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| The standard ES-Civic |
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| The JDM Civic RS |
When Honda officially took over operations here in Malaysia late last year, the current "ES-Civic" has of course already been introduced by the previous representative. Because Honda Malaysia has been busy with other models, especially introduction of the new generation CR-V they did not have time to pay attention to the Civic. As a result, I think no-one in Malaysia knows that the bodykit used in the JDM Civic RS which is made by the accessories division of Honda known as Honda Access is available for sale here as optional accessories for the ES-Civic. Well, I certainly didn't know for a quite a while.
One of Honda Malaysia's dealer Sumber Auto actually had one of their test-drive Civics fitted with the RS bodykit as well as the special Honda Access sports-suspension. The Honda Access sports-suspension consists of Honda designed lowering springs and matching shocks for the ES-Civic meant to improve its handling significantly over the stock items. The wheels for the "SA-Civic" was also changed to Honda Access designed 16-inch rims with sized-up 205/50/R16 tyres. In many ways the SA-Civic is similar to the US Factory Performance (FP) Civic Coupe recently reviewed by my colleagues at our main Temple of VTEC web-site. As expected, once Honda Malaysia told me of this Civic, I duly made my way over to the dealer to check it out.
When I first laid eyes on the SA-Civic, I immediately liked what I saw although
the bodykit that was fitted was not the complete JDM RS-Civic kit. It comprises
the same front & rear lip and side skirts plus the boot lid spoiler. But the RS
grill was not fitted. The RS bodykit items had the much desirable effect of
lowering the "reach" of the car's body towards the ground and in the process
making the SA-Civic look substantially more solid and even "macho". The Honda
Access sport-suspension lowers the car by around 2 inches and together with
the larger 16 inch wheels complements the lowering effect very well; the car
really look tons more sportier now. It is still not perfect though and
there were some small extra accessories that I feel were out of place
in this 'concept'; - both the headlights and the taillights had Honda Access
contoured light "covers" fitted and the rather unpopular chrome trimmings at
the wheel arches and door window frames were also fitted. Minor items really
but they do detract from an otherwise very well done-up car. Thankfully only
the original badges were used without any excessive emblems or graphics on the
car. I have to highlight though that observations such as these about looks are
very subjective and according to individual tastes. The interior of the car
and its engine were left completely stock.
Why would one buy the Honda bodykit instead of getting a fibre glass shop to custom make one as is popular here in Malaysia ? I kept asking myself this question while I was checking the car out. Well I don't have all the answers but it seems to me there are definitely several advantages to getting the Honda Access kit. The Honda Access kit comes complete with all necessary mounting brackets and hardware (nuts, etc) and the fit will also be practically perfect. So no fabrication like drilling, gluing or putty will be needed for fitting which obviously means that the body and paintwork of the original car are totally untouched. If the kit is purchased together with a new car, it will come already fitted of course but enthusiasts who wishes to add the kit to their current car will easily be able to DIY the project, adding an element of fun to their hobby in the process.
The other thing is the build quality. The bodykit is made of the same material as the bumpers and made using the same process. As a result the surface is very smooth without any of the unevenness that the surface of a fibre-glass kit commonly have. The other thing which many don't realize is the paint-finishing. The bodykit as sold will be supplied to the customer already painted. Of course the Honda dealer concerned will be able to accurately match the color of the bodykit with that of the customer's car by using the Honda color code. This factor is actually often overlooked by many enthusiasts who source their bodykits via other means. Then they will need to get the kit spray-painted and the typical paint shop will be quite unlikely to be able to match the original colour perfectly. This may mean the necessity to spray over a larger area, e.g. the whole bumper or door in order to avoid obvious colour mismatches and this means extra costs not to mention the need to leave the car with the paint and/or fibre-glass shops for at least a day each.
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| The Honda Access sports suspension consists of yellow coloured lowering springs and suitably matched dampers | |
Again in typical TOVA style, I think the SA-Civic can best be show-cased by a montage of suitable pictures. The salient point of the SA-Civic with its RS based bodykit and the sports suspension is illustrated via the collection of photos below.
