Even with some unfavorable reviews for the current Civic, the car continues to attract the buyers competitors seek, said Alexander Edwards, president of the automotive division of Strategic Vision Inc., a San Diego-based consumer-research firm.
Within the small-car segment, Civic is “still grabbing a younger, somewhat wealthier crowd,” Edwards said. The median age of its buyers is 45, compared with a segment average of between 49 and 50 years old, he said.
Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Jetta draws a younger customer, with a median age of 41, because of its cheaper base price and Hyundai’s Elantra matches Civic with a median buyer age of 45, said Edwards, whose firm surveys 300,000 people a year for its automotive studies. Jetta’s starting price is $15,515, according to Edmunds.
Consumer reports a huge fan of Honda in the past was even down on the car:
Honda Motor Co.’s newest version of the Civic, a model that’s been a foundation of the automaker’s U.S. sales for decades, flopped in tests by Consumer Reports, failing to win the magazine’s coveted “Recommended” status.
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