The eighth generation of the Honda Civic entered the Indian car market in July 2006. The Civic has been a popular car due to its sporty looks and the Civic Type R, the high performance version of the Civic, has always been a tuners’ favourite. It is the second-longest selling Japanese car brand in North America after its worldwide rival the Toyota Corolla.

The Civic’s futuristic interiors, Honda quality and sporty looks have been the main reasons for attracting customers. Honda now has made some cosmetic changes to its Civic to give it a mid-life facelift.

The eighth-generation Civic has an aerodynamic design. The co-efficient of drag of the Honda Civic is 0.31. The nose of the car has a small front grille dominated by chrome and the ‘H’ badge coupled with eye-like slim clear-lens headlamps. The new Civic has a thicker chrome strip on its grille and has smaller oval foglamps, compared to the larger rectangular fog lamp design on the old design. The hood’s shutlines now swoop downward, bracketing the grille and following through till the level of the numberplate.

The side profile of the Civic remains unchanged except for the 5-spoke alloys which have undergone a minor redsign. The thin A-pillars and huge windshield help with visbility. However, the C-pillar of the car is fairly thick with a high bootlid and small rear windshield that contribute towards reduced rear visibility. Other changes include new hexagonal tail-lamps instead of circular ones. Other than these, the rear end of the car remains unchanged. If you really want your new Civic to stand out, order one in the colour ‘Polished Metal’, which has just been introduced. It joins the previously available four colours, Crystal Black Pearl, Alabaster Silver, Taffeta White and Habanero Red.

The interior of the Civic remains largely unchanged. The blue backlit tachometer and the digital speedometer above it adds novelty and many find it attractive and easy to use. The interiors of this Japanese sedan have been ergonomically designed, with the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel and most of the controls within easy reach. The only complaint we have, is the lack of audio controls on the steering wheel, which would have added to the convenience quotient, especially since the Civic is perceived to be a driver’s car. Moreover, these controls are available in the City and the Jazz as well.

The seating position for the driver is comfortable with adjustment for steering wheel reach and rake, and seat height adjustment on the menu with the usual adjustments. A dead pedal helps the left foot while driving, but if you’re over six feet tall, the handbrake will foul with your knee when it is engaged. The large windshield increases visibility. However, parking in small slots can be troublesome, the large dashboard, high boot and low seating position all contributing to lack of confidence because judging where the corners of the car are is difficult. Parking sensors would have been a welcome addition to the new Civic.

The fit and finish of the dash, the interior plastics and the beige leather seats contribute to a quality feel. The instrument panel ahead of the steering wheel is a single huge blue-black combination backlit tachometer, with a digital speedometer, fuel level gauge and temperature gauge above it. A new addition to the instrument console is the ‘intelligent fuel economy indicator’. The centre console consists of an integrated audio system featuring a single CD player, auxiliary input and USB connectivity (in the centre armrest), where the older Civic had a six-CD changer and no USB connection. There are two knobs to control the air-conditioning system, placed below the integrated system. Playback is good, with fast read times for mp3 discs. Sound quality is good, but turn it up loud, and you will hear the doorpads rattle. Music with a lot of thumping bass also underscores this. However, the audio systems submenus are intuitive and easy to use.

There is enough legroom to seat four tall people comfortably, and even the middle rear passenger will prefer the Civic over the competition, thanks to a completely flat rear floor. We’d like a little more under-thigh support in the rear seats and more lumbar support for the front seats will increase comfort over long drives appreciably. Getting in and out of the Civic might be a bit of trouble for elderly people, or those with knee or back problems, it being such a low car. The audio controls in the rear centre armrest for the rear seat passengers will be appreciated by Civic owners who employ a chauffeur.

The interiors of the Civic are designed to maximize available space. The hand brake lever next to the gear knob frees more space for cupholders, and there is lots more space to keep your cell phones, CDs and other knickknacks in the usage storage space behind the gear knob. The boot of the Civic is fairly large, if shallow, and will comfortably accommodate three or four suitcases.

Engine
The Honda Civic is powered by a 1799cc engine which is placed transversely in the engine bay. This powerplant churns out 131bhp 172Nm of torque. This is one of Honda's i-VTEC engines with 4 valves per cylinder but a single overhead camshaft (SOHC). This engine, like most modern powerplants is a short-stroke engine which redlines at 7000rpm.The engine has lesser frictional losses compared to the longer-stroke length engines thus, increasing the engine life. This means lower fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs to the consumer.

