Long-Term Road Tests

I dont really care if the plastics are hard. Im more anal about texture, grain, mold lines, sheen, and fit/finish of the plastics. As long as the plastics are of high quality and have small but consistent space between them I dont mind the hardness.
 
Regarding the 06+ Civics, it seems as if Honda tightened up on the quality control and/or suppliers because Ive seen some early VIN# Civics and the fit and finish on some of the cars were unacceptable to me! The car Im mainly speaking of is my younger brothers girlfriends early build 2006 Civic LX coupe.
 
Now the later 06s, 07s and the current cars Ive had experience with have been what I expect from Honda, especially the Si as the build quality was good, and consistent throughout.

"the only soft-touch surface in sight" -not.
 
Actually, the panel that surrounds the radio controls and the panel just below the speedo are the only hard plastics. The rest are rubbery and nicely textured, as are the upper door panels. The arm rests are all done in matching clothe. Compare it to a Focus or Cobalt, where everything really is hard plastic. But, in general, point taken, and I do think that plastic is a sign of cost cutting and inferior quality, because it is hard to match up without gaps and hard to keep silent, especially in changing temperature conditions.

I'll say that certain materials are of a large concern to me. I hate cheap looking materials, regardless of hardness. If I can see plastic flashing that needs to be cut with an x-acto knife, if I can catch a blurry reflection of myself in it, if it sounds hollow when something knocks against it, I don't like it.
 
Further, if it's a material I come in contact with on a regular basis and is not comfortable, I don't like it. Alot of manufacturers make very hard door and center armrests...I have no idea why. It doesn't feel like you are resting your arm on it then.
 
The top of the door where you may rest your arm upon a summer drive should be shaped ergonomically and should be semi-plush. It doesn't have to be cushy, just have a little give (this is where soft-touch comes into play).
 
The dash/center console where my hands or knees bang against should be slightly soft to the touch and should not sound hollow when said hands or knees bang into said materials.
 
Switchgear should feel solid and have easy to use pressure requirements. Movement should be identified by both tactile feel and a consistent non-annoying sound. I.e. A turn signal lever should feel solid, require a consistent amount of pressure that's not too light or too heavy, snap into a different position smoothly and with a re-assuring sound.
 
This stuff sounds stupid in the abstract, but in practice it makes a world of difference to me.
 
My wife, not exactly a car nazi, commented on how she loved her new Subaru Legacy GT turn signal because it felt solid and sounded nice (when moving the lever into a different position) compared to her 03 Saturn Ion, which felt flimsy and cheap and sounded like it was 1000 turns away from breaking.
 
There are some things that are just for car nazis (such as whether or not the top of the dash by the windshield is soft to touch). Other things, like how my emergency brake on my 06 Civic SI feels like it's going to come apart in my hand, are more important.
 
Joe

"Why doesn’'t hard plastic raise any critical eyebrows in this application? Conversely, why does it rankle automotive journalists whenever they come across it? "
 
Excellent question. Hard plastics mean nothing in the scheme of things but the automotive media has decided that pliabiity of plastics on the dash are an indicator of build quality or overall vehicle quality. Older cars had more soft touch plastics than current cars but such issues weren't a big deal in the past. I can assure you that most owners pay no attention to the hardness of their interior components, its not even on the radar. If you look at the success of Toyota in the US its apparent that millions of auto buyers pay little attention to plastic quality.

I thought you were pointing to the spot where Honda should have installed a permanent clock like they used to. The clock in Civics w/Nav moves depending on the screen, which is ultra-annoying. It's probably less of a problem for the others.

I think its just a matter of the idea of perceived quality.
 
While in reality it's really an insignificant item to harp on, it just "feels" less substantial.
 
Sort of like the door closing sound. If that sounds cheap it sours most users to the rest of the car. Even if the rest of the car is awesome.

Who cares? If my car is less expensive because the manufacuter used "hard" plastic, that should be a plus. We are not sleeping on the plastic so who cares if it is soft or not.

Ya that made me laugh when I first did the "dashboard test" on my dad's Civic SI. I'm a car nerd so I do these things. The dash is made up of so many different pieces and that's the last one you expect to be soft touch.
 
It's even more odd considering that the hard/soft touch dash materials look exactly the same. Why not just make it all soft touch? I guess that car companies care about making "touching zones" (or whatever you want to call it) feel pleasing...mainly center and door armrests. The Civic's armrest, door panels, and center armrest are all high quality and feel very nice. Most people don't really care about hard plastics as long as they are comfy.

Try putting 100k miles on a high end stereo and you'll understand. Hard plastics rattle with age.

Truly funny...I realized this the other day....the soft touch plastic actually does sweep down to the passenger side dash, but in front of the driver it's a hard plastic.
 
41k miles and still noticing new things :)
 
On a side note, my 06 Civic SI has some of the softer plastics/rubbers on the door where you rest your elbow (top of door), very nice padding on the door armrest, and a well padded and stitched two-stage extendable center armrest.
 
Hard, cheap plastic lightsaber...I mean emergency brake handle....also included :)
 
Joe

that, and most people dont really touch most of the plastic, they touch the wheel, and radio controls, maybe the latch for the glovecomparment, and the buttons, outside of that who cares.
 
I do find this blog post refreshing in that it finally acknoledges that the imports are cutting corners

Why does it rankle automotive journalists?
 
1) Modern cars are so good that they have to pick nits to find things wrong. Drive a 1979 Civic and I bet that soft plastics are the least of your worries.
 
2) It is easy to spot, yet most people don't notice. This means the journalist can sound sophisticated and knowledgeable with little work. No slight against automotive journalists intended - I am sure it is a very tough job, but everyone likes a shortcut.
 
3) No one can argue with you. Driving dynamics, styling, and many other aspects of cars are very subjective. Soft plastics, however - either you have 'em or you don't, end of story.