THE new five-door's 1.7-litre VTEC engine meets Honda's low emission vehicle standard (LEV), making the Civic the fifth vehicle in Honda's range to qualify.

Claimed fuel economy figures are 6.4 litres/100km highway and 7.2 litres/100km city. The five-door's single-camshaft, 16-valve direct ignition engine develops 96kW and 155Nm of torque. It uses swirl intake ports and small 'four-port' fuel injectors instead of a single nozzle, improving combustion and reducing unburned hydrocarbons by a claimed 14 per cent. Technology borrowed from the high-tech 2.0-litre S2000 engine includes dimpling of the piston skirt and ring surfaces and new, slightly oval shaped piston skirts and roller rocker arms that cut friction by a claimed five per cent. The new engine is also more compact and lighter (by 11 per cent) than the one it replaces.