2016 Honda Civic Full Review.
The Civic is a staple in the Honda lineup. A perpetual compact best seller and from now on a car I would recommend for people to buy if I feel like not putting that much effort into my car recommendation or if they simply ask me what car should they buy. But rests assure that lazy effort to recommendation is completely justified.
Now on its 10th generation the Honda Civic is weirdly free from compromise. It is both fun and frugal at the same youthful yet responsible. Warning! Next few minutes of this review might sound like a Honda love fest but not without good reason. Like engineering magic trick the Honda Civic has a very comfortable ride with fun and dare I say it sporty handling. The key to that fun is a quick steering ratio and a small steering wheel. In fact when you first drive the new Civic you might find the ratio is little to quick but with time the joy of agile and responsive steering overtakes you.
Speaking of overtaking propulsion comes from either a naturally aspirated 1.8L four cylinder petrol engine that makes 141 horsepower with 174 Nm of torque found on the base S trim or a turbocharged 1.5L four cylinder with the output of 173 horsepower and 220 Nm of torque on all the higher trims. The base 1.8L is a fine engine but the 1.5L turbo engine is a tiny little over achiever that returns good fuel economy and a stout turbo lag free acceleration thanks in part to the very smooth operating ‘Continuously Variable Transmission’ its partner with.
In fact Honda’s new CVTs are good enough to help bury dark memory of early CVTs where they have a rubbery responds and pain engine sounds. As of now this is the only transmission available on the Civic no matter what engine or trim level you choose. Not that it’s a bad thing though the CVT help the Civic get a decent rated 7.2L/100km combine fuel consumption for the 1.8L engine. Interestingly the more powerful 1.5L engine is also the more efficient but only so slightly with the combine rating of 6.9L/100km. All hail the magic of turbo charging!
Inside the Civic boast a number of improvements over the previous model. The old 2 tier dash design has been supplanted by a more traditional layout. Simple control and clean modern ecstatic make the new Civic a joy to inhabit. Thanks to a lift back type roof line head room in the back is more than abundant. Leg room is also good although there is a small hump intrusion of the center tunnel that intrude ever so slightly into the leg room of middle rear passenger but other than the rear quarters of the Civic is plenty roomy. Added with some really nice material surrounding the occupant as well as rear air vents and you have an interior that is anything but low budget.
The audio system non existing volume knob instead replace with a capacitive touch may takes time of getting use to but other than it is a good move by Honda Malaysia to introduce ‘Android Auto’ and ‘Apple Carplay’ functionality together with a clear 7 inch touch screen display with voice recognition on all the Civic trim. Bravo Honda! This is really how everyone should react with their car infotainment system. Just so you know that 7 inch screen also double as part of the control screen for the climate control which can be switch back and forth with a single physical button under the screen. Trunk space on the other hand is a big 519 liters. On the downside though unlike the old Civic, the rear seats of the new car cannot be folded down to increase cargo capacity.
For around RM 115k the base Civic 1.8S includes a multi angle back up camera, key-less entry with push button start, electronic parking brake, remote engine start, LED DRL, 8 way power driver seat, automatic projector headlight, cruise control, 16 inch alloy wheels and a full color LCD meter cluster. Standard safety feature include 6 airbags, stability control, hill start assist, Isofix and auto brake hold. Unlike most compact cars, you could honestly buy a base Civic and be perfectly happy with it. But if you have some cash to play around with the option list ripe with opportunity. In a typical fashion options are divided by trim levels. Climb up to the RM 129K 1.5L turbocharged Civic and 17 inch alloy wheels as well as leather seats could be yours. Buy the top of the line Premium trim with dual zone climate control, navigation, LED headlight with fog lights and you’ll spend a touch over RM 136k. Sadly, the Civic cannot be had with Honda’s lane watch system which are available on the Accord and CR-V as well as all the next generation safety features in which Honda called ‘Honda Sensing’ available in other markets. All Civic comes with a 5 years warranty and unlimited mileage.
One last bit of note of praise, in addition to the Civic physical and emotional goodness it also boasts an exceptionally strong resale value making it not only a delightful car to drive and own but also to sell. Still not everyone wants a Civic. Toyota fans will naturally embrace the reliability and high resale value of the Corolla Altis. Hyundai Elantra and Kia Cerato cover up with plenty features at value price tags. While the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus each is brilliant to drive and look at.
You could usually capture the accent of a car with one word like practical, comfortable, sporty and techy. With the Civic all those words apply at such a great proportion that not only this is the best Honda Civic ever made but this also a car that the rest of the compact category should not only really take notice of but worried of as well.