 The lowering stance of the sports suspension is clearly seen. |
 Note how the rear lip and spoiler enhances the car's solidness. |
  The original 195/60/R15 15" wheels vs the larger 205/50/R16 16" wheels. Note the smaller wheel to fender gap. |
 The contoured headlight cover in question. |
 Note the superior finish of the Honda Access front lip. No waves on the surface. |
 The RS spoiler adds significantly to the rear look. |
Under Honda Malaysia, the marketing of Honda cars have taken a big step for the better. Honda Malaysia of course represents official Honda presence in Malaysia and the wonderful thing about a japanese controlled marketing operation is that Honda expects its dealers to behave like their japanese based counterparts. This means properly equipped dealerships and more importantly helpful and courteous sales-staff. The most important implementation however must be Honda's insistence that all official Honda dealers must have dedicated test-drive vehicles always ready. Ask and one is now greeted with a polite bow, with the keys to the test-drive vehicle on an out-stretched hand. It really is a new era for Honda marketing in Malaysia.
I asked a member of my club, Lim, to go together with me to check the Civic out. Lim owns a near stock ES-Civic so I wanted to have someone to compare notes with. Sumber Auto is managed by Mr Alston Tan, the general manager, and he greeted us with great enthusiasm when we arrived to check the car out.
After the photo session and the mandatory close up check of the SA-Civic, the three of us got into the SA-Civic for the test-drive impression. Alston had forewarned me that the Honda Access sports-suspension had came under a bit of flak in previous test-drives for its 'harsh' ride. The lowered stance also meant difficulties negotiating speed bumps. Well, the first thing I could check out was the thing about the speed bumps because there was a bump right at the building entrance/exit. However because my own Integra, which I drive on a more or less daily basis, also had a similar suspension I could negotiate it with relative ease, without any part of the underchassis scrapping through the bump. On the way out I also paid extra attention to the ride. Again I found it to be not a problem. To me, the SA-Civic had a firm but quite acceptable ride. It was not hard or jarring though the harder spring and damper rates could be clearly felt.
It was a saturday morning so there was quite a bit of traffic on the roads. Since this was a test-drive and on public roads, I did not push the car hard. I had to overtake one car though but since the engine was completely stock, all I did was to test the overtaking power of the stock ES-Civic. Incidently I feel the new generation D17A engine has good midrange power. Although delivering the same max power as its smaller D15B predecessor (130ps), the D17A possesses midrange similar to a larger 1.8l engine and the overtaking manuveur was completed with very little drama. I also had a few chances to swerve the car gently left and right at low speeds. I like to use this to test the tendency of the car to roll as well as the 'sharpness' of the steering. The Honda Access sports-suspension allowed the SA-Civic to handle this with little noticeable roll and with quite sharp reactions to the steering inputs. Finally towards the end of the test-drive, I had a chance to 'throw' the car into a tight left-hand turn at a reasonable speed. I thought the car took the corner with good poise again with some, but minimal body roll.
This SA-Civic belongs to a dealer so all I had done was a simple test-drive impression. Nevertheless for readers who are eager for more technical infor on the Honda Access sports-suspension, I do believe that it is the same as that on the U.S. "Factory Performance" Civic that was tested in our main Temple of VTEC site. So I would refer readers to that article which has complete test results and figures.
Personally, I liked the Honda Access equipped ES-Civic. I especially like the effect of the RS bodykit which makes the ES-Civic look so much more solid and sporty. The car handled quite well too befitting the 'sports' label of the Honda Access suspension. We also talked a bit about the prices of the various items but it seems that they are not completely fixed yet even at this time. Look and style preferences is a very personal thing so I think individual readers who are able to should see the car life and up-close and to test-drive the car to see whether he or she might appreciate the true quality of the Honda Access accessories. Again whether the final prices are considered acceptable can only be best decided by the individual.
Wong KN
October 2002
© Temple of VTEC Asia
For readers who are in Malaysia, Sumber Auto can be contacted via phone number 60-3-7960-2828.