Honda Civic AT i-VTEC - Raising The Bar

It is much the same story when you open the door and let your eyes sweep the cabin. The most important bit is not the stacked instrumentation though this also figures highly on the list. Honda's packaging designers have put a lot of space between the driver and the nose of the car, courtesy the large dash top which has been necessitated by the sharply raked windscreen. There is some method here to this clever ploy because it allows the body engineers to factor in the optimum crumple zones while also giving a large expansive feel to the cabin. There is a high quality ambience to the cabin, one of the best we have seen so far this year from any Indian car maker. What works for me in any car is the feel (and design) of the steering wheel coupled with the seating position more than any gizmo-baji in the cockpit, but in the Civic's interior Honda has unleashed an excess of riches. The curvy dashboard is all new age, based on what Honda terms is its Dual Link concept: breaking up the unit into two distinctly different sections, instrumentation taking up the first while controls and switchgear dominate the second section.

The twin stacked instruments don't take long to get hooked on to and the mandate on them was overwhelmingly positive here in the CAR INDIA office. The large crescent moon shaped top cluster has a large read out for the speed in bold figures on a luminous background and this is flanked by fuel level and engine temperarture gauges. It may not be a fighter-style H.U.D. (heads up display) but comes very close to that. Immediately below the crescent moon is a conventional panel but one which is dominated by a single large rev counter red lined all the way to 8000rpm. There is a digital odometer placed at its base while the tell tales for the 5-speed automatic reside in a compartment to the right of the rev counter.

THE SPIRIT OF PERFORMANCE WITH HONDA HAS ALWAYS BEEN FOCUSED ON ITS ENGINES.... IN THE CIVIC IT IT HAS INTEGRATED ITS PERFORMANCE DNA IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL TO MAKE THE ENTIRE PACKAGE DELIVER OPTIMALLY.

The pronounced central console is very ergonomic in design and thrusts forward for easy reach. A combination of rotary knobs plus push button switches abound for the climate control and stereo unit, the latter being in built into the dashboard with a front loading slot for the CD and a digital headset to tune into any FM stations should you want local fare. The surface texture of the dashboard may be plastic but it is truly top drawer and makes many higher segment cars look drab in comparison. Brings me on to the steering wheel and the gearshifters. I say shifters because we had an automatic on test with us, the conventional stick shift being on the floor as always but for the first time in an affordable mass produced Indian car, users will finally get paddle shift controls ergonomically mounted just behind the steering wheel boss. It is a curious coincidence that the latest top line Mercedes-Benz now on sale in India - the S350 - comes with paddle shifters as OE (road test in this very issue) and Honda has wasted no time in giving D-segment users the very same, if not better, style of shift mechanism.

On to the steering wheel which is one of the most appealingly stylised units we have ever seen. It has just the right rim thickness (and cross section) plus its mix of different leather wraps (perforated and otherwise) delivers brilliant tactility. I had also spoken about the driving position and the Civic takes this to a brilliant new high. Honda breaks new ground for a car of the Civic's class by offering adjustable steering - in both rake and reach, making possible that wheel in one's lap driving position so desired by sports car drivers. Add to that a finely crafted driver's seat (though I would have liked additional thigh support), itself adjustable in more ways than one and you have one brilliant driving environment. The placement of the Z-type parking brake lever though requires some getting used to. Being a Honda, one can expect the driver to be pampered to the extreme but here apart from the driver, the other occupants are also given the same feel and comfort. The front seats are great and can be adjusted myriad fold but the big question mark was always going to be the fat walleted back benchers: would it do for them? Notably so given the fact that the curved sloping roof line gave the perception of a lack of head room. The packaging engineers were a step ahead on this count as well with ample room even for a six footer like our Bunny Punia able to make it in the rear quite effortlessly. And stay there unflustered! Leg room at the rear is also pretty much the best in class, made possible via the simple expedient of gouging out material from the front seat backs. Aiding practicality are the many compartments for odds and ends, making it one of the most cubicle-infested cars out there. The trim though appealing in the light golden hued shade Honda has taken to heart here in India, could have been a bit more adventurous. The spirit of performance for long with Honda has been mightily focused on its powerplants and this theme continues unabated here as well, though in the Civic it does show that Honda has integrated its performance DNA to make the entire package deliver optimally.

Core to this is the all new mill which we spoke about in October 2005. This is a 1.8-litre inline four sporting the latest iteration of the i-VTEC top end is a significant advance over anything else in the small capacity engines Honda has made to date. This single overhead cam 16-valver has been designed with major reduction of pumping losses in mind. The i-VTEC gear in this new avatar holds.

THE CIVIC MAY HAVE BEEN LONG IN COMING TO THIS LAND BUT THE FULL IMPACT OF ITS ARRIVAL HAS BEEN TO OUT DAZZLE PUNTERS AND MAKE THE COMPETITION SCURRY BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARDS, ER, DESIGN STATIONS AND WIND TUNNEL.

throttle butterfly wide open while utilising intake valve closure timing to regulate the intake volume of the fuel-air mix. This single detail allows for what Honda feels Asian markets would enjoy best: high fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance. This 1799cc undersquare mill (bore and stroke measuring 81 x 87.3mm) delivers 132PS at 6300rpm while max torque produced is 171.6Nm at 4300rpm. Using a drive-by-wire electronic throttle, the engine's response is crisp and linear as she spins towards the meaty part of the torque band and then stays there.

