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Dubbed the 'Grand Civic', the fourth Civic version was unveiled in 1987 and continued through to 1991 in 3-door hatch, 4-door saloon, Shuttle and CRX variants. The styling continued the trend towards sharp creases and a dart-like profile. With its steeply raked windscreen, chiselled nose and longer wheelbase, the Civic backed up its good looks with some serious firepower, courtesy of its VTEC engines.
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The simplicity of its four letter acronym doesn't begin to encapsulate the cleverness of Honda's variable valve timing and electronic lift control system. An elegant solution that met the conflicting requirements of exceptional fuel economy, sprightly power output and low exhaust emissions, VTEC disengaged one of the inlet valves when the car was driven slowly, creating fast-swirl, lean-burn conditions for the optimal mixture combustion. At higher revs or under full throttle openings, the fourth valve was brought into play, actuated by hydraulic link-pins in the valve gear, while the cam profiles were switched to enable the engine to breathe deeper. As anyone who has driven a Honda with a high output VTEC engine can confirm, the point when the engine gains that second set of lungs is one to be savoured. Just as legendary is the VTEC system's reliability. Honda has never had a recall on the variable valve timing set-up.
This generation also saw the introduction of four-valve-per-cylinder engines in all model ranges, and use of a sophisticated double wishbone suspension system, though Honda still had a lot to learn about wheel travel and ride comfort at this point. It was the flagship 140mph CRX VTi that benefited most from the suspension and engine changes. With its VTEC 1.6-litre engine wringing out 150bhp at a frantic 7600rpm, it spearheaded the influx of hot Japanese contenders for the title of hot hatch king.
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