Honda has revealed the next-generation Honda Civic for the first time, showcasing a prototype of the saloon variant that will go on sale in the United States next year.
The 11th generation of the family car will launch in saloon form, with the hatchback variant following later – with a Civic Type R hot hatch also confirmed. Honda has yet to confirm if the new model will be offered in the UK and Europe.
While the new Civic maintains several of the key styling elements of its predecessor, it has a cleaner design influenced by the US-market Accord. It retains the low ride and bonnet of its predecessor, although Honda says designers extensively reworked the upper body by moving the A-pillars forward, to improve visibility. The wing mirrors have also been moved to the side doors.
The new Civic also has a reworked, smaller grille at the front, while the rear track has been widened. There are also new rear lights, while the saloon shown by Honda also gains a new aerodynamic lip on the boot.
Honda has yet to release images of the interior, but it says the Civic has been given a more dramatic makeover with a ‘cleaner’ dashboard and a new 9.0in touchscreen infotainment system.
Honda has yet to outline powertrains or technical specifications for the new machine. Autocar understands that the forthcoming Type R will utilise a hybrid powertrain.
The saloon version of the new Civic will continue to be manufactured for the US market at the firm’s North American plants in Indiana, US, and Ontario, Canada. The hatchback versions of the outgoing Civic were all produced at Honda’s Swindon plant, but with that facility closing production of the US models will switch to the Greensburg, Indiana factory.
Unusually, Honda chose to reveal the new Civic prototype with a presentation on internet gaming streaming channel Twitch.
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now i have gotten past the
now i have gotten past the stupid - picture hunt of traffic lights, bicycles and buses, i can comment....This is way better than the total sick bag thats out now, the last couple of generations were just awful, bitty, with plastic lumps here and poking out bits there, it made the car look rubbish, and the old model EF i think it was, look stunning, especially in Type R trim.Honda have lost the plot, sales have plummeted worldwide, and they can only hope to one day have sales like the Golf for a model range, it is time Honda dumped their design team and got in some people that now what sells and then design for that, i would have had a number of the cars from a few years back, but nothing in their range currently would inspire me to part with my hard earned into Honda's pocket.
I like it
Actually I like it quite a lot, looks understated but purposeful. A return to a simpler styling direction for Honda and hopefully a renewed focus on engineering above extraneous details. Surprised that's the saloon though, looks much more like a fastback (with more than a hint of Audi A5) but hopefully bodes well for the 5dr. The one issue for me is the size of it. Other articles have suggested it's getting larger again which leaves a big gap between it and the Jazz. Maybe they should bring back the Accord and keep the Civic smaller.
It's cars like this that are
It's cars like this that are seeing customers buy SUVs.
Not a critiscm of Honda per se but the entire approach taken to the kind of cars