Ahhh, a fellow VX appreciator! I have owned two of these cars, and for me it is the ultimate daily driver. A true unicorn. It is the Mclaren F1 of daily drivers, even. That's taking it a bit far, now, isn't? Well, no, not really. Not when you consider that the car that inspired Gordon Murray to build the greatest hyper car of all time was the Honda NSX, Honda's halo car, and of which much of the DNA the NSX would share with the 5th gen Civics. A recent article rightly named the VX and its kin the greatest generation of Honda Civic Honda made. Ranking Every Generation Of The Honda Civic From Worst To Best
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When I bought my first Civic VX (In 2006, it was my second car, my first was an '85 Honda Accord), I chose it for my Craigslist search because of the fuel economy listed on fueleconomy.gov and because it was a Honda. I did not realize at the time that I would never find a better car. Years later I used to wonder to myself: do I love this car so much because I just have a natural appreciation of automobiles, and Hondas in general, and because I've owned one for so long? Surely there are other cars I would fall in love with? When my second VX finally died, I replaced it with a Mazda 2, 5 speed; nowhere near as fun to drive. It's amazing that such a revered car as the Mazda 2, and a "modern" replacement to the VX, could fall so incredibly short of the VX. An absolutely numb driving experience compared to the VX, not to mention that it's smaller and gets significantly worse fuel economy.
What I loved so much about the VX: first, the handling. The car is fun and rewarding to drive. The double-wishbone suspension connected to the manual steering was an absolute dream. I came to love the lean-burn stumble. It made it easier to hypermile and it was just very satisfying knowing when I was in lean-burn and when the car would come out of it. I also loved that if I wanted to go faster, the extra power at the higher RPMs was sooo satisfying: VTEC-E, what a concept! I also liked the non-power steering, for the same reason Gordon Murray chose to make the Mclaren F1 with manual steering: that direct connection to the road. And, yes, the wheels. Extremely light and smart looking wheels. 13" is all that light car needed for a fun, nimble and efficient driving experience.
When I would think of other cars I could buy that might be as fun as the VX, the only other car I could think of was the original Miata, but it's not nearly as practical and doesn't get as good gas mileage, so I always come back to the VX: it is absolutely the ultimate daily driver, by faaaaaarrrr. Thanks for sharing your passion for this absolute legend of a car. I wish I could afford to buy yours! I'm currently in a 2008 Honda Fit, but it's an automatic. :-/
