> FAST FACTS
days, they’ve gone turbo.
The power and torque numbers are interesting. In LX, it produces 174 horsepower at 5,500 r.p.m, and 167 lb-ft of torque between 1,800 and 5,500 r.p.m., with the manual transmission. With the CVT, it still makes 174 horses, but at 6,000 r.p.m., and torque peaks at 162 lb-ft between 1,700 and 5,500.
On Sport and Sport Touring trims, they tighten the screws a bit to make 180 horses at 5,500 r.p.m. (manual; again 6,000 with the CVT) but torque remains 162 between 1,700 and 5,000. These latter variants also require premium fuel.
I only mention this because you don’t often see this degree of variation between different trims and transmissions.
When I first drove the car, it felt distinctly sluggish, until I noticed the ‘ECO’ button — yeah, a proper button! — was pushed. This remaps the engine to save fuel, a noble goal and all, but without it and taking fullest advantage of the available perfor- Engine: 1.5-litre in-line four, dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, direct injection, turbocharged. Power/torque, horsepower/lb-ft: 174 @ 5,500 r.p.m./167 @ 1,800 — 5,500 r.p.m. Fuel consumption, City/Highway, litres/100 km: 8.0 / 6.2. Regular fuel. mance, I still averaged 6.7 litres per 100 km, which is darned good, especially in winter.
You’d be hard-pressed to know it’s a turbo unless you read the badge on the back, because power delivery is linear, and throttle response even at fairly low r.p.m. on the highway is very good.
Manual gearboxes are another traditional Honda strong point, and this one is no exception — light, quick, direct. Clutch take-up maybe is not as good as the best (that would still be Volkswagen) but it is decent.
The strut front and multi-link rear suspensions and variable ratio power steering make the car both easy and fun to drive briskly.
Ride is reassuringly firm; not cushy, but not harsh either.
Again, like most carmakers, Civic has gone to an electric parking brake which is (as always) a disaster because it takes away one more control that experienced drivers can use to their advantage, while delivering no added benefit.
In some cases, interior designers What’s hot: Sparkling performance with excellent fuel consumption; spirited handling; strong reputation for reliability. What’s not: Touchscreen needs further improvement (too much to hope that they’ll just dump it); competition catching up, especially on some equipment details. Score: 8.5/10 can save space with these things. But in the Civic, there is still a big trim piece where the hand brake lever would be; so why isn’t the hand brake lever still there?
Speaking of dumb things most carmakers do, the Civic beeps at you if you leave your lights on when you switch the car off. Well, duh; if the car is smart enough to know the lights are on, it’s smart enough to shut them off.
Car on, lights on. Car off, lights off. How hard is that? Some carmakers — Porsche and Mini, in recent experience — get this right. Buy the car; turn on the headlight switch; never touch that control again. Come on, Honda; think about it.
One good thing Honda has adopted from elsewhere is the capless fuel tank, a feature initially seen in Chrysler products who I guess bought it from the supplier with a couple years’ exclusivity. This is a genuine forehead-slapper — why didn’t I think of this? A nice detail.
One other detail I wish they’d adopt — a little dam running up the side of the windshield to stop washer fluid overspray from leaking onto the side window, rendering it nearly opaque.
At least some Toyotas used to have this; Honda and everyone else, please copy.
Civic should also copy cars such as Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte and offer a heated steering wheel. Surely for a car built for Canada, this is a must. (Note that unlike most of our Civic models which are built in Alliston, the hatch is assembled in the United Kingdom.)
Features like lane departure and forward collision warning are available on LX, but only if you choose the ‘HondaSensing’ option with the CVT.
Now, I personally don’t care about this stuff, but a lot of people do. Toyota Corolla makes a lot of these systems standard on all trims, so Honda has to up its game here.
Despite strong competition (Elantra, Chevy Cruze, Mazda3, et al), Civic remains on top of the car sales charts, although pickups and crossovers now occupy the top overall positions.
The new-generation Civic retains terrific performance, a fun-to-drive character, an excellent reputation for reliability and a strong loyal customer base.
So, while it probably has no fear of being supplanted from its number one position, the competition is nipping at its heels with respect to certain features and details.
And isn’t it strong competition that helps make us all better?