New Honda Civic

nsx_23

Forum Addict
Joined
May 9, 2009
Messages
7,709
car_photo_475537_7.jpg


car_photo_475546_25.jpg


car_photo_475540_25.jpg


car_photo_475543_25.jpg


car_photo_475534_25.jpg


car_photo_475531_25.jpg


car_photo_475528_25.jpg


Evo Magazine said:
What is it?
New 2012 Honda Civic. Now only available as a five door, but still looking slightly crazy and futuristic compared to other hatchbacks.

Technical highlights?
The big news suspension-wise is in the fluid-filled compliance bushes, which improve the ride quality. The torsion beam rear axle (it?s MacPherson struts, as you?d imagine, at the front) is also now stiffer than the previous generation Type-R?s.

What?s it like to drive?
Well the first thing to say is that ? if you?re keen on the idea of a Civic - you should buy the 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel. That might sound like sacrilege when you have the alternative option of an petrol engine with the letters VTEC in its name, but sadly the thrashy 148bhp 1.8-litre petrol is just too gutless to make driving it enjoyable. The diesel isn?t a corker in terms of refinement, but it will at least get you up a mild incline without multiple downshifts, and throttle response is good.

As you?d expect, a standard chassis Civic is not going to set the performance world on fire. Having said that, the ride is pleasingly supple without feeling wallowy (although it struggles slightly through bigger suspension movements at speed), the steering is engagingly direct and overall it feels nicely judged. The pedals are well spaced too and the manual gearshift is relatively close across the gate, so if you found yourself on a decent bit of road it certainly wouldn?t be horribly frustrating. Most importantly, it should ride well on British roads too.



How does it compare?
Priced at ?20,095 for the i-DTEC it is on a par with the slightly less powerful 2.0 litre diesel Golf. The main reason for buying the Honda however is that it resolutely isn?t a Golf. It looks conspicuously different to any other hot hatch on sale, and in an age where it?s all too easy for one generic shape to blend into another that has to be a good thing.

Anything else I should know?
The Magic seat system is jolly clever ? it won?t produce a rabbit out of a hat, but the rear seats do fold up in numerous ingenious ways and allow you to transport lots of unusually shaped and sized objects as a result. From a patriotic point of view, the other thing you should remember is that it?s built in Swindon.
 
I like this a lot more than the US Civic. It's funky enough, without going overboard *cough*Juke*cough*.
 
I like the old one more ... This one is just a mess ... The front is ugly and the rear is even worse.

Honda design team .... Y U NO DESIGN A GOOD LOOKING CAR AGAIN??? YUNOGUY.jpg
 
I think it looks awefull. The suspension setup is unforgivable considering civics have had multilink suspension as early as 1988. I didn't like the previous "moonshuttle" and this is no step forward. the 6th gen is the last good looking one, 7th gen is on the border(I like the facelift EP's).
 
It's a hell of a lot more interesting than the US model. By the way, I'm a fan of the juke.
 
Uglier than the last one and far too expensive for what it is
 

That looks more like a jet fighter cockpit that some actual jet fighters have. I love it!

I like the exterior too but I think that hideous color ruins it. Put it in a nice red or blue and it would be fantastic.
 
Hope they put the interior together better than in the current one. I have one and it does my nut in.

Hard, scratchy yet easily damaged and poor structural strength plastics. The dash is fairly solid, but things like the cowling over the dials is natty, the arm rests in the doors flex when you rest on them. The centre console is flimsy to the max and thanks to the rock hard suspension, even on the smaller wheels, it managed to vibrate free from its mounts!!

The plastic visor covering the rev counter is so soft, even a micro fibre cloth puts fine scratches in it. The solution is just not to touch it ever and let the dust and dirt build up.

The interior does look fantastic but it's made from so many individual pieces, pieces made from crap plastic and put together badly so that eventually the solid suspension rattles everything apart. Cue squeaks, rattles, vibrations from absolutely everywhere. We find new ones every week, I've got a sales mans business card wedged under the airbag cover on the steering wheel to stop it vibrating. Plastic around the gear gaiter squeaks and creaks round corners, the drivers seat lets out a large groan everytime you set off, the dash vibrates against the windscreen.... List goes on and on.


Sound proofing is none existent and the suspension so uncouth it makes you actively avoid any visible bumps in the road. Small pot holes are met with a loud, hollow sounding crash and lots of creaky flexing plastic. On a cold day the rear suspension sounds like a bag of bolts, like it's fallen apart and is clonking about.

Awful levels of refinement and interior durability for a car from Honda. They have a l of things to improve and get right with this new car. I hope they have listened to owners. Sadly they've stumbled at the first hurdle by keeping the current engines... The diesel is no where near as good as German rivals and the petrol is really harsh sounding. It sounds ok for an occasional b- road thrash, but the rest of the time it's rather dreary and droney. I don't do much more than 75 on the motorway because above 3500 revs the engine makes itself quite prominent in the cabin and it's no fun to listen to a characterless 4 pot droning on for hours. Whats more, road noise, on all but brand new glass smooth roads is just crap. On concrete roads you can feel yourself slowly going deaf!!!

Don't fuck it up again Honda!! It's probably one of the most interesting looking family cars going, much better than the blandness of the Germans, of the designed by the world and his dog fords....but when you sit in the German cars you see why people buy them. Even the French now are making interesting to look at cars and making them very well, lovely and refined, nice places to be. Honda are in danger of being left behind.
 
Last edited:
Will there be a Type R?

They killed the last one off because the engine cannot meet EU emissions regs. Also, this new civic appears to be only appearing in 5 door guise (for now). Normally the Type R is a 3 door affair.

Perhaps they will do a 5 door Type R...Maybe we'll get something a bit more bespoke instead of a 3 Door with a big engine and solid steel beams for suspension.
 
Will there be a Type R?

They killed the last one off because the engine cannot meet EU emissions regs. Also, this new civic appears to be only appearing in 5 door guise (for now). Normally the Type R is a 3 door affair.

Perhaps they will do a 5 door Type R...Maybe we'll get something a bit more bespoke instead of a 3 Door with a big engine and solid steel beams for suspension.

The only reason we like Type R's is the awesome engine, taking that away and replacing it with something boring (like a standard turbo engine) really kills the appeal for me. Hopefully they've found a way to meet the regulations and keep the charm of the old Type R's.
 
Top