Honda Civic fails to earn Consumer Reports recommendation

The influential Consumer Reports magazine isn't recommending Honda Motor Co.'s all-new Civic LX compact, which scored poorly in its road tests.

The magazine's critical pan deals a fresh blow to the redesigned Civic, whose launch was disrupted by the massive quake that struck Japan in March.

Compared with its predecessor, the new Civic LX's score slid 17 points to 61, Consumer Reports said Monday.

"While other models like the Hyundai Elantra have gotten better after being redesigned, the Civic has dropped so much that it now ranks near the bottom of its category," said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' auto test center.

He noted that the Civic is the third recent Honda car to score too low to win a recommendation — the other two being the Honda CR-Z and Insight hybrid cars.

"I'm sure its reliability is good," Champion said of the Civic, "but we're very disappointed with the way the car performs."

Consumer Reports' test-drivers found the car less agile and noisier than the previous Civic. They said the quality of the interior had deteriorated, too.