Honda took the wraps off the 10th generation Honda Civic sedan with a clear plan in mind: attract compact luxury buyers. The new sedan will go on sale “Before Thanksgiving,” John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. Inc., said.
Mendel also said during special preview in Detroit that Honda is preparing to offer more versions of the Civic, one of the world’s most popular cars, will include a sedan, coupe, high-performance Si models, a five-door hatchback and the first-ever Civic Type-R model for the U.S. market.
The next-generation Civic sedan will be part of the most diverse and innovative lineup in the 43-year history of the model, which remains one of the most popular passenger cars ever sold in the U.S. and a segment leader despite some very tough competition, Mendel said.
“This 10th-generation Civic is quite simply the most ambitious remake of Civic we’ve ever done,” he said noting Honda’s engineers used the Audi A3 as the benchmark as the vehicle was designed.
“We are bringing more new technology and innovative thinking to Civic than ever before to establish a new benchmark for fun-to-drive performance, fuel efficiency, safety performance and refinement in the compact class,” Mendel said.
Civic sedans for the North American market will be produced at Honda’s Greensburg, Indiana, and Alliston, Ontario, assembly plants. The new Civic’s 2.0-liter and 1.5-liter turbo engines will be manufactured in Anna, Ohio, and the vehicle’s two automatic transmissions (CVTs) will be sourced from Honda plants in Russells Point, Ohio, and Celaya, Mexico, Mendel said.
(Ford fills in the performance blanks on the new Focus RS. For more, Click Here.)
The two all-new engines – including the first-ever application of Honda turbo engine technology in the U.S. will combine with a sophisticated new body and chassis design to deliver responsive and sporty performance with a higher level of ride refinement and class-leading fuel efficiency, added Mendel, who predicted the new Civic sedan will get better than 40 miles per gallon on the highway.
While Honda didn’t offer any specifications of the new Civic, Mendel also said the new Civic is about an inch longer, slightly wider and 65 pounds lighter than the Civic it is replacing.
The 2016 Civic Sedan will be available with the Honda Sensing suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, including Collision Mitigation Braking, Road Departure Mitigation and, for the first time in a Honda, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow – bringing new value to the compact segment.
Mendel also said the new Civic lineup will be equipped with Apple and Android Car Play and an unprecedented level of connectivity tied into a 7-inch touchscreen.
(Click Here for the first look at the Ferrari 488 Spider.)
The sporty new Civic design is grounded in its more athletic stance and lower and wider proportions. Compared to the current model, the 2016 Civic Sedan is nearly 2 inches wider and 1 inch lower with a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase, featuring a more compact and sporty front overhang, a longer, more aggressively sculpted hood and fastback-style tail.
The new Civic’s will also feature LED exterior lighting, including new Honda LED headlights , standard LED daytime running lights and C-shaped LED taillights.
Mendel also said the all-new Civic is its more sporty driving position, with a one-inch lower hip point compared to the current car. The lower hip point is enabled by the new Civic’s lower floor and engine and its all-new suspension design.
(To see more about a possible tie-up between Daimler, Renault/Nissan and FCA, Click Here.)
As part of Honda’s effort to draw customers, who may be attracted to German-made, luxury-oriented sedans such as the A3, Mendel also said the new Civic has features and an interior designed to offer the most comfortable, sophisticated and premium-feeling cabin in the compact class. An additional 3.7 cubic feet of interior space translates into the largest cabin in the compact segment with 2 inches of added rear-seat legroom versus the outgoing model, he said.
