The Japanese auto major, Honda has decided to bring in an early facelift to the market to the market after their last facelift was not well received by the public. It was commented that Honda had taken a cost cutting direction in the development of the current generation Civic and the decision backfired on the company when it drew flak from the customers. A few days ago, Honda had said that it plans to pre-pone the new Civic by a few months. Now looking at the lackluster demand and the declining interest in the car, the company has further pre-poned the launch of the Civic facelift.

“The previous Civic, which came out in 2005, was known for its sporty driving, high-quality interiors, lack of noise and excellent braking. The new one seems to have fallen apart in those areas,” David Champion, senior director, auto testing, Consumer Reports, said.

Now, Honda has put its foot on the accelerator and gearing up to launch a face-lift version of the current Civic to please the customers. It is expected that the facelifted model will hit the markets before the end of 2012. American Honda President Tetsuo Iwamura has confirmed that the current model will be receiving an update to improve upon aspects like the handling but declined to comment on any significant styling changes and also when the model will be launched. The Honda Civic directly competes with the Chevrolet Cruze, Hyundai Elantra, the Ford focus and the Toyota Corolla in its segment.

Globally, Honda Motors is beginning to realize the after effects of the economic downturn and for the illustrious car, bike and power products maker, the pressure is beginning to show. On one hand, there’s a complex mix of products which don’t have a clear cut USP or positioning [each market is offered a different line-up of products] and on the other hand the rising Yen is creating havoc with the bottom lines. Honda produces most of its volume cars and components in Japan and has been a bit late to join the cost effective overseas production bandwagon.

But, as the carmaker looks at India as one of its key markets with specific new products such as the Brio subcompact, one thing that goes in its favour that it has been able to maintain a superb reputation in engineering and reliability, even for the India-built products. However, offering cars at very competitive pricing has been a bit difficult and since Honda isn’t exactly considered as a premium luxury carmaker in other markets, to command a premium on pricing isn’t also working out, especially in price sensitive markets.

In such a scenario, Honda is putting its best foot forward with the all-new Civic for 2012, setting rest speculation about the new model’s availability due to unforeseen production issues in Japan as a result of the devastating earthquake and Tsunami in March and its aftermath. Honda along with other Japanese carmakers are limping back to normal production and with the arrival of the new Civic, at least there’s some relief at camp Honda.

It’s no secret that the outgoing eighth-generation Civic [introduced in 2006] was a revolution for the segment particularly in terms of it striking design, presentation and overall packaging. It was a mould breaker considering the fact that most automakers usually style their mainstream C-segment models conservatively as they have to appeal to a wider audience. By far, very few C-segment cars have demonstrated a radical styling theme as the outgoing Civic did.

Looking at how the segment has shaped up in the past couple of years, it seems that emotion is a now a key factor in driving manufacturers to consider more than one factor for a successor. Current market research suggests that while changes may or may not lead into any significant performance increase, but an emotional increase is expected by the driver and occupants when a car is actually driven. Honda’s recipe for the eighth generation Civic did very well in these terms, and at the same time the emotional quotient of competitors has also gone up significantly besides the arrival of new models in the region.

Styling - It seems that Honda has decided to play safe and continue with the outgoing car’s profile and graft it with some current design DNA. In fact Honda’s lead designer Toshiyuki Okumoto San entrusted for the exterior styling described the new stance as a “one motion form”. In fact, Okumoto has tried to make the new car a bit more youthful with some aggressive touches to its sheet metal.

Without disturbing the predecessor’s wedge-shape profile radically, it seems that Okumoto San’s designer touch has softly massaged soft character lines on the bonnet, and some well-defined flares at the rear. Both front and rear ends have been redesigned and we think the front is more in line with the current Honda design DNA with a steeper windscreen to begin with, while the rear seems to have lost its predecessor’s charm. We can empathise with Okumoto’s overall treatment in the new arrival which now connects much better with the second generation Jazz and more with the current Euro Civic hatchback. Dimensionally, the car is 5mm shorter in length and width, while the wheelbase has been shortened by 30mm and rear track also reduced by 10mm. Even with 195/65R15 wheels, the car’s ground clearance has been reduced by 4.2mm.

Interiors - Going by the predecessor’s interiors, we were expecting a further evolution of the two-tier dashboard among other things. While the cabin feels spacious, thanks to new light coloured fabrics and more glass in the greenhouse, careful observation reveals a revised design of the fixed quarter glass, while the A-pillar appears thinner inside and its housing now also sports a tweeter.

