{"id":17376,"date":"2015-10-25T14:08:26","date_gmt":"2015-10-25T18:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=17376"},"modified":"2015-10-25T14:08:26","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T18:08:26","slug":"payne-honda-civic-raises-the-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/payne-honda-civic-raises-the-bar","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Honda Civic raises the bar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Detroit<\/p>\n

I think I speak for all Honda pocket-rocket owners when I say that \u2014 as a lead-footed, rev-it-\u2019til-it-screams owner of the punchy, 100-horsepower-per-liter 2006 Civic SI \u2014 I think Honda should launch the all-new Civic with the Type R performance version. Anticipation for the rabid super-Civic has reached such a fever pitch that we fans are gnawing through our bed blankets. Have a little mercy, please, Honda.<\/p>\n

But as product cadence dictates, Honda is releasing its volume-selling Civic sedan first. It\u2019s hard to be mad.<\/p>\n

Already the retail sales segment leader for the 500th year in a row, the 10th-generation Civic sedan is simply the best thing the compact sedan segment has ever seen. How good?<\/p>\n

This car has the most interior room, biggest backseat, best fuel economy, best center console, most interior room, most (well, almost) horsepower, and is the first car in Autodom to offer both Apple Car Play and Android Auto (my Car Play-starved wife is already halfway to the dealership as I write this \u2014 she\u2019ll be disappointed that it\u2019s not on dealer lots until November). Oh, yes, and the Civic has its handling mojo back too, meaning it\u2019s a challenger for best-handling car in segment.<\/p>\n

Have a little mercy on the competition, please, Honda.<\/p>\n

If there is a flaw in the Civic juggernaut, it\u2019s styling and all-wheel-drive. Or the lack of it. Want four-clawed security in Michigan blizzards? Buy a Subaru Impreza. Civic will refer you to its crossover sibling, CR-V.<\/p>\n

As for styling, Civic redefined compact good looks two generations ago with a futuristic, bullet-shaped bod. From raked windshield to sculpted tail, the eighth-gen\u2019s slippery shape and economy of line looked like it has been penned by a German master. Son of Audi? With time, alas, it became misshapen and the new Civic is more traditional with an upright windshield and fat butt.<\/p>\n

As a consequence it takes on a more familiar family look and is harder to distinguish from big brother Accord \u2014 much less compete with class lookers like the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus.<\/p>\n

With its conventional lines, the Civic adopts a flashier wardrobe. It\u2019s a mix of the good, bad, and ugly of current Japanese fashion. The good: Chrome, wrap-around front grille and headlights borrowed from Cyclops\u2019 X-Men eyewear. The bad: Nissan-wannabe, rear boomerang taillights. The ugly: Stuck-on, Mr. Potatohead, plastic rear ducts\u00a0a la<\/em>Lexus RC350.<\/p>\n

In a fleet of media testers in Dexter, I was eager to get around other Civics to spare my eyes those plastic ducts. Fortunately, overtaking isn\u2019t a problem because this Honda isquick<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Stung by media criticism that the ninth-gen was a drunken bucket of lard (we exaggerated a bit), Honda engineers got mad. \u201cWe\u2019re returning Civic to its roots as a fun-to-drive car,\u201d admits Honda Product Planner Jenny Gilger.<\/p>\n

Her team benchmarked the Civic to European performance sedans like the Audi 3. Ambitious little bugger. While I love any compact sedan for its throwable short-wheel base, Civic takes handling up a rung. Reducing the center of gravity \u2014 engine and seats are an inch lower \u2014 Civic is planted and intuitive. Over Dexter\u2019s serpentine roads, the FWD Civic may not have been an A3 all-wheel-driver (ahem, another AWD hint, Civic) but it gained my confidence with every tire-squalling turn of the wheel.<\/p>\n

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Not content with agility, Civic also packs a punch with Honda\u2019s first turbocharged engine. Civic restores Honda\u2019s reputation as an engine company. And none too soon as Ford has been on a roll with its Godzilla-in-a-can, 1.0-liter Ecoboost entry-level engine for the Ford Focus. Civic\u2019s turbo is its premium mill, and \u2014 like Ecoboost \u2014 does a lot with a little.<\/p>\n

