Although not quite as avant garde as the recently-unveiled 5-door version, the new Civic saloon is elegant, solid and reasonably equipped… and it’s handling is more than handy! It’s not a sports car, and might be dynamically eclipsed when its sibling arrives in South Africa later this year, but the 4-door will be Honda SA’s biggest seller thanks to its broad appeal and pedigree.
Having perused the very impressive new Civic hatch at its international launch, the four door’s styling was a lot more sobering at first glance. Its so-called “Advanced Personal Compact” design theme incorporates a very steeply-raked windscreen, a sweeping roofline, and a low and wide stance. Honda went to great lengths to reduce the gap between the car’s tyres and wheelarches and even though the overall look is still on the conservative side of youthful, the car looks better in the metal than pictures suggest. The front end seems a little blunt, but there’s clever detailing in the contours of the front spoiler and side skirts. The back end, for example, is neat to a fault and arguably less bland than that of the big-reared Accord.
Inside, the Civic has a two-tier Dual Link instrument panel that puts the most frequently accessed information, such as speed, temperature and fuel levels high in driver’s field of vision. The steeply sloped windscreen contributes to a particularly large dashboard surface. Slightly lower down are the remaining displays, including the rev counter, multi-information digital display and warning lights. Not everyone will like it, but the future’s here to stay, folks.
Even though the overall ambience of the interior is that of fuss-free functionality, as opposed to a funky and stylish cabin, the Civic’s build quality is superb. Increased body width has allowed Honda to design wider and more supportive seats, and has also freed up space between the front seats for a storage box/armrest that can store up to 20 CDs. Improvements have been made to the levels of hip-, shoulder- and kneeroom and the Civic continues the flat-floor design concept of the previous model, which frees up extra legroom for rear passengers.
Honda’s new 1,8-litre i-VTEC is shorter and lighter than the 1,7-litre in the previous generation car and equipped with variable valve timing and lift technologies, a variable length intake manifold and oil jets for piston cooling. Despite its refinement, the 1,8 litre unit still needs to be revved quite hard to really get going. The sound from the twin-bore exhaust is rorty, of course, but caning the VXi as if it’s a frisky Type R just doesn’t gel with the car’s character.
The standard gearbox is a five-speed manual unit that is smaller and lighter than the one used previously and its shift action is slick and precise (a Honda trademark). The road holding and handling of the Civic belies the car’s conservative exterior styling… The steering weighs up nicely when you push the Honda through the twisties and the car is notably poised under braking. The clutch action is so light that it’s hard to know whether you’ve engaged it or not (may appeal to genteel drivers, but I’m used to a much beefier, progressive left pedal). Overall, the VXi should be on everyone’s new-car candidate lists.