Honda Civic Hatch 2012 Review

Honda Civic Hatch

What we liked:
>> Stand out of the crowd styling
>> Interior quality improved
>> Ride handling balance (on Euro roads at least)

Not so much:
>> Engine lacks torque
>> Base model is poorly equipped
>> Local pricing not confirmed

Honda tweely terms the latest version of the uniquely styled five-door, 'Revolutionary Evolution'. It certainly continues the themes created by the eighth-gen car that was launched Down Under (late) in 2007. What the company says it's not keen to repeat is that car's out-of-step pricing. So instead of an over-priced near-$40K single model (eventually dropped to sub-$30,000 last year), the new Civic Hatch will arrive in two versions, the more basic of which Honda Australia says will be priced from around $25,000.

Armed with the ability to compete with the mid and upper-level spec versions of volume sellers like Mazda Mazda 3 and Volkswagen's Golf, Honda is hoping to sell upwards of 4800 new Civic hatches per year. It's a big lift for the brand's volume in the segment but tellingly less than a third of the volume Mazda sells of its five-door 3. Even if the Civic Hatch takes off, in terms of sales recovery Honda's not out of the woods Down Under just yet.

Two grades will be offered and share the same basic mechanical specification. A single 1.8-litre i-VTEC petrol four-cylinder powers the latest Civic hatch, with the base grade VTi offered with the choice of six-speed manual or optional paddle-shift five-speed automatic. The top grade, badged VTi-L, arrives as an auto only.

New Civic hatch is a striking styled vehicle that should stand out from the hatch crowd. Honda suggests even in its most basic form it will compete with mid-grade models from the opposition (but we're not so sure).

To this end the VTi's standard equipment list includes LED running lamps and 16-inch alloy wheels. It even gets a BMW-style shark fin antenna to spread the premium message. Inside, the car gets single-zone climate control, one-touch up/down front windows and basic steering-wheel mounted controls for the four-speaker audio system. Honda's iMID (intelligent multi information display) is a nice feature and there's an eco-mode that alters throttle and shift settings (the latter in auto equipped cars).

Standard trim is a stylish technical cloth but from here the spec list has some holes. There's no auto wipers or headlamps (auto-off only as standard) and Bluetooth hands-free is not fitted. No cruise control is offered in the base grade, nor any form of rear park sensor or camera.

Honda is hinting at an entry-level price for the manual VTi at around $25,000. Our guess is that it will be just under... Expect to pay around $2300 to option up the paddle-shift auto.

The VTi-L will wear the extra for the auto plus a 'walk' for the extra equipment. We'd place it around the same $29,990 levels as the outgoing eighth-gen Si. Even at $30K, overall it's a much more convincingly equipped car. Honda expects it to account for more than half of the hatch's volume.

Leather seat facings kick off the VTi-L's extra goodies and the car rolls on 17-inch alloys and gets foglamps and auto lights and wipers. The premium seven-speaker sound system features Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free phone operation. Cruise is added and the top-liner also gets a reversing camera and dual-zone climate control. Heated front seats (the Euro version also gets power-adjustable lumbar and side bolsters) and drilled alloy pedals will also be standard.

Sat-nav is an option. Honda Australia says the unit is a locally developed accessory but features the same screen style as the Pioneer unit fitted to the European spec cars we drove.

Not to be offered Down Under are the radar adaptive cruise control or collision-mitigating autonomous braking systems fitted to European-spec Civics. Our test cars also featured a panoramic glass roof which has also been scratched from local Aussie spec – even as an option.

PACKAGING

R&D program chief Masuda-san says the changes to the hatch reflect and effort to increase crash safety. He claims a redesigned interior redresses any loss of cabin space. We had an 185cm colleague position the driver's seat and then jump in the back and he fitted, even if things were just a touch tight. Yours truly at 168cm was well comfy.

The new car is lower, to aid aerodynamics (the driver's H-point is lower to replace headroom), and is marginally wider overall. Front and rear track have been increased substantially – 36mm at the pointy end. This aids stability and gives the car a more planted stance.

Side glazing is narrow and 'fast' in profile – it looks like a three-door just like the outgoing car. At the rear there's larger hatch glazing and the 'split-pane' is lower and larger than the previous model. This improves rear vision substantially – handy on the autobahn! A rear wiper is also a welcome addition.

The sculptured rear lamps are placed higher than most hatches. In conjunction with the auxiliary centreline stop lamp, they are shaped like a large rear wing. Honda says they yield substantial aerodynamic benefits. Overall the car's drag has been reduced a massive 10 per cent.

Inside, Honda claims considerable effort has been made to improve cabin quality – a factor its research said needed improvement. Audi interiors were the maker's benchmark. It missed, but there has definitely been improvements – at least based on our experience with the high-spec test cars we drove. The leather facings on seats and door skins are well executed with smart contrasting stitching. Also smart is the slightly 'hatched' dash and door-top graining.

Like its four-door counterpart, the Civic Hatch features a two-tiered dash layout with a centre stack that's canted towards the driver but doesn't exclude the front passenger from HVAC or audio activities. It is, however, a touch more driver-focussed than the sedan's set-up.

