[itwasntme]

Superb review as always!

Interesting to see that vehicle weights seem to have changed since 2013 when the TBHP Octavia review was posted. See the 2 tables below and compare the Octavia & Altis power-weight ratios especially.

[Liverpool]

Excellent review, as usual. One thing is for sure, T-BHP reviews are not going through any cost-cutting as is the norm with the current auto industry.
Coming to the car, I was in a Honda showroom to get my Brio serviced last week. There was a display car parked. I did a quick tour. The driving position is really very sporty, build quality is good. But I feel the car is overpriced. The equipment level is quite nice. No AT on the diesel is a bad miss. the cabin feels premium. I wouldn't be surprised if Honda sells 500-800 units a month.

[.HEM]

Thank you so much for a very detailed review. Whenever I see the new Civic on road, my eyes goes to the tail lamps, just to see if the tail lights glow, it looks like a red boomerang when lit.

The earlier Honda Civic was an enthusiast car, don't know what Honda is upto with the New Civic, when neither the petrol nor diesel is going to bring a grin on the drivers face.

[Storm2.0]

The front facia of Civic looks too similar to the City. If not difference in width, it's extremely hard to tell which one is City or which one is Civic. I simply hate this latest trend among manufacturers where all the cars across different segments have a common family face.

I will soon enter the market to find a replacement for my aging 2008 City ZX. I think I should wait for next gen City which is to be launched in early 2020.

Slightly OT: Has anyone seen test mules of next gen Honda City being tested on Indian roads?

[travelwriter]

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

....It looks like Octavia 1.8TSI will remain the favorite for petrolheads. IMHO, the civic feels way overpriced for what it offers, but this has been my feeling for most of the cars these days!

Cheers and +1 to that.

It is quite unfair to compare a Honda to Octavia or even a VW for that matter. But what is disappointing is the huge difference in the tune state of the Civic when compared to the international model. That one also has less or no chrome making it regal to look at. Personally, I find the front grille here garish.

I think Honda engineers have the slogan "Kya deti hai?" stuck up on the walls wherever they turn. That is why such low performance mentality

Travelwriter

[sharc_biker]

That's a wonderful review! Very detailed.

Having owned 3 Honda cars in the family ('07 City ZX Vtec, '17 City ZX CVT & '07 Civic 1.8 S), I feel Honda cars are turning out to be softer and comfort oriented instead of performance. The 1st gen City 1.5 Vtec and the 1st gen Civic were surely more performance oriented than their successive generations.

Honda should really consider launching the 1.5L engine from the international Civic Sport model which puts out a healthy 182ps of power if they plan to catch up with their German rivals in that segment. I wish Honda would even bring in the 306bhp Civic type R atleast in limited numbers like Skoda did with the Octavia RS given the new rules of allowing upto 2500 cars without homologation.

Here is a pic of my (now sold) '07 Civic 1.8 S sporting the 'got bhp?' sticker:
Attachment 1894912

[Asish_VK]

Great Review as always

But somehow the new Civic doesn't excite me. Even on the road, I don't give it a second look . For me it looks like a larger and better looking Honda amaze , Especially from the front due to that chrome moustache.

The old civic was a class of its own for looks and still it is

[Enigmatic]

Amazing review of an amazingly average car.

I own the 8th generation Civic and had my eyes on the 10th generation. Specially the one with the 1.5L turbo charged petrol engine. An upgrade made perfect sense, mostly because of the nostalgic factor and the 1.5L turbo charged petrol engine seems to be a cracker of an engine. What we do end up getting is, after a wait of no less than 6 years since being discontinued, the same commuter engine.

I just cannot understand where the Civic sits in today's market. Apart from the looks and peace of mind of owning a Honda (which in my personal experience has been deteriorating), what exactly does the new Civic offer?

If you want:
1. A fun to drive car, you'll pick the Octavia;
2. A car for back seat comfort, Corolla it is (recently had a ride in the Octavia and that too was impressive. Heck, the City (which my father drives) provides better backseat comfort than the Civic);
3. Complete peace of mind, you'll obviously pick the Corolla; and
4. A mix bag of everything with sufficient style thrown in, the new Elantra is one hell of a car.

And the funny part is that all of the vehicles mentioned above cost less than the new Civic.

The thing going for the 8th generation civic was that it was a fun to drive car and it stood out from the crowd. While this one does retain the style quotient, it loses out on everything else.

[blackasta]

Crisp, clear review - the best they bake in the tbhp review bakery

Originally Posted by Liverpool

But I feel the car is overpriced.

I wouldn't be surprised if Honda sells 500-800 units a month.

