Honda Civic Showcased At Auto Expo 2018

Update: The Honda Civic has been launched, priced from Rs 17.70 lakh to Rs 22.30 lakh, ex-showroom pan-India.

Honda’s Civic catapulted to success almost immediately when it was introduced nearly a decade ago. The low-slung ride height, futuristic interior design and the lure of the Honda badge ensured it flew off the shelves. But as the market moved towards diesel vehicles, the Civic had to humbly bow out of the competition. Now though, with petrols fast regaining momentum - it’s back!

Showcased at Honda’s pavilion at Hall 9 of the 2018 Auto Expo, the blue sedan can’t be mistaken for anything else. The coupe-ish profile remains, and Honda has thrown in all the modern trinketeries you expect from a plush D-segment sedan. Elements such as all-LED headlamps, daytime running lamps, 17-inch machine cut alloy wheels and of course - a sunroof find place on the Civic. The front fascia looks muscular and features an edgy, buffed up design.

Inside, the cabin gets an all black treatment with plenty of soft-feel material and metal accents on the dash. The controls seem inclined towards the driver and just like the old civic you sit quite low in the car. The control surfaces too feature a metal finish, the infotainment screen though well placed, could’ve been bigger. Despite the tapering, coupe like roofline, there is ample space at the rear to seat two in comfort. In essence, the new Civic carries over all the attributes of the old car that made the Civic a success in the Indian market.

Internationally, the Civic is available with a 1.8-litre 4-cylinder naturally aspirated i-VTEC engine making 140PS and 174Nm and a 1.5-litre 4 pot turbo petrol that dishes out 170PS of max power and 220Nm of torque. When it is launched in India within financial year 2018-2019, Honda wil likely get the Civic with the turbo petrol, however, it will definitely be available with a detuned version of the CR-V’s 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine making 120PS of max power and 300Nm of peak torque.

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The return of the Civic could potentially make Honda the segment leader once again. The main reason for the decline of the popularity of the Civic was the lack of a diesel motor and the ageing design. But now both petrol and diesel options will help Honda cover a larger customer base whilst ging against rivals like the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla Altis and the Skoda Octavia. Finally, City customers will have an upgrade option in the Honda family that was missing for over half a decade.