Were any of you trying to convince yourselves you didn't want the Touring?

[Ikabob]

I didn't really consider it. Most of the features you get on the Touring are things that aren't on my radar, and didn't add enough value to me to justify the cost. I prefer cloth to leather. The smaller wheels and fatter tires of the EX are a plus to me given our road conditions. Actually, the only feature that exists on higher trim levels that matters to us would be heated seats. I almost got the EX-T mainly to get the heated seats in cloth, which to us is the ideal configuration. But after driving the turbo and NA car back to back, I didn't feel enough of a performance gain to make the extra cost worth it. Coming from a turbo Jetta, for instance, I was surprised the Civic felt a lot slower to me than the VW. It may not be on paper, but seat of the pants, the Jetta feels a lot stronger power-wise. Had the turbo Civic felt as peppy, I might have coughed up the cash to go EX-T.

It really wasn't a price issue to us per se, as we could have easily afforded the Touring, but rather a value thing. The extra stuff just didn't have value. I'll spend the difference on something I'll get more enjoyment out of, i.e. a new bicycle or something.

EDIT: A hail storm significantly damaged the EX they located for me and that I was scheduled to pick up today. Looks like a turbo might be in the cards after all if it's a deal I can't pass up. We'll see...

Too bad about the hail damage , but good that you didn't own it yet.
As far as you taking the Touring, there are many things I like about the Touring over the other models.

But, the one thing I can mention as being very important to me is the stereo/sound system. I'd be very unhappy without this.!
Unfortunately it means that I drive around much too much listening to beautiful music.

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[Gavnzdad]

Why do so many people just assume that everyone wants the top of the line model? Ya know, there actually are people like me who don't wanna pay for a bunch of crap we'll never use. Sunroofs, I don't like them. Turbos, I don't like them. Push button start, hell no. Fog lights, don't need them. Larger wheels, I'm not a pimp. That's why there is an LX, for people just like me.

 

[GoPackGo]

I don't think everyone wants top of the line. I would imagine the Touring probably sells the least of the trims. Like you said, to each their own. I like leather, I like moon roofs, I like LED's, etc... so the Touring is for me. Honda has a nice wide variety of prices/options. Something for everyone. And whether you get the LX, Touring, or in between you're getting a great car IMHO.

 

[kirkhilles]

Why do so many people just assume that everyone wants the top of the line model? Ya know, there actually are people like me who don't wanna pay for a bunch of crap we'll never use. Sunroofs, I don't like them. Turbos, I don't like them. Push button start, hell no. Fog lights, don't need them. Larger wheels, I'm not a pimp. That's why there is an LX, for people just like me.

I certainly don't think you need to feel judged. There are a TON of LX buyers out there and (as a hopefully future buyer) I can COMPLETELY understand. I wish I didn't think about all of the cool features like Sensing, Android Auto, Moonroof, Push Button Start, etc, but I do. I'd love nothing more than to get a $17k LX, but I'd regret it if I did.

 

[Gavnzdad]

I certainly don't think you need to feel judged. There are a TON of LX buyers out there and (as a hopefully future buyer) I can COMPLETELY understand. I wish I didn't think about all of the cool features like Sensing, Android Auto, Moonroof, Push Button Start, etc, but I do. I'd love nothing more than to get a $17k LX, but I'd regret it if I did.

I don't feel judged at all. I know there are alot of LX owners out there. I was just saying that I see threads and posts alot that are to the tune of "I should have gotten", or "you should have gotten". I say get the trim level you want to begin with, and don't worry about it. What's an extra couple thousand if you really want that upper model. But for me, I'm old school, the less tech the better. With the exception of Bluetooth....That's a MUST.

 

[djasonw]

I think Honda made a very smart move in allowing all models to have the ability to be equipped with sensing. Some people will think its worthless, but I am of the mindset that this technology will save my butt one day. The collision mitigation and auto braking will be required on all cars starting in 2022 (I think that's the year). The price of $1,000 is reasonable considering what BMW and Audi charge for the same thing. I happen to think that the touring offers a great deal of value for the price. I was actually going to get the 2016 Prius but I could not deal with the new styling. I also was annoyed that Toyota made you buy the top of the line model just to get blind spot monitoring. Apparently Honda is putting safety first and all Toyota wants to do is earn extra revenue. Anyway, all these features in a package for 25k is what sold me. The same equipped Prius was over $30k!! It's not nearly as fun to drive and the difference in price will take a loooong time to make up in gas savings. I just did a computation with 200,000 miles as the parameters. Based on an avg of 38 mpg for the Honda and 48 mpg for the Prius the gas savings in dollars is $2,300 or so. However, the difference in vehicle cost is over $5,000. I'm glad I went with the Honda Touring. As a side note, I think the LX gives you a big bang for the buck. I am totally clueless as to why someone would buy a Corolla and not a Civic.