While, the previous Civic’s interior, especially its dashboard was 100% revolutionary in design, the new car’s design tries to present itself as evolutionary, but it fails to cut the class as large chunks of lifeless grey plastic overwhelm the interior. Front and rear passengers benefit from additional leg- and shoulder room and taller drivers and front passengers will appreciate the extra three inches of additional shoulder room. Honda has realised that rivals especially from South Korea have significantly upped their respective games with mouth watering design, kit and features. Honda tries to narrow that with what it refers to it as its new I-MID, or Intelligent Multi-Information Display system along with some other first time features even in the base models. Essentially, it is an extension of sorts in terms of specific equipment, form and function. The dashboard continues to be split level as before with digital speedo readout. A five-inch LCD screen has been added on this level which is used as information centre and also doubles up as the screen when the rear camera is activated.

Gadgets - An ECON-function is a new highlight in the car which looks at optimizing energy consuming systems, such as engine and air-conditioning with the view of fuel efficiency. It’s more of a driver’s aid and has two ways of conveying information to the driver on how to optimize driving. On either side of the speedometer is a horizontal strip of colour changing LCDs. Depending on how the car is driven, it will change colours from green to various shades of blue representing most economical to least economical driving modes. The technology behind this is said to include automatic adjustments to engine and air-conditioning in particular. But how it works is still not clear in terms of optimizing performance and balancing fuel economy.

Steering wheel has also been revisited and now it is extra busy with buttons for several duties. A toggle on the left-hand steering wheel spoke allows the driver to sift through a wide variety of vehicle info, and other electronic gadgetry includes Bluetooth hands-free phone capability, auxillary imports and a decent 160-watt audio system. Among the ergonomic improvements, the quirky crane necked handbrake lever which was awkwardly positioned next to the shifter gate has been repositioned further back [it should have been there in the outgoing model] and this time around the lever is a traditional and not a designer one, but we do have some reservation as to why the sliding cover over the cup holders has been discontinued. Besides these, the rest of the cabin’s layout and familiar controls is decent and virtually the comfort levels, seat design and bolstering are all carried over. On the cargo front, while boot space in the sedan rose from 14.15 litres to 354 litres, but it’s still way behind the new Elantra’s 419 litres. and the Chevy Cruze’s 425 litres.

Engine - Despite Honda’s attempt to keep the Civic top in the game, it still doesn’t pull it ahead convincingly and the reason for that is the rest of the packaging. Carried over for this region is the powertrain set-up, but there has been some slight tweaking in mapping, compression ratios. While torque is unchanged, power output is up by 0.72 per cent only. However, what is significant is that peak power and torque now come at higher revs. The SOHC i-VTEC engine is good for 139hp at 6,500rpm and 173Nm of torque at 4,300rpm and to increase fuel efficiency, the engine boasts increased intake airflow, enhanced valve timing, and better exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) flow. The five-speed automatic is also carried over and that’s disappointing because the automatic in the 2012 Focus is a more modern and efficient six-speed, as are the ones in the Hyundai Elantra or Chevrolet Cruze.

Honda’s policy for this car has been give and take. While some new and trendy features have been added, what it has taken out is unseen to most. The cost differential has been met by taking out the expensive catalytic converter from the older model and replacing it with a budget variety.

Safety - The new car with its ACE-designed safety structure which use five per cent more high-strength steel, Honda claims the Civic’s body is seven per cent lighter and 10 per cent stiffer in static rigidity, and 11 per cent stronger in dynamic rigidity. That’s not all, a new electric power steering (EPS) system, a redesigned front subframe, and a thin-walled fuel tank all combine to shave some weight, but other kit in the car have made the car slightly heavier than the outgoing edition [15-40kg depending on trim level], which comes as a bit of a surprise as the general trend in the efficiency drive is also to cut flab wherever possible without sacrificing comfort or safety.

Suspension - A front strut and multilink rear suspension carry over with only minor enhancements, but the previous edition’s hydraulic power assisted steering has given way to an electric set-up. Safety, on the other hand, is a strong point and although the 2012 Civic doesn’t yet have crash-test ratings, the company predicts the new model will earn the highest-possible ratings with it standard safety kit which includes six airbags, stability control, ABS, braking assist and brake-force distribution.

Driving impressions - The Civic sedan line-up sold in the Middle East since 2006 has never been ambitious in terms of driver involvement as it came with a middle order powertrain set-up. While, there was some expectation of inclusion of a fun-to-drive factor in the incoming model in view of the new benchmark standards made by rivals in the segment and the introduction of the UK-built Civic Type R hatchback, sadly, that spirit is difficult to detect as the car is absolutely and totally predictable with no surprises or false moves. While reading the spec sheet, we are aware that a fatter mid-range torque curve now exists between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm and at practical level should have provided more usable oomph for daily driving. But actually, the difference between the outgoing and incoming model is hardly noticeable, however, what livens up the ride a bit is the quick electric-assist steering, a civilized degree of body rigidity and benefits of a shorter wheelbase. The car is a bit sharper than its predecessor.

