Honda reworks its Civic after a ho-hum 2012
Revived quality in and out
Manufacturers rarely ’fess up to erring on the redesign of their most popular models, but that’s exactly what Honda did with Canada’s best-selling car, the Civic, which has ruled the passenger car sales roost for 14 consecutive years.
The reaction to the 2012 Honda Civic, however, was tepid. Well, one short year after releasing the ninthgeneration Civic, Honda has tweaked it to address the criticism and ho-hum reaction — if one can call 65,000 units sold in 2012 hohum!
The beefs had to do with the bland exterior design and poor (at least by Honda’s high standards) interior materials. This time around, the exterior has been reworked to give it some visual punch, although it will not be mistaken for anything other than a Honda Civic.
Up front, the lower, wider bumper with a horizontal chrome accent and honeycomb grille with its chrome accent certainly brightens the Civic’s face. Likewise, the rear bumper is now less brick-like and features more chrome accenting.
Inside, the hard plastics have gone in favour of softermaterials aimed at giving the cabin a higher sense of quality. Improving the insulation then brings a much quieter ride — this was the most disappointing aspect of the 2012 model.
For the most part, the upgrades work and the richerlooking Civic gives a much better first impression.
Where Honda did not go far enough was ditching the Civic’s two-tier dash and replacing it with something more Acura ILX-like. The digital speedometer, which resides in the upper tier, became annoying as I attempted to maintain a constant speed.
To me, a constantly flickering speedo is unwanted distraction. Who needs to know if they are driving at 102, no 103, er, make that 101 kilometres per hour?
That aside, the rest of the cabin is well-executed.
The front environment is logically arranged and features Honda’s i-MID with a five-inch screen. Along with a number of functions comes a new text message ability.
The system reads incoming messages and allows the driver to return pre-set responses. It’s wonderful stuff, but my iPhone wasn’t compatible.
The rear seat will accommodate two in comfort and three at a squeeze — the flat floor gives the middle rider somewhere to put their feet. Likewise, the trunk, at 12.5 cubic feet, made light work of five roller suitcases.
The Civic’s other significant upgrade is the reworked suspension. The clunky and vague road manners, again by Honda standards, have gone in favour of a car that now feels like a Honda Civic — confident and agile even when flirting with the limits of adhesion.
Recalibrating the suspension and steering brings markedly better handling.
I appreciated the improved feedback afforded by the steering. The turnin is crisper and the body seemed to hold a flatter attitude through a faster corner.
The combination makes the Civic feel more buttoned down than before without giving up on comfort. On that note, the 2013 model remains, well, civilized to the point it takes a pretty gnarly piece of road to upset the ride.
What has not changed is the powertrain. As before, all Civics, with the exception of the sportier Si, use a 1.8-litre in-line four that features Honda’s patented i-VTEC system. It spins out 140 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque and delivers spirited performance even when teamed with the optional five-speed automatic transmission.
It took nine seconds to complete the zero-to-100km/h dash, which is up to class standards. That stated, I felt the Civic LX tested needed an extra gear in the transmission — it would help enormously by allowing the first four cogs to focus on performance and the top two to key on fuel economy.
For a company that has long prided itself on being the technological leader in the powertrain area (Honda remains the single largest producer of engines when one factors in the company’s power equipment portfolio) it came as a disappointment.
The reworked 2013 Civic addresses the shortcomings identified by many when the ninth-generation model was introduced a year ago.
The 2013 model is snazzier to the eye, the cabin speaks to the quality one has come to expect from Honda and the ride and handling have taken a big step in the right direction, as has the refinement and quietness of the drive. It all left me wondering how annoyed I would be if I were the owner of a now outdated 2012 model.