Globally, the automotive brands are offering more and more Sports Utility Vehicles/ Crossovers. Brands like Rolls Royce, Bentley and even Lamborghini are now offered in flavour of SUVs and making record sales and reason; the customer wants more of Crossovers/ utility vehicles. Regardless of this new trend, whenever there is any news related to Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, automotive fans are on their toes. Honda Civic, the worldwide known name in the compact car segment, is currently in 10th generation, arrived back in 2015.
Although the newer trend of car buyers towards crossovers and SUVs is well established, Civic is and was always the prime model for Honda due to its large global presence, especially in the US, where half of the worldwide Civic sales happen. Since 1973, when Honda introduced the Civic in the United States, Honda has sold over 12 million Civic units in the country alone. The 10th generation Civic set a new benchmark in its segment. The current Honda Civic X has a revolutionary design inside and out, and it grabbed many awards globally, including the North American Car of the year award.
Photos Credits: Motor Trends
Launch of 11th Generation:
After five successful years of the current 10th generation Civic in production, now it’s almost time for the replacement. Last year images from Trade Mark / Patent filing for Honda Civic Hatchback and Civic Sedan got leaked to the public. A camouflaged Civic was also seen multiple times on the roads of Europe under testing. Last year on November 17th 2020, Honda released a teaser clip for the upcoming Civic prototype. There was a mixed reaction by Honda fans around the globe regarding the porotype.
Around 2 weeks ago, on April 14th, Honda North America officially revealed a single front view photo of the new generation of Civic. The other big news was the official release date, and the D-Day is today/ April 28th & Honda made everything public via a live event.
Civic is a global model and keeps the same design across various regions, but please keep in mind that this article is only related to the US Domestic model. Although every region obviously gets different features and options, the styling design will be identical across the Atlantic.
Exterior of New Honda Civic:
If we have to sum up the exterior of the Civic XI in one sentence, we can say it’s a baby Accord as it carries a lot of design elements of the current 10th generation of Accord. As an added info, the current 10th generation Accord won the prestigious Award of “North American Car Of The Year” in 2018. The same award was won by the 10th generation Civic in 2016. The Civic XI is an evolution of the award-winning Civic X, meshed up with award-winning Accord
Some Honda fans will also agree that there is some DNA from the 3rd generation Civic hatch on the frontal design approach. According to Honda, they have improved the styling to the next level. The 10th generation Civic is the most successful Civic ever, and Honda not only kept the best parts of that Civic but also incorporated design features from all the previous generations of the Civic.
According to Honda, the design theme for the new Civic is “Thin & Light” and “human-centered”. The major change on the exterior is the A-pillar which is not only pushed down by 1-inch but also pushed back by 2-inch. This results in a longer hood but also increased glass surfaces on the front and increased front view.
The Civic X itself was a major design change in the Honda Line up, and the new Civic took it further. It has the same Sportback looking sporty design with the sloped rear glass panel to the truck’s edge as we saw on the Civic X. The 11th generation has more of the same design strategy but with a raised trunk edge lip / integrated spoiler giving it a little more dramatic look. The new model is without” C” shaped taillights. The new model has a unique design of slim LED lights and matches the front headlights. There is a new rear bumper and elongated slim reflectors on the upper edge. Meanwhile, it also has a new blacked-out exhaust outlet in the bumper, giving it an overall premium and sporty look.
On the side profile, there is a continuous character line from front to back, which mimics what we have seen on the Accord, and as per Honda, this gives the sense of motion. Honda has also moved side-view mirrors to the door panels. Earlier, it had a conventional placement at the corner of the door and a pillar junction, i.e., in 10th generation Civic. The new placement increases and improves the driver view.
The front body design has a low bonnet and fenders and a low frontal horizontal beltline giving a wider and sporty look. On the front, we also see newer headlights and DRLs. There is a new upright front grille, and the vehicle looks lower and wider on front. Overall, it seems inspired by the current generation Accord like the wider & straight frontal hood line and more pronounced side belt lines, especially the” C pillar” and the notch at the glass corner.
Dimensions:
The new Civic [ USDM ] is 184-inch long, 70.9-inch wide while 55.7-inch high and have a wheelbase of 107.7-inch. Just a reference, the Civic X is 182.7-inch long, 70.9-inch wide and 55.7-inch high and have a wheelbase of 106.3-inch. This makes the overall length and wheelbase on the new Civic longer than the outgoing model, which results in slightly improved passenger volume. Although there is an increase in dimensions, the trunk space is now 14.8 cubic feet instead of 15.1 cubics as on the outgoing Civic.
The US model will be available in eight exterior colours, out of which three as Meteorite Gray Metallic, Sonic Gray Pearl and Morning Mist Blue Metallic are brand new options.
Interior of Honda Civic 11th Gen:
Honda always did innovative things, and with every new generation of Civic, a complete overall of the interior. Civic X has again won an award for its interior space utilization and user-friendliness. The new 11th generation Civic has moved things further. As per Honda, the new Civic is adopting MM philosophy which means “Man Maximum / Machine Minimum”, this results in more cabin space and less space for components.
The Civic interior is with a simplistic and minimalistic approach but still super intuitive; according to Honda, the interior design means the people inside the vehicle. The new interior idea is to be less distracting and more functional. This new design concept will be used in all upcoming Honda models, and Honda Civic is the first one utilizing it.