Considering that the car has gained some weight and modest bump of 2hp to compensate that, on road acceleration car doesn’t feel that different. In our opinion, Honda should have considered introducing a Tiptronic function in this set-up to spruce up things a bit more. While tyres are also a factor, one would have expected the front end to be a bit heavier on the power steering, but there’s a pleasant surprise out here. Since the new Civic has opted for electric power system instead of hydraulic, the steering weight feels marginally better. In the old car, steering feedback and turn-in was good and the new system manages that and perhaps a shade better.

Driver’s front view is now better as the fixed quarter glass area on the front door has been increased. If the car wasn’t low, one could mistake it for an MPV from inside. The integration of key functions is much better executed and the simplicity in operating it also scores some marks. Although, it falls far behind equivalent Audi or Mercedes or Lexus systems as far as technology application or gimmickry goes, and considering Honda’s very cautious and conservative approach of doing things, we would say something is better than nothing – you get Bluetooth connectivity and an auxiliary input socket for MP3 or IPods, but a shame, there’s no storage capacity.

Verdict - The eighth generation Civic was by far a notable and impressive attempt by Honda to energise its C-contender. Honda tried and successfully raised the bar and also pricing significantly on the pretext of premium content, but some users of the car have complained about build quality. Cracking rubber seals, fading plastic and shoddy paintwork have marred the image of this model. We hope Honda has sincerely rooted out its build quality niggles in the new model and also keep the price point attractive.

Civic vs Competition

Chevrolet Cruze - One of Chevrolet’s new global models specifically developed to satisfy European tastes in design and chassis performance. This compact notchback is a product of a multi-national design team, based in Korea with input from Germany, US and Australia. The svelte looks are accompanied by class-leading features such as flush fit of panels, with exceptionally tight gap tolerances, and generous rear passenger leg, head and shoulder room, despite a signature sloping roofline. The 1.6-litre engine develops 113 hp at 6,400 rpm and peak torque of 153Nm at 4,200 rpm.

Hyundai Elantra - A few years ago, this model from Hyundai wouldn’t have even been considered as a worthy rival. In less than two generations, Hyundai is in the forefront of many things including engineering, reliability and now styling. The all-new Elantra was launched in 2010 and is a fine example of Hyundai’s application of ‘fluidic sculpture’ in a compact car. Not only the car looks and feels good, it actually raises the segment’s benchmark in several areas. The standard engine for the car is a 148 hp 1.8-litre 4-cylinder with 178 Nm of torque, apparently capable of a 6.9 litres/100 km rated fuel economy.

Toyota Corolla - Technically, the current generation Corolla is at the end of its successful life cycle, so Toyota has decided to freshen up its hot-selling model while leaving core components such as its 1.8-liter engine and four-speed automatic transmission intact. But as a facelift exercise, some performance upgrades have been incorporated last year and now comes with more power, revised styling and a host of new features. As before, the model is offered with new powerful dual VVT-I engines displacing 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter respectively. Besides a bump in horsepower, the focus is also on better fuel efficiency and smoother performance. A new six-speed manual transmission replaces the five-speed of the earlier model.

What’s In, What’s Out

Design and styling - Similar in profile, but with marginally increased dimensions. There’s introduction of strong character lines in the sheet metal and the face is a mix of City and Accord stling. Twin exhaust tip no more. The car is now shod with bigger 16 inch wheels.

Engineering - Despite the current trend of flab reduction, the new Civic is heavier. Powertrain mostly carried over with some changes in mapping. Both output and torque now come at lower revs. Hydraulic power steering replaced with electric and eco-mode system included for fuel efficiency.

Interiors - Dashboard is striking as before and is an evolution. More kit has been added and plastics have different texture. Fabric interiors much brighter and youthful, while electric powered steering wheel now extra busy. Quirky mechanical handbrake gives way to normal type. Some convenience features in central console of old model conspicuously absent.

Performance and handling - Despite revisions, the car doesn’t feel too different than its predecessor. The overall performance is hardly jaw dropping.

Honda Motors had launched the facelifted version of its very popular Civic recently. Though it is not launched in India yet but the people of those fortunate countries where it got launched did not like it very much. The main reasons for the dislike were attributed to the cheap and hard plastic instrument panel and center console. The reviewers didn’t spare the car either. Consumer Reports removed the Civic from its “recommended” list for the first time in memory, calling it “cheap” and “insubstantial.” A recent Wall Street Journal review called it “a betrayal.”

