1990 Honda Civic Reviews, Pricing & Specs
What owners say
"Overall, owners of the 1990 Honda Civic appreciate its performance, low maintenance costs, and reliability. They particularly liked its fuel economy, with many reporting over 30 mpg, and the fun driving experience it offers, especially when well-maintained or modified. However, some drivers found the power to be lacking for highway driving and noted issues with interior space, especially for taller individuals."
The 1990 civic standard has adequate power from its 1.5L 70 HP SOHC I4. The Gearbox is pretty smooth and shifts easily, with a solid clutch pedal that has the right amount of resistance. There are times i wish there was a 5th gear particularly on highways. The handling is good with independent rear suspension providing a connected and fun driving experience. The car is not very fuel hungry as living in the city i managed 33mpg average with some highway driveway. While the Civic's styling isn't amazing it is functional with everything being easy to find and comfortable to reach from the driving position. The build quality is very good as even after 20 years of neglect the interior is in fair shape and the engine just needed a tune up.
December 1, 2010During the early '90s, Honda was preparing to release a car that would change the world. It boasted futuristic styling, ahead-of-its time engineering, and the latest in performance technology. That car was the NSX. But they also made the Civic Wagon. The Wagon (or Shuttle, as it's known as in Japan and Europe; or also "Wagovan") was a five-door variant of Honda's iconic Civic. It was produced during the third and fourth generations of Civic, but was afterward discontinued. The 1988-1991 Civic Wagon (Chassis code EE2) is certainly a funny-looking car. Due to its tall greenhouse and short wheelbase, it has almost cartoonish proportions, which gives it a whimsical charm. The dramatically sloped hood and tall windows give it an unusual profile, but give it extreme visibility. The interior of the car is what you would expect from an early '90s econobox; made of sturdy but bland plastic arranged in simple, sensible shapes. The seats are not particularly pleasant, but serve their purpose well. The tall hatch offers plenty of cargo space on its own, but the rear seats can collapse for even more storage room. I can confirm that a full-size adult bicycle will lay flat with plenty of room to stack things on top of or below it. The car was not designed to be a performance car. The only sporty feature it has is the stock EF generation suspension, apparently the stiffest stock suspension ever used in a Civic. The ride is akin to driving a go-kart- it handles well at high and low speed, but is not particularly comfortable. The D15B2 (the RT4WD cars had the larger D16A6) engine produces only 92 horsepower. While this would be unacceptable on a larger car, the Wagon only weighs about 2300lbs, making the meager output more substantial. It does have some of the shortcomings of low power, however. The car will jump through 0-30 quickly, but acceleration to highway speeds is a harrowing ordeal. My car is equipped with the four-speed automatic transmission, which shifts (concerningly) hard out of first. The maintenance on the car is cheap; Civic parts are readily available and it functions very well for a 22-year-old car. Even with the automatic transmission the Wagon acheives about 28 mpg city, and upwards of 30 mpg highway. The car is holding up well for its age, but unless you really want the Wagon, go for a Civic hatchback. It's slightly lighter and body panels will be more plentiful.
August 13, 2012well as a base car, the 1990 honda civic was always a low performance economy car. the build quality, as always from honda, is top notch. the appearance, although typical '90s box styling, is still instantly recognizable. ownership and maintanence costs as with most hondas is low. the most fun thing about this car is the handling characteristics, also with a little time and money, you can make this one sporty, quick, and fun to drive cars.
September 11, 2009What owners say
The 1990 civic standard has adequate power from its 1.5L 70 HP SOHC I4. The Gearbox is pretty smooth and shifts easily, with a solid clutch pedal that has the right amount of resistance. There are times i wish there was a 5th gear particularly on highways. The handling is good with independent rear suspension providing a connected and fun driving experience. The car is not very fuel hungry as living in the city i managed 33mpg average with some highway driveway. While the Civic's styling isn't amazing it is functional with everything being easy to find and comfortable to reach from the driving position. The build quality is very good as even after 20 years of neglect the interior is in fair shape and the engine just needed a tune up.
