It took Honda 6 years to bring the Civic in India. The first generation in India was an instant hit among the masses and enthusiasts alike. It was a unique car which stood above its competition with its peppy engines and futuristic styling.
Well, we got our much anticipated second generation in 2019 which is the 10th International Generation. It now comes in both petrol and diesel variants and plans to take the new bunch which includes the likes of Skoda Octavia and Hyundai Elantra. We have compiled the good and not so good bits of the new Civic to see if it stands a chance against this new lot.
The Civic has a well laid out cabin with the usage of top-notch materials. There are no loose bits here and use of soft-touch materials on the doors and dashboard bumps up its premium appeal. Both rows of seats are well-padded and provide with ample support for passengers. The base variant V is also not left behind as it gets a fair share of cabin features. The dashboard is well laid out with no clustering of buttons and this makes it intuitive to use both the infotainment system and air-con controls.
Being a Honda, the Civic has been well-engineered to provide for an involving driving experience. It provides for impressive driving dynamics without compromising on comfort. It is agile and holds ground even in the sharpest of corners. The steering is crisp which provides for instantaneous feedback and thus put a wide grin on the driver’s face.
Honda has bundled the 2020 Civic with a sweet bunch of features. It includes various segment-first features like Honda Lane Watch camera, remote engine starter and a side marker lamp. Many of the impressive features are because of Honda carrying forward its international model without many variations. The remote engine starter is a smart feature that allows you to use the air-con system for pre-cooling which is a boon for our tropical climate.
Safety has not taken a back seat here as Honda continues to woo us with its well-rounded safety package. Standard safety features include four airbags, ABS with EBD, hill start assist, rear parking sensors, Vehicle Stability Assist(VSA) and an electronic parking brake. Things get better as we move up the table with higher variants getting features like side curtain airbags and Lane Watch camera.
Hondas are known for their reliability and the Civic upholds this factor with awe. Its 1.8L petrol engine on offer is made to run more with minimal issues and the CVT gearbox it comes with makes it an easy to live with the car. Hondas are known to give you very less trouble and to never leave your side! With Honda’s widespread dealer and service network across the county, the automaker always has your back.
The first Gen Civic was known for its thrilling powertrain options and thus got the attention of every enthusiast in the country. But with the Second Gen, it disappointed. Honda confused us with the powertrain options, it gave the Civic at launch in 2019. It came with a petrol engine coupled with a CVT and a diesel engine coupled to a 6-Speed manual. The absence of a petrol manual was a turn down for the people who anticipated the legend’s comeback. Honda has catered the new Civic towards a more efficient proposition and currently is available only with the petrol engine and CVT.
Comfort has been given much importance in the Civic but Honda couldn’t balance between its sleek design language and occupants adaptability. The second row is well contoured and lavish but only for two occupants and with the third person in between, things will get clumsy. We are sure that most of the customers will not seat more than two occupants at the rear, but then having the only 3-pointer seatbelt in this segment for a third passenger at the rear is gone for waste.
Honda Civic is a well-packed car which has a lot of impressive features at hand but Honda tends to not learn from its mistakes. The first-gen Civic was also in a similar situation where Honda City managed to eat into its market. The same is destined to follow for the second Gen Civic, as the Indian market has more priority for “value for money”. You can get the top-spec variant for much less than the base Civic and there is not much difference between the two in terms of cabin space. In fact, the new City will be longer and wider than its outgoing model with a larger cargo space than the Civic!