New Honda Civic leaked – and confirmed for Oz

UPDATED 18/11/2020 6:00pm: Honda Australia has confirmed the new model will be coming to Oz but only as a hatchback.

And there's good news for hot hatch fans, with the Type R locked in for Australia as well.

"The 11th-generation Civic will be offered in the hatchback body style preferred by the majority of small car buyers in Australia, including the performance Type R variant," said Justin Lacy, Honda Australia's acting PR manager.

"In terms of timings for next-gen Civic hatch, it is too early for us to confirm any details at this stage," he said, but noted that the current model will "reach the end of its lifecycle towards the middle of 2021."

UPDATED 18/11/2020 3:00pm: The 2022 Honda Civic prototype sedan has officially been revealed in the USA, showing off the crucial new small sedan's exterior design in more detail, leaked only a couple of hours earlier.

Few new details have been revealed and no photos of the interior, just the one sketch outlining how it will be styled. However, Honda has confirmed the central touch-screen will be a full-HD 9.0-inch unit. The new Civic will also get the nameplate's "...first-ever full digital dash plus new active and passive safety systems," but doesn't say what the latter will include.

"Multiple new active and passive safety systems, including an upgraded suite of Honda Sensing safety and driver-assistive technologies, and multiple new airbag designs," is as much detail as Honda provides.

18/11/2020 12:20pm: The near-production prototype of the 11th-generation Honda Civic has been leaked, revealing a more mature, conservative design for the small car.

The Honda Civic prototype sedan will be officially revealed on Twitch in a matter of hours, but website Philkotse.com has leaked the images and details early.

The prototype’s design is close to the production version that is scheduled to arrive in Australia in 2022, giving Honda a better shot at reducing the sales gap to segment leaders such as the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato.

That means the long bonnet, smoother headlights, less busy but more assertive side profile and tougher-looking BMW-esque rear-end are all set to make the transition to the road-going model.

The front-end design features a more conservative and traditionally styled ‘face’ with a small grille and large lower air dam on the front apron.

It’s perhaps the rear-end that really grabs attention with its Euro-inspired LED tail-lights, in-built duck-tail boot spoiler, shark-fin antenna and integrated exhaust pipes.

Expect a variety of model grades across hatchback and sedan body styles, including eventually full-house Civic Type R performance guise – which looks to be previewed, to a certain extent, in the prototype shown here.

Inside, the cabin follows current trends with a super-simple layout that minimises controls and keeps the focus on the main areas of the instrument panel and large touch-screen infotainment system.

Even the dashboard design has been streamlined and the steering wheel controls have been pared back for a simpler, fuss-free finish and the result is a more upmarket look and feel.

It’s not quite as cool as the Honda e EV with its super-long LCD screens, but it’s considerably different from the current Civic.

Honda has apparently decided to keep powertrains under wraps for now, but we expect small turbo-petrol and petrol-electric hybrid units to continue.

Upgrades to the Civic’s safety systems will revolve around the latest Honda Sensing set-up, which is expected to deliver improvements to autonomous braking, steering and acceleration functions.

Using the Twitch video game streaming service to reveal the car, Honda is targeting younger buyers and insists the Civic is “the number-one vehicle for young, first-time and multicultural consumers”.

By the time the new Civic arrives in Australia, Honda will have switched to an all-new retail strategy, dubbed the ‘agency’ sales model. This will result in non-negotiable fixed prices set by the manufacturer.

Some vehicle lines will be axed, like the Jazz, but if the Civic offers a compelling package it could be a beacon of hope for Honda in Australia.

Stay tuned for more details.