The engine is refined and there is power available everywhere in the rev range. The engine is relatively quiet upto the 5000rpm mark. However, at about 6500rpm, the gets vocal with a very sporty note. Plant your right foot when the engine is spinning in the upper reaches of the rev range and the engine scoots you away. In our tests, the Civic took 10.1 seconds to clock 100kph and 17.4 seconds for the quarter mile run. At approximately 2500rpm in the fifth gear, the engine does a speed of 100kph with silky smooth drive. The Civic clocked a maximum speed of 194.6kph doing our tests with the car being capable of attaining more. However, the car doesn’t provide the driver with enough confidence to push it to 200kph and beyond.

Drivetrain
The gear ratios of the Civic transmission are well matched and the gears engage smoothly. The small gear knob makes shifting easier and the throws are positive and sporty.

During our testing, the car took 4.7 seconds from 30-50kph in 3rd gear, and 6.7 seconds in 4th gear for the same speed. The Civic clocked 50-70kph in 5th gear in 9.3 seconds.

Fuel Efficiency

Despite being a 130bhp petrol car, the Civic returned 9.3kpl during testing, which is truly commendable. Normal usage will see this figure rise to about 11kpl and more will surely be possible with a light right foot, which is hard to keep under control with that gem of an engine.

Ride and Handling, Steering

The Honda Civic with its softly sprung suspension tuned for ride quality gives a comfortable ride at low as well as high speeds. The Japanese designers prefer to keep their suspension design simple to keep maintenance costs low, which is why the Honda Civic's front end sports McPherson struts and the rear, double wishbones with coil springs with torsion bars. The Civic handles really well upto the three-digit mark; however, the car does lose some of its handling precision at high speeds as the suspension is designed for comfort.

The Honda Civic's steering is light, making parking easy. The car steers accurately through corners although more feel would have helped with driver confidence. The 5.4m turning radius of the Civic makes turning and parking easy.

The ground clearance of this sedan is 170mm but the car looks lower, and driving through bad patches of road and over high speed breakers could become a problem due to the low chin, side skirts and long wheelbase.

Braking
The Honda Civic comes with disc brakes for all wheels with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA) which help the driver retain control in extreme situations.

The brakes on the Civic aren’t progressive with little bite even halfway through the pedal travel and then there’s plenty of stopping power. In our braking test, the Civic took 3.1 seconds to come to a complete standstill from 80kph covering 31.1m.

Tyres
The new Civic comes with alloys as standard in all its variants and the tyre size remains unchanged at 195/65 R15. Our test car ran on Michelin energy XM1s that offered good ride and above average grip. Tread noise was quite low although the tyres tended to squeal a lot when approaching the limits of grip.

Safety
The Honda Civic comes loaded with many safety features which include Dual SRS Airbags for the front occupants, Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) and an engine immobilizer system. However, there is only a lap belt for the middle rear passenger. The Civic scores fairly good ratings in the Euro NCAP ratings (almost 4/5 in overall) and the Civic’s structure has been designed to absorb impact energy thus reducing injury to occupants and pedestrians.

The Honda Civic is expensive at a price of Rs 12.41- 14.13 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) considering its competition which includes the Skoda Laura, VW Jetta, the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze, Mitsubishi Cedia and its worldwide arch rival the Toyota Corolla. It is available in three versions, an SMT, a VMT and a VAT. All three variants can also be specified with ‘Elegance’ or ‘Inspire’ trim packages, just like on the Accord. Warranty remains a 2+2 year package.

The Honda Civic has an advantage when it comes to lower maintenance and better mileage than most of the petrol variants of its European competitors and the Civic has lower running cost. However, the European cars also fight back with extremely impressive diesel variants with long service intervals – Honda Siel India is yet to introduce a diesel car to India.

The Honda Civic possesses a younger look compared to its competition. The Honda badge, the free-revving engine, the overall styling, modern interiors and the resale value of the car will attract the younger generation (18-35 years old). If you’re a young, upcoming executive or simply young at heart and love to drive, we recommend the Civic to you.