Earlier today on April 1st, most of the automakers across the globe tried to fool their followers on social media with different posts. Jeep shared a computer-generated image showing a 4 door sedan, Toyota posted an image of HiAce van with chopped off roof while Land Rover was also not behind. Late at night I came across Honda Atlas social media page and saw a teaser image. The orange blinkers with the message “Better Buckle Up!”.
At first, I thought this would be another prank for the April Fool’s Day but then I realized the date was April 2nd when the post went live.
The current 10th generation of Civic came in the fall of 2015 in North America. Later in mid-2016, the same was introduced in Pakistan. Timeline wise the current generation Civic is in its mid-life. As the 10th generation, Civic has already been praised for its design both for interior and exterior since its arrival, perhaps this is why Honda didn’t want to bring major changes to its existing design.
Honda Global made minor visual changes which were perhaps not even noticeable. Although exterior body changes/ visual enhancements made were identical in every market and region that Civic is sold in, Honda did some more additions. Like the Honda Sensing active safety features are now standard in North America while it’s now also available in other select markets in top variants only but not as standard. US Honda also gets newer style wheels.
I’m sharing generic images below to show the differences in the face-lift. The front bumper has a new design. As you’ll notice, the profile of bumper is changed and we have a full-length elongated bumper opening now. Chrome around the fog lamps has also been added. On the rear, nothing much is changed and both pre and post-face-lift have the identical design except a chrome strip/ garnish has been added in the middle lower bumper valance. Honda Civic in ASEAN region which includes Thailand and Indonesia followed the same exterior upgrades.
Read : How Honda Sensing Works
I would like to point out additions or changes to the Indonesian Civic and it’s a fact that Honda Atlas Pakistan Limited [HAPL] follows Honda Indonesia. Beside exterior changes, the Indonesian Civic also gets auto-dimming rearview mirrors, glove box with light, new seat pattern as well as a 4-way power passenger seat. The power passenger seat in addition to the 8-way power driver seat which was already available.
The face-lift like before does not get the full digital cluster. The LED headlights are the same which were available in the pre-face-lift variant. Overall, if we compare the pre and post-face-lift models, you won’t see many changes in the two.
Read : Honda Atlas going all out in 2019 – Launching Civic Turbo, new facelift of Civic X?
So, what’s up with the Honda Atlas Teaser? Honda fans and prospect buyers were discussing the arrival of face-lift in Pakistan for some time. Pakwheels editorial has been following this development extensively. Beside a face-lift, there was also news about the relaunch of the Turbo Civic although when Pakwheels official approached Honda Atlas regarding this news, it was declared as an unauthentic and false rumor. Keep in mind, Honda Atlas discontinued the sale of Civic Turbo because of poor quality fuel due to the addition of harmful additives.
Read: Truth Behind Controversial Petrol Additive Manganese “MMT”, Oil Companies Threaten Honda Atlas!
When the recent teaser image went live, it was very clear to everyone that Honda Atlas was bringing the face-lift – the lights shown in the image were the dead giveaway since they are Civic LED headlights.
The face-lift which will most certainly have one of the most wanted features in the shape of LED headlights, were missing from the first launch. Although these headlights were not available officially, enthusiast spend a decent amount of money buying these lights aftermarket and installed it in their Civics.
The teaser image would be a sign of relief for the new buyers at-least. Will Pakistani Civic get other features like for example, auto dimming rear view mirror remains to be seen.
The arrival of a full digital cluster would be nice but seems unlikely. I hope the trunk would get the carpet liner which is not currently available.
While we are sure the Pakistani domestic model Civic will get bumper enhancements on front and rear as well as the LED headlights but there is something more to it. After detailed research, I found out the LED headlights are offered only in the top of the line Turbo variant all across the globe. It’s not a standard feature all across the Civic lineup. Like in Thailand, it’s available in “RS” variant only, while in Indonesia where there is only one trim available (1.5T), its available in it. In North America, it’s offered only in the Touring model. In Australia, it is offered in “RS” only.
If we apply the above analogy, does this mean Honda Atlas is bringing the face-lift as well as the Turbo Civic back in action? Does “better buckle up” is indicating towards its arrival one more time? Or Honda Atlas will transplant the LED headlights onto the 1.8L variant for Pakistani market and in the Oriel model? If this happens, this would be an exclusive case and specific to Pakistan only.
Recently Honda Atlas increased prices of their product line and one thing is interesting to note that official release mentions that Civic prices will be announced later. This confirms that Honda is waiting for face-lift to arrive and then bump the price. The table above does not list the Civic Turbo, which means we might not see the Turbo or maybe Honda Atlas would like to surprise us all. I think all our question and concerns will be answered soon when Honda Atlas will reveal the face-lift.
Stay tuned to Pakwheels for all the latest updates.
