Civic compact still Honda’s crown jewel
Luxurious four-door Touring sedan lacks zip but it’s a comfortable ride
Canadians are buying compact crossovers in record numbers, so much so that industry wonks are projecting small crossovers will become the industry’s number 1 segment sooner rather than later. Until that day, though, compact cars still rule in the showrooms and the king of compacts remains the Honda Civic.
In 2014 — and for the 17th year in succession — the Civic was the bestselling passenger car in this country, and by a wide margin over the runner-up Hyundai Elantra and third-place Toyota Corolla. Four years ago, when the current generation of Civic was launched, the Elantra threatened the Honda’s top spot. Since then, however, the Japanese automaker has primped and preened its baby jewel.
With an all-new generation of Civics slated for 2016, I got a chance to test drive the topline 2015 Civic Touring sedan to see if Honda’s compact still deserves to be so popular.
While you’ll see base 2015 Civic four-doors advertised for as low as $17,219 (all prices include freight and pre-delivery inspection fees), the luxury-laden Touring rings in at $27,109, one rung down from the high-performance $28,419 Civic Si.
As far as I can tell, the Touring trim is here to assuage two types of buyer: Civic fans who can’t be bothered ticking off option boxes, and pennyconscious consumers who think it’s nuts to pay thousands more for a small sedan with a luxury badge, such as the Acura ILX or even the Mercedes-Benz CLA.
The Touring is an all-inclusive package, jammed with luxury goodies.
The Civic Sedan Touring comes with such niceties as leather seating, a moonroof, an upgraded sound system and a touchscreen infotainment system with navigation. You’ll even find “big car” safety gear in the Civic Touring, including Honda’s Lane-Watch blind-spot display, a passenger-side mirror-mounted camera to show what’s to the right and back of the car, as well as a multi-angle backup camera.
If the $27,000 price tag for a Civic makes you gasp, know that top-rung versions of the Elantra and Corolla are $26,794 and $25,955, respectively.
Helping to justify the Civic Touring’s price tag is its wellappointed interior. Honda took well-deserved heat for the cheap-feeling cabin when this generation of Civic debuted in 2012. But in short order, Honda has tweaked the inter ior to the point where the build quality and expanded use of soft-touch materials is now equal to or better than the interiors of premium small cars, such as the Mini Cooper and even the MercedesBenz CLA.
Where the fancy-pants Civic feels less premium is under its front hood. The Touring is powered by a ho-hum 1.8-litre, four-cylinder engine. It’s rated at 143 horsepower and 129 poundfeet of torque.
While you can get a manual gearbox in other Civic trim lines, the Touring relegates buyers to a continuously variable transmission. Honda has added some fake gear ratios in the CVT to make it feel more natural, but it doesn’t make the Honda any quicker. Zero-to-100 km/h takes all of 9.3 seconds — a full second behind the Hyundai.
Plus, with a rating of 7.9 L/100 km in the city and 6.1 on the highway, the Civic Touring is less efficient than the Elantra Limited and the Corolla LE.
The Civic Touring’s ride quality is nicely controlled without being too hard, making the small fourdoor feel tight and luxurious.
The car also allows little road and engine noise into its cabin, which adds to its premium-car feeling. The Mazda3 or Ford Focus are more fun to drive, thanks to their communicative steering, but the Honda does a better job as a mini-luxury car than the less sophisticated and refined Toyota and Hyundai compacts.
While the Civic Touring is well made, and is quiet and comfortable, there are still a few nits to pick.
As is the case with almost any recent Honda and Acura vehicle, the bi-level centre console design with two displays seems like an afterthought.
Although comfy, the Civic’s front seats feel more like La-ZBoys than supportive Recaros, and with only 354 litres of trunk space, both the Elantra and Corolla offer more.
Still, the Civic sedan is easy to recommend. For many buyers, the Civic is just the right size and price. Plus there’s Honda’s solid reputation for dependability and durability, which equals excellent resale value.
Even in fancy Touring guise, the 2015 Honda Civic doesn’t hit it out of the park in any specific category.
It’s easy to find rivals that are faster, roomier, sip less fuel and are more fun to drive, but for many Canadians — year after year — Honda’s compact car formula seems to be enough.