New (2022) Civic

New (2022) Civic

Author
Discussion

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Saturday 16th April 2022
quotequote all
https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/new/civic-hybrid/over...

Basically:
  • Bigger than the old one
  • Hybrid only - 2.0 litre engine + 2 electric motors giving 180BHP
  • Hatchback only
  • Made in Japan (Swindon factory has gone for good)
  • Exact UK specs not known yet
Obviously the Type R version will be totally different.

My thoughts:
  • 180BHP is actually pretty decent. My dealer reckons that there might be at least one non-R model with adaptive dampers, which would be cool
  • The non-hybrid versions are getting really good reviews in the US
  • It looks a bit boring. I actually preferred the "no fks given" flamboyance of the old one. But I guess that it put people off
  • Interior looks nice but I wish the infotainment screen was bigger - 9" is not a lot these days
I guess that the nearest competitor is the Toyota Corolla. The Civic has a better interior but the Corolla has an estate version - and 90% of the Corollas I see are estates, so IMHO Honda have missed a massive opportunity by not making an estate version.

I am mildly tempted, I will be taking a look when it arrives in showrooms.

Interested to know people's thoughts. Any existing owners that would consider upgrading?


BlueJazz

502 posts

171 months

Sunday 8th May 2022
quotequote all
Interior reminds me a little of the Mazda 3, the exterior is fine. How it sells will depend on PCP deals etc., rather than if it's any good.

I think Honda will need to up its warrenty game as three years is looking stingy compared to Kia/Hyundai/Toyota.

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Sunday 8th May 2022
quotequote all
I believe that Honda's latest interior design guy is ex Mazda, which may explain the resemblance to a Mazda interior smile

Agree on warranty - Hondas are generally super reliable, but 3 years is not that great these days. Would it really cost them much to make it 5 years? I am not aware of Hondas exploding in year 4, at any statistically significant level.


VTECMatt

1,168 posts

237 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
I have a deposit down on the Type R, more Accord than Civic now.

Super Sonic

4,518 posts

53 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
Saw a new? Civic taxi the other day!

CrgT16

1,926 posts

107 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
I have the old one. It’s a marmite car but I like it and the driving dynamics are nice for a small family car. After BMWs, Mercs, Audis it just feels a more honest car. Love mine.

The new one need to see it live, not sure about the design yet. Interior could be better with a more integrated screen.

Whataguy

795 posts

79 months

Thursday 12th May 2022
quotequote all
One magazine was reporting a starting price of 24k... I very much doubt that.

Looking at the equivalent 180hp Corolla I reckon it will be around £30k starting price for the Civic.

There is a lot of competition for that sort of money.

Whataguy

795 posts

79 months

Thursday 12th May 2022
quotequote all
It will be interesting to see what performance they get in the Civic.

The Corolla is awful for 180hp, 0-60 taking around 8 and a half seconds compared to Skodas/etc that can do it almost 1.5 seconds faster with similar HP.

Duel: Toyota Corolla 2.0 Hybrid vs Seat Ibiza IV Cupra 2013

Edited by Whataguy on Thursday 12th May 09:45

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Thursday 12th May 2022
quotequote all
Whataguy said:
One magazine was reporting a starting price of 24k... I very much doubt that.

Looking at the equivalent 180hp Corolla I reckon it will be around £30k starting price for the Civic.
Agree. No way it will start at £24k. For a start, it would undercut the HRV, which is smaller and has 60 BHP less.

Looking at the current range, Jazz starts from about £20k, HRV starts from about £29k, and CRV (which has a similar powertrain to the new Civic) starts from about £31k. That to me suggests a starting price of about £30k, exactly in line with your estimate.

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Saturday 11th June 2022
quotequote all
A few more tidbits from CAR magazine, who IMHO are normally reliable on this stuff.
  • Starting price of £30k. That makes sense.
  • Only 2 trim levels, Sport and Advance. Advance has 6l less boot space, which will almost certainly be due to a subwoofer in the boot.
  • 0-60 in 7.8 seconds. That is actually very decent IMHO.
I suspect that Honda UK are not expecting to sell many and so the colour and trim choices will be limited. And of course, there is only 1 powertrain available (but Type-R will be different).

So far I am feeling a bit "meh" about it. But I look forward to seeing it in real life.


Whataguy

795 posts

79 months

Sunday 12th June 2022
quotequote all
I see Toyota have just upped the hp on the Corolla hybrid, from 180 to 193 in the 2 litre and dropped the 0-60 to a bit lower than the new Civic.

No word on the increase in costs, but I expect Civic and Corolla to be equally priced.

I spent a day recently driving the current Civic and didn't like it. Apart from being too low and big on the outside with not much driver interior space, it was a 1 litre auto. I much prefer the VW 1 litre or the Peugeot/etc 1.2 puretech. Also the 1.0 litre had crazy £1200 cambelt change costs.

I used to own a Mark 7 which I loved (I drove it 1800 miles one weekend through Europe.) The Mark 8 was ok but no rear visibility and the suspension was too hard. Mark 9 was ok and I came close to buying one but they were still selling the ancient 1.8 engine in them when everyone else had moved over to smaller turbos.

