Today’s blog is about Honda Civic, the car which has been an immense success for the Japanese carmaker Honda. Honda Civic was first launched in 1972 globally and has been on sale for almost 50 years now (48 to be precise). Over 50 years Honda has been updating the civic and currently the car is in its 10th generation. Talking about the Indian market Honda has launched only 2 generations of the civic (8th and 10th). The 8th generation was civic was launched in India in 2006 and was immensely popular among enthusiasts. The low-slung design and the Civic’s 1.8-litre i-vtec engine was loved by all. This 8th generation civic was on sale in India from 2006 to 2010. However, Honda didn’t bring the 9th generation of the civic to our shores. Instead, Honda launched the 10th generation of the civic in march 2019. While the petrol engines were BS6 complaint since launch, diesel engine got the BS6 update recently.
Design-
Talking about the looks Civic has always been a head-turner and this 10th generation is no exception. The civic looks stunning from all angles, its low-slung stance makes it look beefier and sportier. At the front, it gets Honda’s signature wing chrome grill which merges into the headlights. The headlights are all LED along with the DRLs. The fog lamps are LED too, in fact, all the lights of the Civic are LEDs including the lights inside the car. Looking from the side the civic looks distinctive from the other rivals due to its coupe-like stance. The sloping roofline makes the car looks sportier. The Civic gets 17’’ inch diamond cut alloys which suit to the look of the car. Coming to the back it gets c-shaped LED tail lamps. The rear of the car looks quite simple yet elegant. The sharkfin antenna adds to the beauty at the rear. The Civic also gets a sunroof which is neither too big nor too small.
Performance-
The Civic comes with 2 engine options and only gearbox options.
Petrol- The civic gets a 1.8-litre i-vtec petrol engine producing 140 HP and 174 Nm of torque. The power and torque figures are nice however the gearbox plays the spoilsport here. You can get the petrol civic only with an automatic gearbox. The automatic gearbox is a quite boring CVT unit. The CVT gearboxes are eco friendly rather than being performance friendly. The CVT gearbox dulls down the performance of the car quite a bit. The power delivery is linear and doesn’t excite the driver at any point. The civic gets paddle shifters which help to make shifts more enthusiastically to some extent. Being a Honda the engine is quiet, only at the redline is where you can here a bit of noise.
Diesel- The story of the diesel engine is opposite. You get only a manual gearbox with the diesel Civic. The manual gearbox is a 6-speed unit which nice to shift and the throws are short too. The diesel engine is 1.6-litre turbocharged unit producing 120 HP and 300 Nm of torque. The power and torque slightly less when compared to rival Skoda Octavia (discontinued post BS6), however, it doesn’t feel underpowered at any time. The refinement levels are not quite good, the diesel engine is quite noisy and it can be heard inside as well. If you love the diesel engine noise like I do you won’t complain that much. A diesel automatic should have been offered.
Interior and cabin space-
Coming to the interior the civic feels premium, the beige coloured seats and the black coloured dashboard looks nice and gives a somewhat airy feeling to the cabin. But what adds to the airiness is the sunroof which is not panoramic yet adequate according to me. The dashboard looks like its driver-oriented because of the way it's laid out. The instrument cluster is divided into 3 displays with the central one being fully digital and looks fantastic at night. It provides all the information one must need like the current song, Radio station, calling etc. The infotainment screen at the centre is 17.77 cm and a tad small compared to others. It also latest functions like Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Although, the thing which I don’t like is when automakers try to include the climate control display in the infotainment screen.
I always prefer a separate control system with display for the climate control which is not the case with the civic. It would have been nice if the civic had a separate display for the climate control. Behind/under the central console is the cubby space to your stuff which is very hard to access from the side, Honda should have thought well while designing it. The front seats offer good support and finding a good position is easy thanks to its 8-way adjustable electric driver seat. One thing that you will immediately notice after sitting in the civic is that your seat low and it feels even lower in the back seat. The rear seat of the civic is also quite supportive but the tall passengers won't be that comfortable because of the sloping roofline. The under-thigh support and the legroom are no issue though. The rear armrest falls completely on the seat which doesn’t provide the utmost comfort it is supposed to. It gets rear ac vents too.
Features-
The Civic comes with a lot of bells and whistles like a sunroof, 17.77 cm infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple Carplay, leather upholstery, LED lights, auto headlamps and wipers and so on. On the safety front it gets 6 airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist, ABS with EBD, Electronic parking brake with auto hold function, Front and reverse parking sensors with a rearview camera and Isofix child seat mounts.
One safety feature which is unique to Honda civic is the lane watch monitor which displays the blind spot on the left side in the centre screen. The top-end variant also gets Remote Engine start which lets you start your car with the key which helps to precool the car. There is also an eco mode which helps you to conserve fuel. It also gets paddle shifters which helps you take manual control of the gearbox.
Ride and Handling-
Talking about the ride and handling the Civic feels nice to drive, it stays composed at all speeds thanks to its low stance. There is no evident body roll and one will love to drive it around the corners. The ground clearance has improved from the earlier Civic so no need to worry over normal speed breakers, however, be careful over the tall ones. the suspension is also nicely tuned which helps on your bad roads, only the big bumps can be felt (especially at the rear). Honda has done a better job with the suspension of the new Civic when compared to the older one. The 17-inch wheels are good, offering comfort as well as good composure at all speeds.
Coming to the end of the review, Honda Civic is a fantastic looking car and decently loaded with features too. The few things which I don’t appreciate such as the rear centre armrest which falls completely on the seat making it not so comfortable, small touch-screen, no separate display for the climate control, quirky storage space below the front central console. Post BS6 norms the Civic doesn’t have many competitors, Hyundai Elantra is the only other option available. With the price tag of 25.27 lakhs for the petrol and 27 lakhs for the range-topping diesel, civic is quite an expensive car. For the Civic, you will have to pay almost 2 lakhs more compared to similar spec Hyundai Elantra. If you are willing to buy one Civic I would recommend to go for the diesel version, its way better than the boring CVT gearbox offered with the petrol engine.
Disclaimer- Photos are taken from HONDA official website and Google.
Deeply enlightened about Civic 💯