Such modern looks demand cutting edge kit, and the Civic has no shortage of advanced jiggery pokery to help it appeal to technophiles. Stability control is standard across the range, higher-spec models can switch on wipers and lights automatically, and the navigation system can recognise the driver's voice for commands. Throttle and braking are by-wire. Leather can be specified, along with an uprated stereo with extra speakers. Other optional kit includes front foglights and 18-inch alloy wheels, which offset the Civic's vast haunches better than the base model's donut-like 16-inchers. But the new style and added kit doesn't come cheap: Honda's UK spokespeople hinted that the new Civic is likely to cost between £1500 and £2000 more than the outgoing model, which would put it in line with Golf prices, starting at around £13,000.
The Mk7 Civic is endowed with one of the biggest boots in the Golf-size class, and this distinction was something Honda's designers wanted to carry through to its leaner, meaner Civic. In fact, with a minimum of 415 litres, there's even more luggage room in the new Civic than the old, and about 65 litres more than the competition from VW, Vauxhall and Ford. Honda's accomplished this marvel of packaging by placing the fuel tank closer to the middle of the car, and by opting for a torsion beam rear axle over a more sophisticated multi-link set-up as on the Focus and Golf. The latter is traditionally associated with a smoother ride and better handling, though, so we'll have to wait to see whether this is another compromise that Honda engineers have had to make in their quest to free up useable space. The boot's shape may not be ideal for storing longer items, but the rear 'Magic' seats (first seen on the Jazz supermini) can be folded over, boosting capacity to 485 litres. Their 'magic' is down to the fact that the whole operation of flipping and tipping can be done with one hand, and they manage to sandwich themselves snugly to create a completely flat loading bay.
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| Hot Type-R a probability |
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As you can see from the pictures of the new Civic's nose, there isn't much room between the windscreen and the grille. Engines needed to be compact. Two petrol units will be available from launch, an 82bhp 1.4 DSI developed from the Jazz supermini's engine and an all-new 138bhp 1.8 i-VTEC. Honda has also shoehorned in a 2.2-litre i-CDTi diesel with an impressive 251lb ft of torque, but that won't make it to showrooms until later in 2006, after the petrol versions arrive in January. Honda claims the 1.4-litre petrol engine will shove the Civic to 62mph in 14.2sec and on to 107mph - hardly 'sporty' performance; the 1.8 will do the dash in a respectable 5sec faster, and run on to 129mph. The diesel is quicker still to 62mph, at 8.4sec, and will crack 128mph. Fuel economy from the diesel is 55.4mpg on the combined cycle compared to 44.1mpg for the large petrol and 46.4mpg for the runt of the range. Honda claims that the 1.8-litre is so advance it has the performance of a 2.0-litre and the economy of a 1.6. All engines come with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed auto transmission as an option. Although the company officially declined to comment about a next-generation Type-R with a larger-capacity 2.0-litre engine, we'd be surprised if this sporty bodystyle didn't get a suitably hot version eventually. Honda also plans to produce a hybrid version of the Civic with an as-yet-unveiled four-door saloon version targeted specifically at the US market.
The new Civic will be built at Honda's plant in Swindon, which currently produces a handful of model ranges for export to Europe, and is the sole producer of the three-door version. Honda expects the 1.8 to be its best-selling Civic, and to shift around 35,000 in Britain from the 100,000 to be built at Swindon each year.
