Looking Good: Honda's new model is not just a pretty face
A new Honda Civic is about to arrive at my house. They tell me that I am the first motoring writer in Britain to be awarded this privilege, yet I faintly fear the moment.
A new Honda Civic is about to arrive at my house. They tell me that I am the first motoring writer in Britain to be awarded this privilege, yet I faintly fear the moment.
Few car manufacturers can equal Honda’s genuine genius for producing cars whose design is as sensationally innovative as their engineering. No manufacturer, however, can match Honda’s record for following up a classic with a clunker.
Remember the Prelude? The fourth generation of that sports coupé, produced between 1992-1996, was one of the most perfect implementations of automotive art ever to emerge from mass production. Gorgeously feline and athletic in its looks, it was a knockout to drive and so soundly put together that it routinely topped the polls for reliability and owner satisfaction.
What about the CR-X? The second generation of that cute two-seater sports hatchback, produced between 1988-1991, was the most enchanting and exhilarating little car of its time. It overflowed with energy, originality and verve.
What did Honda do to follow up that triumph? It replaced the CRX with a targa-topped miscarriage of a car called the CRX Del Sol. The replacement had so few of its predecessor’s magnetic qualities that the two bore almost no discernible connection. It was almost as if Honda was a stranger to its own genius.
Now here comes the new Civic. The reason its approach makes me anxious is that the last Civic was extremely good. The eighth generation Civic (2006-2011) was so radically original in its looks that it shook up the entire market for Golf/Focus-size family cars.
Its continuous, aggressively curved line from front bumper to back was more the catwalk style that you might expect from Citroën; and, in its high performance Type-R form, that Civic became the number one choice among hatchbacks for drivers who fancied themselves.
What, then, has Honda wrought upon such an admirable piece of work? Answer: it has actually improved it.
Instead of binning that excellent design, it has mildly muted its shape. An inch here, an inch there, a shorter wheelbase – and the car emerges that bears a recognisable connection with its forebear but is also distinctly different.
Gone is the continuous line of acrylic glass that stretched around the nose from headlight to headlight. Gone, too, are the jelly bean hues of the instrument display along with the plethora of bar graphs and readouts that made you feel that you might be sitting at a Wall Street trader’s desk rather than a driving seat.
Instead, we now get simplicity, clarity and a sympathetic recognition that we have better things with which to occupy our minds than mastering a car’s information system.
In its dynamic set-up, the previous Civic was not as radical as it looked – an unusual imbalance for a company that has never gone for the fur-coat-no-knickers approach. This new one corrects the balance with a six-speed gearbox, sharper handling and a neater ride.
Contrary to their long-established traditions, then, Honda seems with the new Civic to have taken a very good car and made it better.
What did Honda do to follow up that triumph? It replaced the CRX with a targa-topped miscarriage of a car called the CRX Del Sol. The replacement had so few of its predecessor’s magnetic qualities that the two bore almost no discernible connection. It was almost as if Honda was a stranger to its own genius.
Now here comes the new Civic. The reason its approach makes me anxious is that the last Civic was extremely good. The eighth generation Civic (2006-2011) was so radically original in its looks that it shook up the entire market for Golf/Focus-size family cars.
Its continuous, aggressively curved line from front bumper to back was more the catwalk style that you might expect from Citroën; and, in its high performance Type-R form, that Civic became the number one choice among hatchbacks for drivers who fancied themselves.
What, then, has Honda wrought upon such an admirable piece of work? Answer: it has actually improved it.
Instead of binning that excellent design, it has mildly muted its shape. An inch here, an inch there, a shorter wheelbase – and the car emerges that bears a recognisable connection with its forebear but is also distinctly different.
Gone is the continuous line of acrylic glass that stretched around the nose from headlight to headlight. Gone, too, are the jelly bean hues of the instrument display along with the plethora of bar graphs and readouts that made you feel that you might be sitting at a Wall Street trader’s desk rather than a driving seat.
Instead, we now get simplicity, clarity and a sympathetic recognition that we have better things with which to occupy our minds than mastering a car’s information system.
In its dynamic set-up, the previous Civic was not as radical as it looked – an unusual imbalance for a company that has never gone for the fur-coat-no-knickers approach. This new one corrects the balance with a six-speed gearbox, sharper handling and a neater ride.
Contrary to their long-established traditions, then, Honda seems with the new Civic to have taken a very good car and made it better.
Cool World of Honda
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