India-bound 2018 Honda Civic first look

Aditya Chatterjee Updated: September 15, 2017, 03:11 PM IST

The Honda Civic was clearly one of the most popular premium sedans sold in India. Be its futuristic design or premium interiors, the Honda Civic clearly set a high benchmark. However, due to the increasing popularity of diesel and drop in sales, the Honda Civic was discontinued in India. We believe the new-gen Civic, that was unveiled globally last year, will arrive at our shores sometime next year. The premium sedan will be positioned below the Honda Accord Hybrid and will rival the likes of Hyundai Elantra and the Skoda Octavia.

The new-generation Honda Civic will make its India debut sometime next year, after possibly being showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo.

It is our best guess that the 2018 Honda Civic will make its first appearance at the Auto Expo scheduled to happen early next year. The new-gen Honda Civic that you see in the images below is the one made in Thailand and sold in Bhutan. We believe the premium sedan will go through certain changes in terms of features for the Indian market.

The new Honda Civic is 130mm longer and 20mm lower than its predecessor.

The new-generation Honda Civic adopts an aggressive design language. The sedan is 30mm wider and 130mm longer than the previous-generation five-door Civic. It is also lower by 20mm. The front gets a series of character lines, making the overall profile look busier than before. To the side, the new Civic gets a coupe-like silhouette that is further complemented by two prominent lines running along the profile. The way the roofline gently blends with the tail section along with the C-shaped tail lights give it an interesting rear quarter profile. In addition, the compact rear windscreen and boot lid paired with a trailing roof spoiler.

The interior on the 2018 Honda Civic is not as appealing as the previous-gen model.

Coming to the interior of the 2018 Honda Civic, it might not be as appealing as what we had seen in the previous gen model. That's because Honda has gone a lot more mainstream with this one. The design theme looks similar to that of the City. While this one is an international model, we believe it will go thorough changes when launched in India next year. The infotainment system looks a tad too basic and doesn't feature the popular Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity options.

The infotainment system looks a tad too basic and doesn't feature the popular Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity options.

The cabin space has been increased, so is the rear legroom by close to 95mm. The boot space has been retained at 478 litres. The new-gen Civic sedan is based on a lighter platform that weighs 16kg less than the previous offering while the torsional stiffness of the chassis has been increased by 52 per cent. On the front, it gets a MacPherson strut suspension while the rear rides on an all-new rear multi-link suspension.

Engine options on the Civic include an all-new 1.0-litre and 1.5-litre VTEC turbocharged petrol engines

The powertrain options in the new-gen Civic hatchback include an all-new 1.0-litre and 1.5-litre VTEC turbocharged petrol engines. The three-cylinder 1.0-litre unit makes a maximum power of 129PS at 5,500 rpm and generates a torque of 200Nm at 2,250rpm, with a 6-speed manual gearbox. With the CVT unit, the same motor produces 180Nm between 1,700rpm and 4,500rpm. The larger displacement 1.5-litre VTEC turbo petrol motor makes 182PS at 5,500rpm and produces 240Nm between 1,900rpm and 5,000rpm with the 6-speed manual gearbox and 220Nm with the CVT unit.

Honda Civic 2020 Full Spec

Price (Ex-Delhi)
Starts Rs 17.94 Lakhs

Displacement
1597cc

Transmission
Manual

Max Power(ps)
120

Max Torque(Nm)
300

Mileage
26.8 Kmpl

Honda Accord Hybrid 2018 Full Spec

Price (Ex-Delhi)
Starts Rs 43.21 Lakhs

Displacement
1993cc

Transmission
Automatic

Max Power(ps)
145