Honda Civic 2016 With Current R18 Engine Is A Possibility In Pakistan
Well the 10th generation Honda Civic 2016 is finally here. Fans of Civic have eagerly been waiting for the new car. And then there are those who aren’t exactly fans but were still interested to see what Honda has to offer this time. Generally, the new Civic has received positive reaction from the general public. There are always those who will never be satisfied but that’s not the point. The point is, Honda has worked a lot on this generation and is not half baked like previous generation.
But here is the thing, companies develop these cars in first world, where the buying power actually lies. Then those models trickle down to developing countries like ours. The issue here is, cars developed in countries with, let’s say perfect circumstances, will have issues when you try to drop them into our local market.
New Civic is going to be a turbo, which is not a secret. But what are the chances that we will see that turbo in Pakistani Civic as well, when it gets launched in somewhere near September next year. I was going through Honda Atlas website today and noticed that their City is Euro 4. The current 9th generation and previous 8th generation Civics were also Euro 4 emissions complaint. We are still struggling to get Euro 2 compliant petrol in Pakistan. Thank heavens that oil refineries took initiative to upgrade their rigs, and we will start seeing Euro 2 complaint fuel next year.
People who own any of 8th or 9th gen Civics know the joys of chocked catalytic converter and then removing them and messing up EGR and ending up with a nasty sounding car. The Honda’s 1.8l R18 engine coped with the locally available fuel one way or another, although you never hear one standard story of fuel average people get from this engine. Some quote ridiculous amount of kilometers per liter, and vice versa.
The R18 in current Honda Civic is a 1.8l motor rated at 141 hp @ 6300 rpm and 174 nm of torque. According to US websites, Honda’s new 1.5l turbo charged engine is rated at 173 hp. There is a major chance if we get the same engine is locally assembled Honda Civic 2016, power figures will not be the same. There is also a newly developed 2.0l naturally aspirated engine, but I highly doubt it will be made available here in Pakistan. That engine is rated at 158 hp. And then there is 2.0l turbo charged engine. Let’s just skip that one.
The point of all this is, what are the chances that Honda’s new pride and joy will perform as well as it was intended to, on our current, and then on Euro 2 fuel, when its readily available. What are the chances that Honda Pakistan will stick with current R18 engine for the 10th generation Civic as well. And it also not just about the bad fuel, what are the chances that our local mechanics will get used to the turbo setup. Kia Spectra flopped in Pakistan because mechanics used to say, ‘sir bekaar engine hai’. Honda might not see the same miserable fate but if your resident footpath mechanic rejects the car, there is a high chance there will be a lot of used 10th generation Honda Civics on sale on Pakwheels after couple of years.
For the launch video of the 10th gen Honda Civic, click here. And for the photos of the event, click here. You can discuss the Honda Civic here.
