Honda has revealed the official details and images of its next-gen 2012 Civic. The bad news for all you Civic aficionados is that in its latest iteration, the Civic doesn’t quite impress. The 2012 car is brand new, alright, with everything component being designed and developed from the scratch. But we really wonder if Honda took so much pain, why couldn’t they come up with something more appealing and distinguishing for this saloon which created a sensation when the current version was unveiled. I still remember, Car UK and all the other UK based publications went crazy praising the new age design of the current Civic when it was first introduced.And what we get for 2012 is this – a design which has hardly any positive aesthetic distinction over its predecessor. Except for the more tapered headlamp, a slightly modified grille and a wee bit more aggressive bumper, the 2012 Civic somehow doesn’t look like a new car. The rear end has gone under the scalpel of the cosmetic surgeon as well, with those roundish tail-lamps now replaced with angular ones. It’s all just too token to make us pop out of our seats and take notice.
From the inside, the car now gets a driver oriented dash, which doesn’t quite look too great. Thankfully, the sophisticated blue-illuminated speedo behind the steering wheel has been retained.
There are no changes to the power train either. The car comes equipped with the same 1.8-litre engine that powers the current gen car. Capable of putting out 140 horses, the engine is said to be marginally more fuel efficient than its current version. Transmission duties are taken care of by a 5-speed auto and manual.
Apart from the usual sedan version of the car, there are a few other versions as well. There is the Hybrid HF version to start with. Then there is a natural gas powered GX version.
For the performance freaks, there is the Si models which is equipped with a 2.4-litre 200bhp, 230Nm engine. This model comes with a sporty 6-speex manual gearbox.
All in all, the 2012 version of the Civic doesn’t quite manage to create any excitement for us. The design remains largely the same, the powertrain remains the same, there doesn’t seem to be any willingness from Honda to add a diesel mill, and the interior too doesn’t anything novel.
We can only hope that Honda have done their homework well to have done what they done with this car. We wish them all the luck.