The strategic placement and angle of the A-pillar has resulted in the lower cowel [ point where the dashboard and the windshield meet ]; this improved the vehicle’s openness and provided a much wider open view of the road ahead. The new dashboard design has simple slim down horizontal orientations with rectangular honeycombed trim representing continuity in the middle and hides the air vents behind it in the middle and on the sides.
As per Honda, the interior uses high-quality materials, especially all the touchpoints like gear lever, dashboard, side door panels, and steering wheel. Additionally, all surfaces which can pick fingerprints or smudges are used with material that eliminates it to give a cleaner look every time driver enters the car.
A new rectangular touch screen infotainment system is now a floating style and sits on top of the dashboard. Civic gets a new style steering wheel, and there is all new digital cluster. The standard unit is 7-inch while top of the line model gets an HD 9-inch infotainment display. The top of the line model also gets a 10.2-inch full LCD instrumental panel, while other variants get a 7-inch LCD instrumental display.
Apple car play and android auto comes standard [Top variant gets a wireless connection including wireless charging ], while the top of the line model also gets a 12 speaker Bose Premium audio system with, Surround-Stage digital signal processing. According to Honda, Bose Audio experts have specifically developed this system for the Civic for optimal performance with exceptional music experience across all frequencies, low to high. The most important feature to note is the availability of the physical knob on the infotainment system. Civic X was initially criticized a lot for the unavailability of the actual knob.
There is a new simpler three-knob dual-zone climate control interface. There is a new seat design with newly designed seat frames for improved comfort and stability. The central console design has been improved for function and use while newly design cup holders, gear level is seen. Typical convenience features, including sunroof, power driver and passenger seats, leather or fabric seating surfaces, are available depending on the trim level. Overall the interior gives a modern, uncluttered and dynamic look.
Mechanicals:
Although there are a lot of new things on the exterior and interior, the mechanicals are carryover from the previous generation but with updates and improvements. The US Civic will be available with the same two engine options as on the outgoing model. A 2L Naturally aspirated engine with 158HP @6500 rpm and 187NM of torque @4200 rpm.
The other engine is the same 1.5 Turbocharged engine but now with an increased horsepower of 180 @6000 rpm while torque figures are also increased to 240NM and available between 1,700-4,500 rpm. Both engine versions come with 3 Mode Drive System, which includes ECON, Normal & Sport while a new start-stop system and improved catalytic convertor is also in place resulting in improved fuel economy figures .
The Civic X was available in manual transmission, but now bad luck for manual now as all variants of Civic is only Continuously Variable Transmission/CVT. All Civics will come with MacPherson Strut Front Suspension while Multi-Link Rear Suspension. The base model comes with 215/55/16″ steel wheels, while all-new designed 215/50/ 17″ and 235/40/ 18″ are available across the trim levels standard.
The new Civic also gets an improved and responsive and better-tuned suspension setup. According to Honda, the front suspension now use low friction ball joints and damper mounts for improved steering and ride handling along with a lighter aluminum front subframe. The electric power steering is improved and tuned for better feedback and stability. The rear track is increased by 0.5″ comparing the previous generation for increased stability while new noise and vibration-reducing bushings are used on the lower arms. New low friction front and rear wheel bearings and low drag calipers are also introduced. Overall, suspension upgrades provide much better dynamic and smoother road handling.
The markets outside United States can expect the same 1.5T engine while the availability of 2L NA engine was only available on the Left Hand Drive Civic on the outgoing model, and the same might be the case with the new Civic. Honda might keep the same1.8L engine in Asian countries along with the 1.5T. We will know more when the 11th Generation Civic is launched outside North America.
Safety in 11th Gen Honda Civic:
As for Safety, Honda made a lot of improvements and additions in both active and passive safety features and equipment. The Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure in the new Civic is enhanced for better occupant safety with a new upper A-pillar structure, a side frame and a lower firewall structure. Stiffer components are used at all critical locations, including for side impacts protection.
All versions of Civics will be equipped with 10 Airbags, including the next generation of Driver and Front Passenger Front Airbags, designed with a doughnut-shaped cradle in the centre on U-shaped deployment to reduce brain injury by better controlling head motions in certain types of crashes. Its also for information that this is the world first such airbag design with such a feature. The new Civic is also the first Civic with the rear passenger side airbag. Honda Active safety system, Honda Sensing has been enhanced with improved driver-assistive technologies.
11th Gen Civic Production & Launch :
The 11th generation Civic will be offered both in sedan and hatchback body styles depending upon market/ regions. The Civic Si sedan and a hatchback Civic will join the party later this year, while the most potent hardcore Civic Type R hatchback will arrive sometime next year.
Honda will not provide the two-door coupe for the 11th generation; a two-door model was specific to North America. The company recently discontinued it for the current 10th generation. Its comeback is not expected either. The pricing for the US market is not yet available but expected to start under $22,000 for the 2L base LX model, while the fully Touring is expected to be around $28000/-
The production of the new Civic has already started for North American customers, while sales are starting summer of 2021. The European and Asian markets will see the model in the flesh in late 2021 or early 2022.
We here in Pakistan should not expect the 11th generation Civic before the middle of 2022. Henceforth Civic X in Pakistan still has an expected life of over a year.
So, what are your thoughts about the new Civic?
Meanwhile, join an exclusive PakWheels Discussion Thread: Pakwheels Civic XI.
