We had already seen it in the patent registry and as a “prototype”, but now Honda has revealed all about the 11th generation of one of its most popular models, the civic.
For now, only the North American version that adopts the four-door sedan bodywork was revealed. We will have to wait a little longer to get to know the five-door version, the most relevant for the European market.
As we've mentioned in the past, the watchword for the design of the new Honda Civic seems to have been to simplify. The aggressive and charged style was left out, now having a more sober style, marked by more horizontal lines and greater formal clearance.
Even starting from the 10th generation platform, the new Civic shows revised proportions, thanks to the repositioning of the A-pillar, which was indented by about 5 cm. The platform may have been inherited from the current generation, but that doesn't mean it hasn't evolved as well.
The wheelbase grew around 35 mm, the rear track practically 13 mm — Honda promises higher internal dimensions than the current one — and the brand says that the new Civic is structurally the most rigid of all Civics. The use of high-strength steels and aluminum in strategic locations allowed increasing torsional strength by 8% and bending strength by 13%.
The chassis maintains the MacPherson scheme at the front and the multilink at the rear, although the suspension has been revised, especially at the level of the synblocks, in order to reduce the roughness and vibration indexes, and also increase stability in a straight line. Honda says driving the new Civic should be a better experience than the current one — there were no grievances … it's still one of the best in the segment — thanks to a revised steering wheel and a new, stiffer aluminum front subframe.
inner revolution
If the exterior was already known, the interior, on the other hand, had still only been seen as a sketch. And this is where the biggest differences to the current model lie — a near revolution — with the simplification we saw from the outside being reflected in the interior.
The dashboard design is substantially simpler, marked by horizontal lines, only disturbed by the fully digital instrument panel (10.2″) and the prominent central display of the infotainment system, with 7″ as standard (9″ as an option), with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless as standard — please note that these specifications are for the North American market, there may be differences for the “European” Civic.
Despite the dominant presence of the screens, as we have seen in the brand's most recent launches, such as the Jazz or the electric E, the new Honda Civic maintains some physical controls for some functions such as the climate control — there were many complaints from customers that the brand made to take, and well, a step back in digitizing their interiors.
Honda tried to give the interior even a more… "premium" perception, either in appearance or in the more judicious choice of materials, especially those that are most played - note that in this American Civic there are no surfaces in "piano black" (glossy black ) on the center console, to prevent it from getting full of unsightly and greasy “fingerprints”.
Care in the presentation is given by some visual solutions, such as the one found for the ventilation outlets. These are “hidden” under a grid with a hexagonal pattern (hive comb) that extends over almost the entire dashboard, being one of the visual elements that most characterizes the interior of the new Honda Civic.
The same engines
For the North American market, the new Honda Civic does not bring mechanical novelties, inheriting the 10th generation engines. These include a four-cylinder in-line atmospheric, 2.0 l capacity with 160 hp as access engine, and a four-cylinder in-line turbo, with 1.5 l, with 182 hp (6 hp more than before).
The only transmission available in the North American market is a… CVT (continuous variation transmission), although the brand announces improvements in its operation and also a better simulation of a “conventional” transmission, with several ratios.
When arrives?
The North American version of the 11th generation Honda Civic will be released during next summer. For Europe, a release date has not yet been released, but it could take until 2022 to see the new Civic on the street.