Honda Civic AT i-VTEC - Raising The Bar

RAISING THE BAR....
...massively that too, in the executive car class, is the stunning new Civic. Loaded - visually, performance-wise and equipment- wise - and ready to rock, has Honda done the trick yet again ?

Story : Adil Jal Darukhanawala Photography :Kunal Khadse

IT WASN'T ABOUT THE SWOOPY radar cheating bodywork of a stealth fighter which seemed to have been skillfully transferred on to an automobile shell, but the fact that the low slung saloon with the best large coupe like stance looked visually small from the outside but had acres of space in the cabin. What I first perceived to be the road going equivalent of a sports plane was turning out to be a most effective Citation jet with the best creature comforts, tricked-to-the-gills equipment all around, classy ambience within the cabin and a regal yet purposeful aura on its exterior. Mix in performance to blow the socks off the immediate competition and there we had it: Honda was off to a flyer once again. And we hadn't even factored in the price. Awesome!

Yes 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 tunnels. In a segment which is seeing some strong action on the market and with stature to boot, the new Civic has made every other car seem to be from a long bygone age. What it blends in is a highly capable saloon but with sporty drivability on call to go hand in hand with luxury, comfort, top draw dynamics and pure emotional appeal.

THE CAR MAY MEASURE JUST 4545MM IN LENGTH BUT THANKS TO THE SWOOPY HOOD, THE RAKED WINDSCREEN AND THE LOW ROOF LINE, IT LOOKS AS IF ITS ON THE MOVE EVEN WHEN STANDING PERFECTLY STILL.

Ever since we first drove this eighth gen Civic wonder in Japan last year (refer CAR INDIA's October 2005 issue for the first drive story of this model by an Indian automobile magazine), it was clear that Honda had moved the goal posts in this segment, beyond anyone's wildest imagination. The writing was also on the wall for the genre of cars which now need to be built by any MNC had to focus strongly on the glocal perspective. No longer could the OEMs do an A or a B car specifically for India or China or Thailand or Japan but one type of model delivering everything for most markets was the sensible and cost effective way to go about the job. Such an approach not only brought the breed upto speed in all markets but more importantly, in the case of the Honda Civic, has given car users in India the very same cutting edge their counterparts in Japan or Thailand enjoy in terms of technology, design and construction, performance and driving pleasure.

To say the Civic is stunning would be an understatement. And it all starts with the first look. Let us not dwell too much on what Honda terms the exterior treatment as “an extreme transformation of design and dynamics,” but get right down to the heart of the matter. The large vee-grille with valanced bonnet and that typical character line which runs the length of the bonnet all the way to the base of the sharply raked windscreen sets the trend for the rest of the car. This character line also hints at a sloping bonnet when its not overtly so and then the big and sharply raked windscreen sweeps across majestically to move into the large coupe like roofline which give this saloon such elan and poise. In fact the large coupe like lines on a saloon pioneered in days of yore by Jaguar and latterly by the Mercedes-Benz CL have begun finding favour with many but to have these incorporated on to a compact mid-size executive saloon without looking disharmonious in any way is a tribute to the designers art. The car may measure just 4545mm in length but thanks to the swoopy hood, the raked windscreen and the low roof line, it looks as if its on the move even when standing perfectly still.

The slit-eyed headlamps dominate the large front end with the chromed vee-grille and the massive wrap around bumper with the deep air dam. The sculpted haunches look well and Honda has filled the wheel wells superbly with 195/65 R15 tubeless radials mounted on very ordinary five-spoke alloys. There are character lines on the sides running almost from front bumper to tail and the combination of a long wheelbase (2700mm) allied to width (1750mm) gives the car a most prominent stance but at the same time one which isn't daunting. The swoopy top end structure aids the visually striking yet compact look and this is further bolstered by the way the C-pillar treatment embraces the rear end (with its slickly truncated look) without in any way infringing on boot space. The taut lean look with softened edges holds sway at the rear and other notable details here are the twin afterburner (as on jet fighter aircraft) style tail lamps as well as the short boot lid with its slightly flipped up edge to denote a built in spoiler. Also look out for the twin exhaust tail pipes suggestive of the performance on tap. Sporty hints abound but without sacrificing the overall classy look that makes the Civic stand out as one of the most avant garde designs ever on the market today.

Source: Car India August 2006.