December 1, 2010During the early '90s, Honda was preparing to release a car that would change the world. It boasted futuristic styling, ahead-of-its time engineering, and the latest in performance technology. That car was the NSX. But they also made the Civic Wagon. The Wagon (or Shuttle, as it's known as in Japan and Europe; or also "Wagovan") was a five-door variant of Honda's iconic Civic. It was produced during the third and fourth generations of Civic, but was afterward discontinued. The 1988-1991 Civic Wagon (Chassis code EE2) is certainly a funny-looking car. Due to its tall greenhouse and short wheelbase, it has almost cartoonish proportions, which gives it a whimsical charm. The dramatically sloped hood and tall windows give it an unusual profile, but give it extreme visibility. The interior of the car is what you would expect from an early '90s econobox; made of sturdy but bland plastic arranged in simple, sensible shapes. The seats are not particularly pleasant, but serve their purpose well. The tall hatch offers plenty of cargo space on its own, but the rear seats can collapse for even more storage room. I can confirm that a full-size adult bicycle will lay flat with plenty of room to stack things on top of or below it. The car was not designed to be a performance car. The only sporty feature it has is the stock EF generation suspension, apparently the stiffest stock suspension ever used in a Civic. The ride is akin to driving a go-kart- it handles well at high and low speed, but is not particularly comfortable. The D15B2 (the RT4WD cars had the larger D16A6) engine produces only 92 horsepower. While this would be unacceptable on a larger car, the Wagon only weighs about 2300lbs, making the meager output more substantial. It does have some of the shortcomings of low power, however. The car will jump through 0-30 quickly, but acceleration to highway speeds is a harrowing ordeal. My car is equipped with the four-speed automatic transmission, which shifts (concerningly) hard out of first. The maintenance on the car is cheap; Civic parts are readily available and it functions very well for a 22-year-old car. Even with the automatic transmission the Wagon acheives about 28 mpg city, and upwards of 30 mpg highway. The car is holding up well for its age, but unless you really want the Wagon, go for a Civic hatchback. It's slightly lighter and body panels will be more plentiful.
August 13, 2012well as a base car, the 1990 honda civic was always a low performance economy car. the build quality, as always from honda, is top notch. the appearance, although typical '90s box styling, is still instantly recognizable. ownership and maintanence costs as with most hondas is low. the most fun thing about this car is the handling characteristics, also with a little time and money, you can make this one sporty, quick, and fun to drive cars.
September 11, 2009I bought this car for $500. It is the second of its kind that i have owned and is very good on gas, easy to work on, and there is no end of easily available aftermarket options and upgrades. Very fun to drive once you know the car, there are a few things to get used to like any older vehicle; no power steering or AC, a few rattles, etc. The performance is alright but not amazing, it handles fairly well but will perform much better once i have done some optional work.
October 20, 2008this car has amazing mod options and handling for being little engines they accel so much great torq and power comfortable car to ride in very spacious cheap on gas and the sky is the limit on these and can sell these cars fast
August 16, 2009Its alright. I'm more of a truck person so for its size and weight its good. Just not meant for anywhere but on the road. Its a bit small for someone as tall as I am so I'd not recommend it for someone around my height.
April 20, 2015i don't have anything bad to say about my honda it an all around good car. it has some rust in places but as far as i can see it can all be fixed with a little time and hard work.
August 1, 2009Awesome on gas, 40+ mpg, chicks dig it. Just downright the sweetest car ever made by Honda.
March 10, 2008Performance is reasonable for a sedan, spent some money to mod the car engine, didn't seem to improve.
February 15, 2008This lil rusted buket was super performant if well-maintained it would last forever. With a few modifications this car accelerated and drove like crazy cops had a hard time to catch up to it in the city. On the highway it's another story. A hard leather seted SiR Made the difference between driving rly fast and the lil old ladies cadillac next door.
February 13, 2008
