As often with Honda, the new Civic will land in Europe well after having invested in the other world markets, in the fall of 2022. But the compact Honda takes the opportunity to adopt an unprecedented hybrid engine, of which the brand is now delivering the first characteristics.
Honda has kept its word: by the end of the year, its entire European “mainstream” range will be electrified. A commitment necessarily easier to keep when you offer a fairly small range of models and you have limited commercial ambitions on the Old Continent. responsible for closing the loop, the eleventh generation of Civic arrives here only this fall (opening of orders at the beginning of the summer), nearly a year and a half after being unveiled in the United States. A country which now also manufactures them, after the closure of the Swindon factory in Great Britain. Nevertheless, the Civic sold in France will come from the Japanese factory in Yorii. This late arrival does not only have drawbacks since it takes the opportunity to adopt a hybrid engine unknown across the Atlantic. This will even be the only offer in Europe while waiting for the future Type R sports variant, which should undoubtedly be the last Honda to remain faithful to the thermal.
A 184 hp hybrid engine
For the Civic, the hybrid isn’t quite a first. Its eighth generation already offered such a proposal, from 2003. Except that at the time, only the four-door trunk body, traditionally not very popular in our regions, was available in hybrid, and all electric driving was impossible. Faced with a more successful Toyota Prius 2, the Honda had to settle for supporting roles. Today, the Civic e:HEV can show much higher ambitions. As its name suggests, it takes up the technical solutions already proven by the Jazz, HR-V and CR-V. There are thus two electric motors, one serving only as a generator and the other capable of driving the wheels, as well as a fixed-ratio transmission.
But the lithium-ion battery here goes from 60 cells, on the H-RV, to 72 cells, and the thermal part is entrusted to an all-new 2-litre four-cylinder, equipped with direct injection and a cycle Atkinson for more sobriety. By combining the two energy sources, Honda announces a power of 184 hp, better than the 1.5 turbo of the old generation and as much as the most muscular Toyota Corolla. Better still, the maximum torque of this Civic reaches 315 Nm, when its predecessor peaked at 240 Nm and its great Japanese rival at 190 Nm. A chasm! All this with an unleaded consumption that would remain below the 5 l/100 km mark on the WLTP cycle and CO emissions2 less than 110 g/km. No ecological penalty is therefore to be feared, even in 2023. Four driving modes are also on the program, including a customizable Individual, a novelty for the brand.
A “compact” still very imposing
The rest of the presentation of this European variant, on the other hand, hardly held any surprises, since the bodywork is identical to that of the five-door already offered across the Atlantic. The word “compact” is therefore very relative here. The length now reaches 4.55 m, still 3 cm longer than the previous generation, already more imposing than all its competitors. The wheelbase alone increases by 3.5 cm. This suggests a good rear habitability, even if the roof line lowered by 2.5 cm could complicate access to the bench seat a little. The trunk also promises to be very welcoming and benefits from a new resin tailgate, announced to be 20% lighter than the old one. More than the dimensions, however, it is the style that changes radically, showing itself to be much wiser and less loaded than before.
A cleaner dashboard
This desire to offer a more refined atmosphere, less “manga”, can also be found in the passenger compartment. The dashboard now adopts a horizontal configuration to reinforce the impression of width, with vents concealed behind a thin metal honeycomb grille running from door to door. The high Advance finish adds digital instrumentation in 10.2-inch format, while the central touch screen, perched high, climbs up to 9 inches. Able to manage Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly, it will be supported by a premium Bose audio installation with 12 speakers on the Advance version. The Civic Executive and Sport, on the other hand, will have to make do with eight speakers.
But this exotic rival of the Peugeot 308, Volkswagen Golf and other Renault Mégane 4 is also proud of its cohort of driving aids. To optimize the operation of its various collision avoidance systems, its lane keeping assistance or its semi-autonomous driving technology in traffic jams, the Civic e:HEV thus benefits from four sonar sensors in front and as many behind, in addition to a new 100 degree panoramic camera. It also has no less than 11 airbags, including a central one to avoid a collision between the driver and the front passenger or two side ones for the rear seats. For a brand that claims to want its products to be no longer involved in any fatal accident by 2050, this is the minimum! But we also hope all the same that the pleasure of driving will not have been forgotten in passing.