The car is indeed overpriced, but almost every car on road now a days is overpriced !

Honda dispatched about 2290 in the first month, and has been topping the D segment charts in factory dispatches ever since.

Originally Posted by Storm2.0

The front facia of Civic looks too similar to the City. If not difference in width, it's extremely hard to tell which one is City or which one is Civic.

I have to disagree with you on this - they look very different in flesh.

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

For me it looks like a larger and better looking Honda amaze , Especially from the front due to that chrome moustache.

If you ask me - borrowing the idea of a chrome moustache from the younger siblings (city & amaze) was a bad idea.

[Sk8r]

This Civic didn't age well with time, did it ? It looks contemporary for sure, but misses the oomph factor that Civic had all these years.
Another glaring miss is the Diesel AT, when they could provide a great Diesel + CVT package in the Amaze, why would they give it a miss in the civic ?

[NTO]

Great review of a great car. A well deserved five stars for the review. Kudos to the attention to detail. I was also happy to see the image of my car's instrument cluster in the review when discussing the absence of eye sight level speedo meter.

As rightly said by GTO on a previous post on "when the previous gen cars were better", the new car is significantly superior in terms of safety, equipment and the bling factor. However the lack of a petrol manual robs away Civic of all it's fun.

One miss in the review was the mention of organ type A pedal on the old car while the new car gets the regular A pedal. Also the dead pedal of the older car is a size bigger and help accommodate the 13 size shoes in comfort. Also, the opposing blade wipers of the older car is fun to use and covers a wider part of the wind screen

Though the auto brake and auto hold buttons frees up a lot of space compared to conventional hand brake levers, the old car's hand brake still is handy to use and does not eat up much into the space as it was placed adjacent to the gear lever. There are two compartments for storage in between the front seats and also a deep storage under the centre arm rest.

The old torque converter is a superior gearbox and helps me a lot when I need to close gaps in the city. A short test drive with the CVT equipped new civic felt lethargic and no where in comparison to the older gear box.

Back in 2006, when the 8th gen civic was launched, I always wanted to own one. I always burnt from inside with a desire to buy one some day. A year gap between me and legal age to drive and affordability stood in between me and the civic. The new civic however, does not evoke the same emotions as the old car did back in 2006. I really don't see a point on why someone would shell out 20 big ones for this car.

A recent click of my Civic to sign off the post.

[laluks]

Detailed review as always.

My kids who grew up in eight gen civic, refuses to accept this new contraption of a car!! That's the emotion. Well, I must say I admit it too. That said looks and design is subjective, anyways.

If you are bringing in the same 1.8L petrol engine, where is the manual version? Also 20+ lakhs OTR? No way this is a winner. For those who missed 8th gen, this one is not going to fill that miss, whatever excuse you come up with!!

If Honda brings in an MT and prices it near to the 8th gen, then probably some sales will pick up, from those who missed 8thgen, and wants to get a new one. Until then this is a funky car, which refuses to impress!!

God save the Civic!

[UB_007]

Very well detailed review. The coupe design pretty much looks like the Mazda 6 with similar color too.
The front fascia slightly resembles the older gen Accord.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Two dummy buttons are provided above the ECON button. In global markets, the Civic gets its engine start/stop button above the ECON button.

By start stop button you mean a button to switch off the stop/start feature in traffic? or you meant directly the engine start button?
Is there no option to turn off the stop/start feature? Gets quite annoying if this option is deleted. Not seen this button on the dash anywhere.

-UB

[Samba]

Excellent review.
Rated 5*

There are three categories of customers.

1) Performance seekers. The Octavia is the undisputed winner.
2) People who pay more attention to reliability, comfort and economy. The Corolla Altis takes the cake.
3) A blend of both the worlds. The Civic and Elantra will appeal.

The Civic is transformed from a pure enthusiasts car to a luxury family sedan.
Honda might find more buyers with their new Civic, but they will loose their enthusiast fan base who used to swear by the petrol Honda's.

The high revving 1.8 L petrol needed a MT as an option, whereas the diesel needed an AT as an option. Honda just did the opposite!

The day has come when these D segment sedans can be chased by crossovers like Compass on the highways! I know it's like comparing apple with orange but at this price range buying a Compass will be more fun for the enthusiasts!

[autohead666]

Great details and a solid crispy review, kudos


Coming back to the car, the old civic is still a head turner to me. If this car passes, I doubt whether I would like to have a second look at it.
Electronic ergonomics are fine, however this car would neither impress me with its performance nor with its looks. Having said that,if I have to own a civic,I would always look at a pre-owned 8th Gen model .