1990 Honda Civic Reviews, Pricing & Specs

During 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.Aug 13, 2012