.Posted: Thursday, December 8, 2005 Honda Civic: Civic Duty  Redefined By Ed Kemper Honolulu, Hawaii Courtesy of Honda Windward Recently, the all-new Honda Civic earned Motor Trend magazine's 2006 Car of the Year award. The award extends to the entire Civic Sedan and Civic Coupe lineup including the Civic Hybrid and high-performance Civic Si models.

For a couple of decades the Honda Civic has been a compact icon—well made, stylish, economical, and more recently the tuner crowd’s favorite.

Lately, however, the styling has been wearing a little thin with lots of slabs of flat metal, and sales have been leveling off. Also, the Si (the hot engine version), which was recently brought back, was the middle child of compact car horsepower race.

Time for a redo and Honda has delivered a major one on all fronts.

First, styling has abandoned flat metal for a rounded more aerodynamic look particularly in the coupe version. Second, the angles between the hood line and the windshield as well the back windshield and the trunk are straighter.

It seems recently almost all of the successor models grow some with each redo (probably because they were designed in the era of stable and relatively cheap gas prices). The new Civics’ dimensions grow everywhere, but not by big numbers. Since the coupe and sedan start with different wheelbases not all increases are the same for each model. Suffice to say that the Civic porked up a little in the weight room by about 160 pounds on the average.

Horsepower and engine size keep up with the weight addition, but fortunately for all, the very good gas mileage ratings stayed the same as the previous model. The base powerplant went up a tad in size (1.7 liters to 1.8 liter) and horsepower hopped up from 127 to 140. Gearing has been changed for the automatic by adding a fifth gear and the non-Si stick shifter is limited to 5 forward speeds.

In an attempt to return to Si glory, the high tech 2-liter engine jumps from a 160 to 197 hp and an additional gear is added to the sole transmission—a 6-speed stick. Further, instead of a hatchback design, this year’s Si is a coupe with all the tuner bells and whistles—big 17-inch wheels and wing on the back trunk lid taken from a World War I fighter.

In the slower, but clearly more economical lane, the Hybrid returns in the 4 door sedan model with a little more horsepower when the two motors (gas and electric) are added together (93 last year and 110 this year). Gas mileage you ask: 50 city/50 highway according to the EPA.

Civic Minded
To try out the new Civic, an EX coupe with the 5 speed stick was the Wheels test vehicle. Since the EX is the top of the line and was well equipped no options were on this unit. Sticker price is well below 20k ($18,260). The base price of the DX sedan is $14,560 and the DX coupe is a few bucks less ($14,360).

Besides the clear exterior styling difference, the interior of the new Civic received a substantial makeover. Most obvious is the dash pod which has become a two-tier affair. On top is essentially a video screen with a digital speedometer readout (taken, I suspect, from some PlayStation or Xbox car video game) and video graphics for water temperature and fuel readings.

Centered in the lower level are the tach (like Porsche, albeit lower), the odometer and some minor computer info. When all is said and done it is quite handy and easy to read.

The rest of the dash is shaped like a big V thrust out towards the driver and passenger. Controls for the stereo/CD player and the A/C are straightforward in their use with some color contrasts to keep things interesting.

To break up the single color interior, metallic looking plastic is everywhere from the steering wheel to the parking brake. Pukas for storage are scattered all over. A large storage bin is found under the cloth-covered armrest.

On the floor by the driver are two lockable levers to open the trunk and fuel door. Integrated into the ignition key are the remote functions, including the ability to open the trunk without inserting the key.

Civilization
As with most coupes, particularly of the compact variety, some sacrifice of rear accommodations have to be made.

Getting to the rear seats takes a little maneuvering because the space between the front seat and door opening is narrow. Once there, the headroom is tight for the tall, but legroom is not bad. As a bonus the rear floor is flat, but not the rear seat so that the middle passenger will not be very comfortable for any great distance.

With the rear seats split 60/40 additional cargo carrying is available. Handles on the inside of the trunk can be used to drop them to a relatively flat position. The trunk itself is medium sized and nicely lined.

Civil Procedure
On the road the Civic feels light and nimble. As is typical of the smaller Hondas, the steering is very light and quick.

The updated, but small 1.8 liter powerplant is peppy enough when the upper end of the tach is reached, but it is no torquer. Expect a 0-60 time in the mid 9 second range. But this powerplant is a gas sipper with an EPA city rating of 30 mpg and 38 on the highway (the automatic is 40 mpg on the highway).

Gear action with the stick is good with short clear throws and nary a miss in finding the right choice. The clutch is light to the touch and take up is just right.

Seats on the coupe are huggers and those with large rear ends better take a test-drive before signing the sales contract.

Firm but never uncomfortable describes the ride. Potholes and bumps are taken easily without upsetting either the chassis or the passengers. Cornering is likewise controlled with no missteps or leaning worthy of the word.

Interior noise is muted and quite good for car of this price range.

A number of Honolulu residents commented favorably on the new styling and some thought the car was more expensive than it is. As indicated earlier, the Xbox readouts of the new two-step dash are entertaining and work just fine.

Civic Ending
With the really new Civic, the styling is clearly different and more exciting (particularly with the coupe) than the previous generation. Inside the two-step dash and general redesign come across well and is certainly different. Although the remake of the Civic added a few pounds, neither performance nor fuel economy were hurt in the process. So for those who are civically minded a revisit to the Honda store may be worth the visit.

Q&A
Q: With the Civic getting bigger and gas prices way up is Honda going to sell a smaller car in the future?

A: Yes, Honda is going to import from Japan the Fit a smaller sedan than the Civic to further offer high gas mileage and cheaper vehicles for the America market.

High Beams
• Exterior restyling an improvement.
• Two-tier dash is entertaining and useful.
• Great gas mileage.

Low Beams
• Small engine needs to be wind way up to really move.

– Ed Kemper is the auto columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin and MidWeek, the Weekend. He also hosts Wheels Hawaii TV on Oceanic Cable-Channel 16 in Hawaii, which is shown on Wednesday at 12:30 PM, Thursday at 1:00 PM and 5 PM, Friday at 10:30 PM and 9:30 PM, and Saturday at 9:30 AM and 4:00 PM.

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