Edited by Whataguy on Sunday 12th June 06:58

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Sunday 12th June 2022
quotequote all
Re. Corolla power increase - I saw that. They are also improving the interior quality, adding a full digital dash and a bigger touchscreen.

Plus Corolla is available as an estate, Civic (AFAIK) will not be. It's a shame that the Corolla saloon is no more. I had one and loved it.

Right now it's difficult to see why one would go for the Civic over the Corolla. But I'll wait for the specs...


Whataguy

795 posts

79 months

Wednesday 29th June 2022
quotequote all
Some early reviews for the new civic are in.

Saying it's ok to drive, but lower and less space than before.

Also, the mid trim they tested was £30.5k as expected - not the £23/24k that was reported a while back.

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Wednesday 29th June 2022
quotequote all
CAR magazine have a pretty good (IMHO) write-up

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/honda/ci...

They seem to rate it pretty highly but say that most people will not see the value that Honda have put into the car because of the high sticker price.

The Autocar review is bizarre - it reads as if they never actually drove it...

I will certainly have a test drive at the dealer but right now I'm finding it hard to get excited about it. The exterior design is too safe IMHO. Maybe it looks more interesting in real life. The interior is nice but again a bit safe and the screen looks like a bit of an afterthought. Also I suspect that the infotainment is the same as the Jazz and that puts it behind the times. I could use Android Auto but it is not wireless which is a pain.

Also, you have to get the top grade to get the fully digital dash, and that means you get the pano roof which I don't really want.

Plus there is only one remotely interesting colour (Crystal Blue) which is an extra £825. That's a lot for paint.

On the flip side I suspect that the drivetrain is great and the quality is very high. CAR reckon that it drives really well - way better than the Corolla, which in fairness is not difficult.

IMHO it was clear that it was never going to cost £23k. That was crappy journalism. £30k sounded about right.

I am interested to see how Honda does with it but I suspect that they will not sell that many, and they know this (hence the limited colour/spec choices). I can't see them making many conquest sales. But I might be wrong.

The real selling point could be availability i.e. you can actually get one in a reasonable time. My dealer reckoned that once they land in the UK there will be lots of them available for purchase. So for someone coming off a lease and needing a car soonish, and looking at 6+ months for a Focus/Golf/A3, it could be a smart choice...


Whataguy

795 posts

79 months

Tuesday 19th July 2022
quotequote all
AmitG said:
Also, you have to get the top grade to get the fully digital dash, and that means you get the pano roof which I don't really want.
Yes, it's weird - you can have a 2 litre Corolla with a digital dash for 30k but to get the digital dash you have to spend £33k on a civic

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Saturday 17th September 2022
quotequote all
It's in Honda dealers now.

I was pushed for time so I could only manage a quick look from the outside. These days there is so much content on the internet that you pretty much know what to expect. However, a few things struck me:
  • Side profile is Audi A5. Rear design is Tesla Model 3. Front is original. Unfortunately, the front is the most boring bit frown It's very tame compared to the previous gen.
  • I was surprised at how low it is. I don't know the dimensions offhand but it looks lower than an Audi A5.
  • I'm surprised that they bothered to include a rear window wiper. The rear glass is quite aggressively sloped, more so than many saloons.
  • It looks much better in real life compared to the pictures. The long bonnet line, the low profile, the rear three quarter view...I found myself liking it a lot more than I thought I would.
The interior looked good but I did not have time to sit in it.

I am possibly interested, and will see if I can get a proper look next weekend...



Bobtherallyfan

1,262 posts

77 months

Saturday 17th September 2022
quotequote all
Had our first look today and a quick test drive….proper two hour slot booked for later in the week. Very impressed so far….nicely finished and very airy inside with lots of legroom front and rear. We are supposed to have a car delivered early October but might have to rethink…..it seems you might not be able to fit a roof rack to the Advance spec with the panoramic sunroof. We await confirmation of this from Honda. Thats a deal breaker for us as the top spec is the only one with martrix leds and powered seats which we want.

Mezzanine

9,148 posts

218 months

Saturday 17th September 2022
quotequote all
Saw one on the way past my local dealership earlier.

Looked decent if a bit generic. Looking forward to seeing one a bit closer up soon.

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Bobtherallyfan said:
Had our first look today and a quick test drive….proper two hour slot booked for later in the week. Very impressed so far….nicely finished and very airy inside with lots of legroom front and rear. We are supposed to have a car delivered early October but might have to rethink…..it seems you might not be able to fit a roof rack to the Advance spec with the panoramic sunroof. We await confirmation of this from Honda. Thats a deal breaker for us as the top spec is the only one with martrix leds and powered seats which we want.
I'm in the same boat. I want the top spec model to get the premium audio and the digital driver display but I don't really want the pano roof because it reduces headroom and frankly I would never use it. I think Honda missed a trick here, they should have deleted the pano roof and made it cheaper...

AmitG

Original Poster:

3,272 posts

159 months

Sunday 18th September 2022
quotequote all
Loads of technical info (including UK specifics) here in case anyone is interested. This was apparently the presentation to UK dealers

https://www.civinfo.com/attachments/2yn-23ym-civic...