What we’ve changed on the new Honda Civic

HONDA’S Mitsuru Kariya led the team on the development of the new Honda Civic. In this special report, he highlights the key points of the new Honda Civic.Mitsuru Kariya, large project leader at Honda, explains the thinking behind the new Honda Civic.

THE current Civic was known for its unique exterior styling and interior practicality within the hatchback class in Europe, but we were keen to further understand the needs and desires of our customers. The current Civic became the benchmark focus for their research to create a car that was even better.

With the current increase of fuel prices across Europe and the environmental targets set to achieve low emissions, especially for company car tax, we concluded from our customer survey that the current Civic customer not only considered modern styling and performance to be important but also advanced technologies to create a Civic that was even more cost efficient to run and eco-friendly.

The development period for the new Civic spanned more than four years. Nearly all of the components are new to the Civic or have been further developed with areas of focus on the suspension set-up to improve the ride and handling, the interior materials to improve the overall interior quality, the new design styling and aerodynamics for a refreshed image and improved efficiency, and the engines for improved performance and reduced CO₂ emissions. The car had to be safe and easy to handle, affordable and so on as well as premium in terms of having a good balance of affordable performance.

Overall the new Civic builds on the core strengths of its predecessor and takes them to an appreciably higher level. It also is one of the sector’s best in performance against low CO₂ emissions – the diesel model produces just 110g/km with 150PS and 350Nm of torque. This means business car drivers can appreciate the Civic without paying excessive benefit-in-kind company car tax.

What’s new – main changes at a glance

Interior styling
New functional cockpit layout (two control interface zones)
Full-colour i-MID TFT screen incorporating an Eco driving support function, audio display and user support
Premium sound system with superior 20cm 90W subwoofers and 25mm AL dome tweeters (optional)
New touch point surface materials used throughout for an improved quality feel
New designed steering wheel with easy operating controls finished in extra-smooth leather
Blue interior door lining illumination (depending on grade)

Exterior styling