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Greener Pastures

Are you missing out by not going for a car that isnt a Toyota?
The concept of owning a car that isn't made by Toyota is preposterous to an overwhelming number of Bangladeshis, or at least that was the case back in the day. Nowadays, some people have wisened up and more are slowly realising that its actually okay to own cars that don't have the Toyota logo on them. Saif Al-din Abdullah is one of those people.
His family has owned non-Hondas before, and for a period of time the family cars were provided by Saifs father's office, a myriad collection consisting of a Nissan Sunny, a Mitsubishi Outlander, and a big, hulking Toyota Prado. After being ferried around for almost a year in a Toyota Prado, when it was time to go back to a family sedan again, Saif pushed his parents to go for something bigger and a bit more luxurious than a garden variety Corolla.
For most upper middle class families in Dhaka, "big and luxurious car" spells either a Premio or an Allion, and if they're a bit more "adventurous", maybe they'll splurge the cash and buy a brand new Corolla GLi, playing it safe for the rest of the car's lifespan.
Saif had fallen in love with the 2007 Honda Civic, going to great lengths and using a tasteful selection of adjectives to describe that generation Civic's design. He wanted one, and his parents were willing to respect the wishes of the only son, so off they went to DHS Motors, the Honda distributor. Incidentally, that was the year (2010) when Honda decided to bring in only the Hybrid Civics, which were nice enough according to Saif, but as he describes after a test drive, "they were a little bit too boring".
Luckily for Saif, DHS had a petrol driven 2009 Civic waiting to be sold. Moreover, it was registered and came with a complete Modulo bodykit and Championship White pearl paint. It had less than a thousand miles on the clock, having been used for a brief period of time by a DHS Motors high-up. It was still brand new in almost every way, and the slight mileage was enough to reduce the price to within Saif and his family's budget. The 2010 Premio and the Lancer EX he had looked at previously never stood a chance
after the test drive was over.
The interior, with its two tiered display and futuristic dashboard layout, not to mention the acres of rear legroom, won over the parents and Saif finally had the car he had wanted for over four years. The cab forward design gives a lot of space for both front and rear passengers. 6 feet tall? Not a problem. Initially he had no plans of doing anything to the car and kept it factory fresh stock for a little over a year and a half before the customizing bug bit him.
The plan was simple: make it stand out and give it a little more presence on the street
without going overboard and making the car unusable as a daily family car. That spelled out only cosmetic modifications, and that's the path he took.
The Mugen RR served as inspiration, bodykit-wise. Reload Autos sourced him front and rear Mugen RR bumpers, with original Modulo sideskirts and rear lip spoiler, with fit and finish done at Rangs. Saif wanted quality and the parts were sourced from Taiwan instead of the usual Chinese wavy plastic items that grace Lancer EXs here. The bump-
ers latched on perfectly, but the front grille had to go through some grinder work for proper fitment. The guys at Rangs did a tremendous job of retrofitting the stock Honda badge and grille onto the Mugen RR grille frame, so much so that people are often confused and think the kit came stock with the car. The rear diffuser required a dual exhaust setup conversion, and that was dealt with by some more professional work at Rangs.
To finish it all off, the exterior was treated to the finest paint from Berger's Nexa Auto Colour catalog, with Saif opting for a Jaguar
Emerald Fire metallic green. Window tints, a full dent-paint repair job (to buff out any previous scratches from a year and a half of usage) completed the exterior treatment. For the interior, a set of Sparco pedals were more than enough.
The 1.6 liter i-Vtec engine remains stock, providing decent fuel consumption (considering Dhaka's traffic) and has enough grunt for a bit of late night accelerator flooring on empty stretches of roads. The throttle response on the Civic is amazing, and easily
outclasses any Premio or Allion, the i-Vtec pushing the revs up effortlessly when you need it to. The driving experience is typically modern, muted and comfy. It's not particularly sporty but press the gas pedal firmly down and the transmission does kick down, much quicker than its contenders from the Toyota family. You'd be surprised how agile and quick it feels for its size. The car is wide and long but the seemingly diminutive 1.6 does a fair job of pulling it along. Turn in is quite sharp and while it does have a soft suspension setup, it is by no means wooly. You won't feel like you're in a boat. Bumps are damped properly without ever being jarring and harsh.
Future plans? Saif wants to get a nice looking set of rims and bigger exhaust tips to finish off the exterior, then he'll hang up the gloves, call it a day and enjoy the Civic.
When the car was in the bodyshop being worked on, Saif and family used a 2005 Premio F for the daily grind. While the F was an effortless workhorse, Saif says he would never trade in his Civic for any other Toyota family car, new or old, because according to him, none of them provide the balance of efficiency, sportiness, entry level luxury or style that the Civic gives him.
One complaint he has though is the cost of maintenance. He runs the Civic on petrol, and on top of the fuel costs, the servicing and the occasional parts change puts a bit of a dent on the wallet. Even then, considering a new Premio or a Corolla GLi would have almost similar running costs, Saif says he loves the experience of owning and driving a Civic, even in Dhaka.
Makes you wonder, is a Premio or Allion really worth it? Saif was lucky enough to find a non-Hybrid Civic at the price of a reconditioned Toyota of a similar grade, but who says you can't find one gem too? In this case, we think the grass is definitely greener on Saifs side of the field.
Words: Shaer Reaz
Photos: Ehsanur Raza Ronny