Sporty tweaks for Honda Civic – but what about diesel?
BY TIM ROBSON | 4th May 2015
Released in Europe in September 2014, the tweaks to the UK-built three-variant Civic hatch range are largely restricted to cosmetic items, whiles some price adjustments have been made across the line.
The base VTI-S manual is now $500 dearer at $22,150 before on-road costs. Also dearer are the VTi-L auto (up $500 to $26,990) and range-topping VTi-LN automatic (also up by $500 to $31,090).
Metallic paint is a $575 uptick across the range.
The Civic 1.6 DTi-S diesel – available only as a manual at $27,990 plus on-road costs – is not listed on Honda Australia’s release. The company has been contacted for comment.
On the exterior, the Civic’s front and rear bumpers are new, while a black mesh-equipped front grille has echoes of the newly launched Type R. Side skirts and a new rear spoiler round out the body style changes.
The range also scores guided-tube daytime running lights, where the LEDs are mounted inside their own tube and illuminate as a single light, as opposed to many separate LEDs. Similarly equipped tail-lights are also fitted.
Interior-wise, the Civic receives a much-needed infotainment update, with a colour screen now taking pride of place in the centre console. The updated system includes Bluetooth connectivity, audio streaming, mirroring functionality (only available with an iPhone 5 or 6) and reversing camera display.
New seat fabric, a passenger side dash garnish and chrome trims on the door panels make up the balance of updates.
Mechanically, there are no changes to the 104kW/174Nm 1.8-litre four cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine. A new torque-vectoring feature called Agile Handling Assist System (AHAS) complements the Civic’s vehicle stability system, while parking sensors are fitted to the VTi-L and VTi-LN.
However, it appears that the Civic will miss out on the City Brake-Active anti-rear-end collision tech released with the European upgrade. The system brings the car to a halt from under 30km/h if the radar-based system detects an imminent crash.
Sales of the Civic continue to struggle combined sales of the hatch and sedan variants stand at 1229 for 2015 barely 10 per cent of the category-leading Toyota at 11,672, and 48 per cent down year on year.
| Honda Civic pricing* | |
| VTi-S | $22,150 |
| VTi-S (a) | $24,450 |
| VTi-L (a) | $26,990 |
| VTi-LN (a) | $31,090 |
