Two views on the 2013 Civic
Senior Postmedia auto writers David Booth and Brian Harper give their take on the new 2013 Honda Civic. Brian Harper: “Canada’s favourite car just got better.” That’s the tag line Honda Canada is using for its 2013 Civic Sedan, which goes on sale across the country Dec. 10. If you follow the Honda party line, the changes to the 2013 model are essentially the result of a mid-cycle refreshening, since the then-new 2012 model debuted in April 2011. But there’s also a backstory: Hurt by criticism of the 2012 model — notably uninspired exterior styling that was too derivative and a cheap, plasticky interior — Honda has responded with a host of small but cumulatively important enhancements that should, it feels, safeguard the four-door Civic’s longstanding status as the bestselling car in Canada. So, what do you think? David Booth: It had to get better, although the biggest story is not the car, but the seeming lack of influence from the media — the Civic’s sales continued apace, increasing in the United States even, despite being universally panned. Still, the Civic very much needed this redesign. Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito fell on his sword, admitting he de-contented the 2012 model in response to the Great Recession. It turns out it was unnecessary. Throw in controversial styling and you have a Civic that was selling because it was a Honda, not because it was an attractive car. BH I don’t know if I would call the 2013 sedan attractive, but I will acknowledge that the exterior tweakings have made it a more stylish player within the compact four-door segment. DB I think we can go whole hog and firmly state that the 2013 model is prettier than the 2012 one. By incorporating more styling cues from the new Accord, the upgraded Civic is much more typically Honda, which, in this case, is a massive improvement. BH The interior upgrades are nice. The brief test drive was in the higher-end Touring model ($24,840) and not the base DX ($15,440), but the dials, the chrome trim pieces and the textured soft-touch materials make a world of difference. And the added sound deadening throughout the car pays dividends — the cabin is far quieter. DB The one disappointment still remaining is that it would be nice to have a bit more power than the current 1.8-litre four-cylinder provides. More specifically, its 140 horsepower is sufficient, but I’d like a bit more than 128 pound-feet of low-end torque, especially when it’s mated to the Touring’s five-speed automatic transmission.