot.
The hatchbacks were (are, in the case of the Cherokee) more practical for me. The Sprints are very small cars, but they seem to be almost Tardis-like inside. Fold down the rear seat, and there is a very useful cargo area in back. (Lsura: Is the Swift the same thing as a Chevy Sprint/Geo Metro?) Since my film gear has grown more numerous and bulky, the Jeep really isn’t big enough. But I don’t want anything bigger. I guess if I get involved in a large project I’ll rent a pick-up. But the hatchbacks have definitely been better for carrying gear.
Non hatchbacks have the advantage of carrying stuff out of sight. The Cherokee has a cover for the cargo area behind the rear seat and it has tinted windows, but for total concealment I think a proper boot is better.
As I’ve said in other threads, you should choose the car that best fits the mission. Reiterating what rjung said: If you need to carry gear, then get a hatchback. If your cargo needs are more modest, you may want a two- or four-door. But even if you never carry anything larger than a suitcase, a Honda Civic hatchback is a good choice.
(FWIW, I was seeing a girl who had a '92 Civic hatchback. The cool thing about it was that it had a little tailgate below the hatch. Nice.)
My first car was a ‘93 Geo Metro. That was a great car. My back seat had plenty of space. Then again, the only people who ever sat back thre were my sisters - who are very skinny. I could fit a 6’ ladder in there. I once transported all the components to a bed frame (the kind with 4 drawers underneath the mattress). We had first tried to fit the frame in an SUV but they didn’t fit
Even with passengers (I could fit 5 people comfortably), I could still fit a bunch of stuff in the hatch.
When I got my current car, I tried to find a hatchback but I really don’t like the look of Hondas. I couldn’t find anything else I liked. So, my current car is not a hatchback and I don’t like it nearly as much.
Yep. The Chilton’s that’s sitting on my floor at the moment is the '85-2000 for the Chevy Sprint/Metro, Geo Metro & Suzuki Swift. Though I haven’t run across a metro that seems to have the power of my Swift - it’s the GT model and I don’t know if there was a similar model for the Metro.
My brother used to have a Sprint, though I don’t remember what year it was. That was a fun little car too.