 

[Gavnzdad]

....I was actually going to get the 2016 Prius but I could not deal with the new styling....

Same for me. I was gonna get a new Prius a couple years ago, but the new front and back design looks like total crap. The older Prius was kinda cute. Now they're trying to make it look "sporty". Similar to putting caviar on a bologna sandwich.

 

[kirkhilles]

The advantage Toyota has right now is reliability. If grandma wants to know what to buy, it should be a Corolla. Older, more reliable tech. Honda will get there and maybe surpass by 2018 model.

 

[Gavnzdad]

The only thing about Toyota, and alot of other manufacturers too, is they use a floppy shifter. Ya know, you accidentally bump it sideways and it goes into "manual" mode. Come on, it's not a race car. I just can't do the z-gate shifter crap, or whatever they call it. My wife was test driving a Rav4, she accidentally bumped the shifter on the side, not hard either, and it went into "manual" mode. She drove it straight back and handed them the keys. I don't blame her, it's stupid.

 

[thepixelsedge]

The only thing about Toyota, and alot of other manufacturers too, is they use a floppy shifter. Ya know, you accidentally bump it sideways and it goes into "manual" mode. Come on, it's not a race car. I just can't do the z-gate shifter crap, or whatever they call it. My wife was test driving a Rav4, she accidentally bumped the shifter on the side, not hard either, and it went into "manual" mode. She drove it straight back and handed them the keys. I don't blame her, it's stupid.

My wife's Jeep Compass has this. It is in such a spot though that it's hard to hit it by accident. The only time it's actually useful is when going up or down steep grades or through heavy snow/mud. It's a CVT so having a little manual control is good in those situations but other than that it mostly goes unused. Maybe a half dozen times a year. It simulates 6 gears... It also makes the jeep have a little more pep if you're driving it like a sports car but other than that it's mostly just a novelty.

I guess anything they could do to make that CVT funner is a good thing bc that CVT honestly sucks major balls. I guess it's good for what it's designed for -- fuel economy -- but not much else.

 

[Gavnzdad]

Yeah, the only good CVTs are Honda and Toyota. The "S" on a Honda shifter does the same thing about making it feel more sporty. I used it on some windy roads in my 9th gen, and I gotta say I was impressed a little.

I test drove a compass once, my sympathy to you. Now the patriot, that's another story. I really liked it, but not enough to buy it. Jeep equals Chrysler.... No thank you.

 

[GoPackGo]

Does Honda break out sales by model?

 

[LBug]

I thought I wanted the EX-L, but what did it for me was the LED headlights and the nicer wheels (IMO). Although all of the models are nice so you really can't go wrong whatever you get. Honda did a great job with this redesign. With that said, I've had nothing but compliments, people asking me what it is, etc. With this car I wanted to get the one I liked rather than be driving down the road everyday seeing the Touring and wishing I had that one. The only thing I don't love about this car is the payment, but hey, a car is a necessity.

 

[Ikabob]

There are so many things I like about the Touring over the other models. One thing people tend to forget is the stronger stabilizing bar ( I think that's what it's called). I drove other models before my Touring purchase, and it seemed to me that the Touring handled and felt better IMO.

 

[Ultrafrozen]

I've enjoyed plain-Jane cars in the past and now plan on enjoying the little extras the Touring offers. No judgement passed on others that enjoy their choice of trim level. You picked that level due to personal preference, economic situation or some other criteria and now you get to enjoy it.

I was set on the EX-T from the start to get the moonroof and Turbo engine and when a Black Touring arrived at the dealership first, I had to take a look. The ivory leather/pleather alone won me over. There's only a $2000 difference between the EX-T and the Touring in Canada so for a few extra bucks a payment I get to enjoy powered & heated leather trimmed front seats, heated leather rear seats, higher power audio system, super bright headlights, auto dimming rear view mirror, wireless cell phone charging, chrome accents, navigation, HD Radio and Sirius XM.

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