“We take feedback seriously, regardless of who it’s from, and we will act accordingly quickly. I don’t know how much we can do, and how quickly. But the comments of Consumer Reports and our customers have not gone unnoticed. We are appropriately energized,” John Mendel, executive VP, American Honda, said.

Honda has taken up this feedback very seriously and is planning to work on a quick mid-life facelift, which is expected by 2013. Honda has taken the right decision to make some changes in the model since the Civic is the leader the compact car sales volumes and is Honda’s bread and butter. Looking at what its competitors like Ford and Hyundai are coming up with, Honda has some serious challenge lying in front of it.

Honda has just announced the new Civic which has been specifically developed for the European market. When the next generation Civic was unveiled earlier, we all were very disappointed and thought the design was a step backward. However the European version has been designed in the right direction and looks the part. This 5-door hatchback will never make it to India and we will get the US version of the 9th generation Civic. However, that doesn’t stop us from drooling over this extremely hot hatchback. Now the European Honda Civic does take heavy influence from a Honda motorcycle, which is sold in India. Yes the new Civic does look alot like the Honda CBR250R at the front. We have no clue why Honda has done so but it seems to work very well for them.

Honda has already launched the new Civic in many parts of the world but we are not particularly impressed. Honda has decided to downgrade the looks of the popular sedan by making it look more like the City. We will get the new Civic next year and when the City gets a diesel motor, the Civic too will get one. Engine options will remain largely unchanged at launch and the new Civic will be powered by the same 1.8 liter VTEC motor at launch. Obviously there are quite a few changes to the new Civic underneath with better dynamics and handling. However when it comes to the styling, we think the current generation which is on sale in India, looks much better than the incoming model.

A famous saying goes with the wordings better late than never and Honda has just adapted that. After being thoroughly thrashed in the diesel dominated D-segment, Honda has finally decided to develop a compact diesel to power the new Civic. The company will first launch the diesel powered Civic in Europe in 2012 which will be powered by a 1.5 liter i-DTEC motor producing power in the range of 100bhp and 200Nm of torque. The same powerplant will do duty in our Civic and will help Honda India fight the Toyota Corolla and the Chevrolet Cruze with more ease but only in 2013, when the company plans to launch the Civic Diesel. Prices are expected to be Rs. 70,000/- more than its petrol counterpart.

The 2012 JDM (Japanese Domestic Model) Honda Civic will make its China debut very soon and the Indian model will look almost exactly the same. Although not many have liked the looks of the new Civic which seems to have toned down its sporty look to please the executives, we feel the new version will drive much better. Headed to India by the end of this year, the new Civic will help Honda take the fight to the Chevrolet Cruze, which has off late out sold the Japanese car by a long shot.

Honda has launched the 2012 Civic in the United States. The new 2012 Honda Civic does not share anything with its predecessor but its hard to say so when you look at the new model. The new Civic is anything but striking, something which the old and our current generation Civic is popular for. Honda has not really put any hard work in the designing of the new Civic, which is apparent as the 2012 Civic looks more like the City rather than the Accord. This downgrade in looks won’t go well with Indians, as we believe in jo dikhta hai woh bikta hai!

The interior does not look any better from the previous generation and the varied sized AC vents look comical. The Civic continues to be powered by the same 1.8L 140bhp VTEC powerplant with the same 5-speed auto and manual gearboxes. Honda should stop replying on its badge to sell cars and start thinking out of the box, something which they have been known for. How do you like the new Civic? Do you think its any better than the current one?

Honda has launched the new Honda Civic with sunroof in presence of Chitrangada Singh. The Sunroof was found to be the most desirable feature in the Civic based on the customer’s feedback. Honda Civic will have a new color Urban Titanium along with the existing colors available in the range. The Civic sunroof range is priced at Rs. 13.53 lakh for the 1.8V MT and Rs. 14.27 lakh for the 1.8V AT (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi).

“We are delighted to introduce the new Civic with sunroof which further augments the style quotient of the car and make it even more desirable. We believe that this variant will greatly appeal to the customers for whom the style is a way of life,” Mr. Tatsuya Natsume, Director, Marketing, Honda Siel Cars India said.

The Honda Civic Si Concept coupe and Civic Concept sedan are making world debuts at the North American International Auto Show providing the first official glimpse at the styling direction of the all new, ninth generation 2012 model set to go on sale soon. As a new interpretation of the current Civic’s one-motion mono-form shape, the upcoming, ninth-generation Civic conveys a more substantial appearance. The exterior styling of both Civic concept models showcases the sedan’s and coupe’s steeply raked windshields, wide stances and pronounced character lines along the profile. The lower character line on both models broadens toward the rear fenders. The Civic Concept sedan takes on a sophisticated presence with a front grille defined by crisp lines and a solid bar that integrates a chrome Honda emblem.