Honda Civic (1986) – Into the Wild

The Honda Civic had its heyday in the Netherlands in the 80s and 90s. This was fueled by several factors: the Civic made a name from the start as a reliable and reasonably priced car, and in the second half of the 80s it also got very smooth engines. In addition, a wide variety of body shapes became available. For example, in the 1980s, in addition to the hatchback and sedan, there was the more spacious Shuttle and the more sporty customer could go for the CRX Coupé. Over time, an important Achilles heel emerged: the rust devil was also charmed by the Civic. The latter has ensured that with quite a few Civics the technique survived the carriage.

The Civic we have before us here seems to have been spared that fate. The undersigned stood with his nose right on top of it and saw a still beautiful crimson lacquer layer. This is not only striking because red cars from that time rarely retained their original hue, but also because the red is not accompanied by rust brown. This Civic must have largely covered its 36-year existence. We conclude from an old advertisement that the car was imported from Switzerland and stayed there with its first owner until 2014. He clearly handled it with care. The Civic has now been in the Netherlands for a while and he has been able to call two others his owner before the current owner. They must have been fans.

It’s not just any third-generation Civic, either, but the most potent Civic hatchback at the time. It has a 90 hp 1.5 injection engine, where the other versions of the hatchback had to make do with less powerful carburetor engines. If you wanted even more power, you were dependent on the strongest Civic CRX Coupé of this generation. It had a 124 hp 1.6 sixteen valve and appeared just before the fourth generation Civic came on the market in 1987. Until then you could get the CRX with the same 1.5i as in this Civic hatchback.

The current owner of this Civic is undoubtedly not so concerned about the power. He or she simply drives a beautiful ‘survivor’ of a model that you once encountered here in the bush. We hope that many more years can be glued to it!