With just 1.5-liters, the \u201cEarth Dreams\u201d engine (Ecoboost, Earth Dreams … jeez, what\u2019s next: \u201cBrawny Treehugger\u201d?) is wired on turbo caffeine. Nail the throttle and it jumps like a scalded cat. And unlike my 2006, 2.0-liter V-TEC terrier, it betrays little torque steer. The torque comes on like a fever at 1,800 RPM making it a blast to drive with 174 horsepower \u2014 a whopping 31 more than the outgoing 2.0-liter.<\/p>\n

Honda loves feeding red meat to its motorhead base \u2014 but the biggest Civic advance over last-gen (and everyone else in class) is the interior.<\/p>\n

I crossed swords in parking lot autocrosses with the wee Honda Civic CR-X hatch in the \u201980s in my compact VW Rabbit (now Golf) GTI. A lot has changed in 30 years. While the Golf has grown slightly from a 97-inch wheelbase to 103, the once-diminutive Civic has ballooned from 90 inches to 106! Haven\u2019t seen a growth spurt like that since Shaq O\u2019Neal in high school.<\/p>\n

Most cars have grown, of course, but the Civic\u2019s spurt was spurred by the introduction of the roomy Honda Fit subcompact in 2007 (now the Golf\u2019s natural competitor).<\/p>\n

The \u201916 Civic may not be Audi\u2019s equal in the handling department, but it\u2019s pole-vaulted it in size. The Civic is the roomiest compact car \u2014 luxury or mainstream \u2014 that I have tried on with 6-foot-5-inch frame and size 15 shoes. I can \u201csit behind myself\u201d in the rear seat with ease. Knees forward, head upright. Try that in a Mazda 3. Ouch.<\/p>\n

I dig the console too. Credit the diminished windshield in the tenth-gen which forced interior designers to rethink the space. Where the \u201915\u2019s console looked like a library of stacked shelves, the \u201916 is smartly laid out with a digital instrument panel and flush, iPad-like infotainment screen.<\/p>\n

Upon entering Civic I immediately synched my Samsung to Android Auto (which requires a little more patience than Apple Car Play), then stashed my phone under the console. Yes,\u00a0under<\/em>. Like those clever sub-trays in the Lincoln MKC and MKZ. Honda\u2019s versatile center console includes sliding cup-holders on top \u2014 and a deeper one for Big Gulp drinks that will enrage soft-drink despot Michael Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

From Pilot SUV to Civic, give Honda interior designers a blue ribbon. From losers to winners in one generation.<\/p>\n

Civic is such an all-around athlete, its omissions are curious. Winter warriors (like Mrs. Payne) will stick with their AWD Subarus no matter how loud the Apple Car Play sirens sing. As for me, I\u2019ll keep patiently waiting for the SI and Type R performance variations.<\/p>\n

I love big back seats \u2014 but the driver\u2019s seat is where I live.<\/p>\n

Vehicle specs.<\/p>\n

Vehicle type:\u00a0Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger compact sedan<\/p>\n

Price:\u00a0$19,474 ($25,535 as tested)<\/p>\n

Power plant:\u00a02.0-liter, inline-4 cylinder; 1.5-liter, turbocharged, inline 4-cylinder<\/p>\n

Power:\u00a0158 horsepower, 138 pound-feet of torque (2.0-liter); 174 horsepower, 162 pound-feet of torque (2.0-liter)<\/p>\n

Transmission:\u00a06-speed manual; Continuously variable automatic<\/p>\n

Performance:\u00a00-60 mph, 8.4 seconds (manufacturer)<\/p>\n

Weight:\u00a02,742 pounds base (2,899 EX-T trim as tested)<\/p>\n

Fuel economy:\u00a0EPA 27 city\/40 mpg highway\/31 mpg (manual, 2.0-liter gas); 31 city\/41 mpg highway\/35 mpg (CVT, 2.0-liter gas); 31 city\/42 mpg highway\/35 mpg (CVT, 1.5-liter turbo)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs:\u00a0Super-sized rear seat; Turbo-riffic<\/p>\n

Lows:\u00a0Those plasticky, rear-duct thingies; AWD option, please<\/p>\n

Overall:\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think I speak for all Honda pocket-rocket owners when I say that \u2014 as a lead-footed, rev-it-\u2019til-it-screams owner of the punchy, 100-horsepower-per-liter 2006 Civic SI \u2014 I think Honda should launch the all-new Civic with the Type R performance version. Anticipation for the rabid super-Civic has reached such a fever pitch that we fans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17376"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17376"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17377,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17376\/revisions\/17377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}