The best news about the powertrain though is its 5-speed automatic transmission (Honda also offering a slick shifting 5-speed manual as well). As mentioned above, this has a conventional stick on the floor shifter as well as the F1-style paddle switches and by jove the latter are a boon to those who enjoy driving and those who want to get the best out of their machine - from both a performance and fuel efficiency perspective. These paddle shifters are positioned behind the right and left spokes of the steering wheel and are in easy reach of the driver's fingers, making him act like Michael Schumacher (definitely not Jenson Button even though he is a Honda F1 driver) to maximise both pace and fuel efficiency.

This five-speed auto 'box comes with three drive modes, the first being the conventional slushmatic where you slot the lever into ‘D' -drive mode and take off without a care in the world. Slotting the shift stick lower down from D you head into S-mode (Sport) where you can drive it as an automatic but with the clever electronic control making the shifts even quicker for you presumably as you are motoring hard (otherwise you wouldn't be in S-mode at all). And then there is actual manual control of the S-mode where all the fun and the finesse is found.

What one can do is take the engine right thru to its peak revs and hold it in the high gear you want - third, fourth or fifth giving you impeccable control safe in the knowledge that it will not shift to a higher cog. But there is more to this than just this sort or redlining ability. One can flick thru the gears quickly enough to slot into fifth (in the AT this happens around the 50km/h mark) and from then on you have licked the one bugbear which has dogged automatic transmission acceptability rates in this country: high fuel consumption. We haven't tested the manual Civic as yet even though we have driven it but the auto covered itself with glory just through the due expertise wrought by our road test supremo Aspi Bhathena in making full use of the manual shift functionality of the transmission. An 11.2 kmpl FE figure in Pune is great but what was amazing was an 18.9kmpl on the highway, with the Civic constantly in the 90 to 100km/h band. I know that many could question these figures but we would like them to drive like Aspi who is a master of his craft and I am sure that they will amaze themselves.

ONE FLICK THRU THE GEARS TO SLOT INTO FIFTH AT THE 50KM/H MARK AND FROM THEN ON YOU HAVE LICKED THE ONE BUBGEAR THAT HAS DOGGED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ACCEPTABILITY RATES IN THIS COUNTRY: HIGH FUEL CONSUMPTION.

Highly organic dashboard with fine textures and brilliant detailing stands out vividly as centerpiece. What takes centre stage though is the twin stacked instrument layout with the digital speedo on top and the large rev counter below it.

Stick on the floor for the five-speed auto 'box is a straight through pattern with D and S modes clearly marked.

And unless you are a geriatric who will stick to driving in D, using the paddle shifters in S-Manual mode will have you smiling all the way, to the bank, away from the fuel banks and to your destination quicker than before.

Room is ample at the rear even with the swoopy roof line making it easy and comfortable for the six-footers to enjoy the ride. Great detailing abounds even for creature comfort with there being stereo controls in the middle arm rest for the back benchers to make their presence felt.

All new 1799cc i-VTEC mill does the business, effortlessly.

Performance numbers for those who live and die by them are pretty strong as well, the Civic effortlessly seeing off is immediate competition with ease. We did zero to 100km/h in 11.7 seconds while zero to 160km/h came up in 30.6 seconds, not bad going for a slushmatic. The rasp from the exhaust as the rev needle powers up to its high peaks is slightly on the higher side but melodious and we registered a top speed of 192.25km/h which is terrific by any count. Performance figures aside, the pleasure quotient of the Civic lies elsewhere: in the blend of performance, handling, steering and brakes. She has a taut firm ride from the MacPherson strut front end and the twin wishbone rear suspension layout and the power assisted steering is sharp and precise though it does tend to lighten up as you near the car's max velocity mark. The car also has very good ride quality, even more so at high speeds than at low ones and maybe tyres have a role to play in this. Given the 195/65 aspect ratio, I think a move up to 205/60 would really make this a fantastic reveller through any and all driving conditions. Even with the present set-up there is impressive body control with hardly any perceivable roll. The Civic displaying exceptional manners in its flat cornering ability and also displaying tremendous poise as we turned up the wick through the hill ads at Khambatki on the way to Satara.Inspiring confidence to do all this is another ally: the disc brakes on all four wheels and the four-channel ABS which is standard.

Honda has broken new ground this time round by not skimping on any equipment, packing the Civic with EBD and BA as well which come as OE. In fact the very ethos behind this new offering from Honda has been to outfit it to the gills and allow buyers to specify just the choice of tranny and body colour, one trim spec and that's it. So what you get for your money (Rs 12,83,422 OTR Pune) is alloy wheels, power steering, power windows, central locking with keyless entry and engine immobilizer, a brilliant 2 DIN 6-CD changer cum receiver with a six-speaker layout, height adjustable driver's seat, tilt and telescopic steering, etc, This is the new marketing face of Honda: no factory options and I am sure the success of this is assured making the competition already trying to rework their model trims and pricing strategies. Some other companies, notably Daewoo in the past had adopted such a strategy but it didn't work for one cardinal reason: the product wasn't up to scratch. No such bothers here for sure.

Brings me to the clincher, about Honda raising the bar. I was thinking about the great Sergei Bubka, pole vaulter extraordinaire, multi Olympic gold medalist and world record holder. Bubka was the greatest his sport has ever known but he was also one of the canniest athletes going. He knew that he could have established a benchmark higher than any but he didn't go right to the top, preferring to increase the record millimetre by millimetre, at event after event, doing his bank balance a world of good. Honda could have use the Bubka routine but they went all out for glory and in the process have raised the bar so high that all other competitors are in an entirely different ball game altogether. Nuff said.

Source: Car India August 2006.