The thick-rimmed leather wheel in the VTi-L is almost perfectly proportioned. Honda kicks goals to with the wheel to shifter relationship. It's easy to get your driving position just so.

A win for versatility, Honda has retained the Magic Seat second row set-up made famous in the Jazz but also offered in the eighth-gen hatch. Split 60:40, the arrangement allows multiple layout options. The rear seat cushions can be raised in part or full width allowing a secure and tall load area. Alternatively the seat back can be tumbled flat as per a conventional hatch. And even when it's in its normal position there's storage room under the rear seat. It rivals Skoda's Vario set-up as the best in the business.

At 477 litres Honda claims the Euro-spec Civic hatch has up to 100 litres more space than the next best in the class. As Aussie spec Civics will feature a spacesaver spare (and lose the additional sub-floor storage area) luggage space is around 407 litres or 1308 with the seats tumbled. These are still impressive numbers.

MECHANICAL

Up front the suspension is new though based on the same MacPherson strut set up as the four-door. At the rear the torsion beam design has been retained but was been beefed up and new fluid-filled bushes fitted. Honda claims suspension response is improved.

Electrically assisted steering and four-wheel disc brakes are essentially carried over. So too the mechanical package, though again Honda says a considerable number of detailed changes have been made. In the case of the engine, special attention has been paid to reducing pumping loses and internal friction, the boffins claim.

For the record, the 1.8-litre fuel-injected SOHC i-VTEC four is rated at the same 104kW and 174Nm as the engine it replaces though both torque and power are at higher revs. The new engine requires an addition 200rpm to reach peak power (6500rpm vs. 6300), with top torque 100rpm higher than the old mill at 4300rpm.

Unlike their European counterparts, Aussie Civic five-doors will also do without the idle stop-start Honda added in this generation. Yes, Eco Assist remains (a system which gauges how economically a driver is operating the car) but the key beneficial technological step has been left off the local wishlist.

There's still a worthwhile fuel economy improvement, on paper at least. The latest manual records 6.1L/100km down from 6.9, with the auto's economy figure now 6.5L/100km, down from 7.2.

Clouding the cost of running equation, however, is fuel choice. Unlike the old hatch and current sedan, the Euro-sourced ninth-gen Civic hatch now requires you use more expensive 95 RON PULP.

Frankly, though smooth and refined, it's the engine that is the weak point of the new Civic. Its performance is okay through the gears but it could really benefit from an injection of some torque. Honda says its next generation of EarthDream engines is just around the corner. They can't come soon enough -- the Civic Hatch feels like a new-gen car handicapped by an old-gen engine.

SAFETY

It has already achieved a five-star rating from EuroNCAP, so a local five-star (ANCAP) rating is a given.

What the car does miss out on is the latest electronic driver aids launched on the Euro-spec models. Collision-mitigating autonomous braking and radar-based active cruise control are features Honda is making mileage with Civic in the UK and Europe but both are absent from the local models.

COMPETITORS

Golf was the dynamic and performance benchmark for the new Civic says its R&D team, but it's Mazda from which Honda needs to steal sales Down Under if the Civic's re-hatching is to prove successful. Honda's sales chief Stephen Collins is at pains to point out, however, that Civic will not have a model that will compete head-on with the volume-selling and cheapest Mazda3, Neo.

Though all Small category hatches will compete with Civic for customers' affections, Impreza and Focus were also nominated in Honda's presentation. To this we'd add the all-new i30 which will hit dealers around the same time as the Civic. It could very well be the Brit-built five-door's toughest competitor for attention in the short term.

ON THE ROAD

In town the Civic is fuss-free and easy to handle. It's easy to sense where all of the corners are (even in tight laneways) and parking the car is a cinch – even though rear three-quarter vision is not flash. Steering is a little heavier than some might like at low speeds but better weighted for B-road and highway work. Like most EPAS systems there's not much feel.

At normal highway speeds the car is quiet and stable but lacking in oomph. Overtaking on B-roads takes some anticipation and a desire to row the car along. You need to have 3500rpm in hand before the engine feels lively. The good news is that the gearchange is delightfully tactile – it feels like a proper manual gearbox should. It's a shame most buyers will opt for auto.

Steering response is a touch lazier than we remember the last model, but far from woolly; and when the twisties arrive, the car corners with just enough roll to weight the outside tyres nicely. The body is well controlled in normal changes of direction.

Honda says the Civic Hatch is a step along the way to resurrecting its reputation as a builder of sporty engaging cars. And it is -- in terms of chassis tune. For the time being, however, the sports angle is let down by the engine. As noted above, it just doesn't have the verve sports minded buyers will expect.

That said it does have the potential to be remarkably economical. At the end of fairly silly autobahn blast (which included long WFO stretches at over 200km/h) our trip computer was still reading under 12.0L/100km. Over a much more appropriate 300kms of mixed roads including plenty of stop start urban running and more sensible highway stretches, we logged economy in the low 7.0L/100km range.

But even the relatively lacklustre engine may not be the Civic's biggest handicap Down Under. As noted above, in order to come in under the $25,000 mark, Honda Australia has stripped much of the sizzle from the Civic. On paper at least the VTi's cupboard looks a little bear. Sure, the VTi-L should stack up okay but how does that move the game on from the car it replaces, the now under-$30K Si?

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