Honda Civic 2011 News

Honda's American newcomers are the Civic sedan being previewed at the show and the production version of the Civic coupe seen at the Detroit Motor Show in January, but eco-friendly engine choices - including the latest hybrid and a car that runs on compressed natural gas - swell the lineup. The new Civic is the ninth new model to wear the badge and Honda has high hopes for a car that's been a best seller for the brand since the 1960s. Honda Australia will only take the four-door Civic seen in the Big Apple and is waiting on the European Civic five-door hatchback to complete its new-model plan for the final months of 2011. The new Civic sedan is good but not great, based on back-to-back comparisons with rivals in New York including the impressive new Subaru Impreza and even the hugely improved Korean contenders from Kia and Hyundai. There is obvious cost-containment work in the cabin, with hard plastics in areas where rivals are nicely soft-touch, and little sign of any adventurous thinking in either the design or execution - even the measurements are almost identical to the current car. Still, the hybrid has had a significant tweak with a larger 1.5-litre petrol engine and lithium-ion battery pack - the first in a Honda - for the new model. Honda Australia will fit the new Civics into a family pattern in Australia, taking the four-door sedan from Thailand and the five-door hatch from the Swindon factory in the UK. "At this stage the plan is still for a local launch around the end of the year," says Mark Higgins, of Honda Australia. "The coupe is very much for north America, so we will only get the sedan from New York. It will be a similar lineup to today, which is a 1.8-litre four, a 2.0-litre four and the hybrid. We will also be taking the hatch from the UK." Pricing for the Civic currently starts at $22,490, with the hybrid from $34,490, and Higgins hints that Honda wants to keep the newcomers close to its existing price points. "We haven't had any discussions on price yet. It's a long way out. Obviously it's a very very competitive segment and we need to make sure we're at the sharp end," he says.

New for 2011 is the ninth-generation Civic that shows it will follow the pronounced wedge profile of the European Civic hatch and Type-R. Honda has released a sketch of the Civic Concept before the car hits US showrooms around the middle of next year. Australia waits until the last quarter of 2011, says Honda Australia spokesman Mark Higgins. "The line-up will be much the same as the current model," he says. "The sedan will continue to come from Thailand and the hatch from the UK." He says there is no word about changes to the drivetrains, so the model should continue with petrol and hybrid offerings. However, is is understood the Hybrid may have a 1.5-litre engine to replace the current 1.3-litre unit to copy the CR-Z's powerplant. The 2011 Civic Hybrid could also be Honda's first car to use next-generation lithium-ion batteries to replace the current nickel-metal hydride battery. The Li-ion batteries are smaller, lighter, quicker to charge - and avail themselves to plug-in - but more expensive than the current units. In 2011, Honda Australia will also launch the CR-Z Hybrid two-door hatch around the middle of the year. The Jazz Hybrid is expected here in the first quarter of 2012 and and all-new CR-V in late 2012 or early 2013.

There could even eventually be a petrol-electric hybrid in every Honda model series, according to the company's Australian chief.  The existing Civic hybrid will be joined this year by the Insight hatch, with the CR-Z coupe to follow, says Satoshi Matsuzawa.He also promises the new Insight will be "affordable", unlike the expensive and unsuccessful first-generation hybrid with the same name.  The new Insight is expected to cost around $30,000, but Matsuzawa will not confirm a price.“Honda Australia will take the hybrid direction in the Australian market. Insight will be the initiation of that movement and CR-V next year," he says.Honda Motor president Takanobu Ito last week announced that a plug-in hybrid will be added to its range in Japan and the US in 2012 and Matsuzawa says it will also be “the right direction for Australia”.Honda’s plug-in hybrid will be charged from the engine as well as mains supply and will be able to drive up to 60km purely on its electrc motor.  Ito says Honda will develop “multiple hybrid systems that are appropriate for vehicles of different sizes and use”.And Matsuzawa dismisses diesel, at least in the foreseeable future.  “Diesel could be an option but so far the path is to proceed with hybrid strategy," he says.

Nothing is leaking from Japan on the project so far – even though the car is expected sometime in late 2011 – but the European situation is much more open.Prototypes of the new Civic are out on the road there, although wearing so much camouflage it makes it difficult to pick anything beyond the basic shape.  But look closer into the Carparazzi pictures and the new Civic starts to emerge.The track is wider, there is a peek at the new grille, the rear door handles are open, and the general shape is reflected in a curvy new roofline.  Carparazzi says the Civic is a complete re-work of the car which hit the road in 2005, but there is no hint yet on the production plan. For Australia, Thailand will be the manufacturing site.European sources say the powerplants will be carried over with some revisions, including the petrol-electric package for the Civic hybrid.

The new all-electric Mitsubishi i-MIEV is about to go on sale in the Japanese domestic market for $43,000 – more than its bigger hybrid rivals from Toyota and Honda.But despite the micro-car's high entry price, Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson, Lenore Fletcher believes it will still be popular when it arrives here, possibly next year. She does not believe its price will be a barrier for acceptance.Local pricing is not yet confirmed but Fletcher says judging by the reaction of 150 people at recent drive days around the country, the car will be a hit. "If we had 20 i-MIEVs tomorrow they would all be sold," she says. "We've had people trying to give us firm orders for the car."Participants were surprised by the power and refinement of the little hatch, she says. And she is confident prices will come down as these electric cars become more common and production ramps up to achieve economies of scale. Mitsubishi Australia is bouyed by the fact that many fleets are interested in the car to sell a green message.The rear-drive i-MIEV develops 47kW, the same as the three-cylinder petrol-powered Mitsubishi "i" but delivers 180Nm from zero revs compared to the petrol car's 94Nm. It also contributes 70 per cent less C02 emissions than a similarly sized hatchback.The car has been fully certified to Australia Design Rules and has compliance so Mitsubishi Australia is just waiting for the nod from Japan.It has a range of about 160km from its lithium-ion battery pack. With about 85 per cent of commuters travelling less than 100km a day, Fletcher says the i-MIEV is an ideal city car.Just 2000 i-MIEVs will be built in Japan this year but the car's popularity has already prompted Mitsubishi to lift production. Next year it will build 5000 cars and by 2013 it hopes to build 30,000 a year.Mitsubishi, like many leading carmakers pushing the electric button, faces a lack of supply of battery components for their vehicles. The new Toyota Prius goes on sale in July and is expected to cost slightly more than the Honda Insight. Honda Australia is aiming for a sub-$30,000 price for the Insight and had originally hoped to have it on sale here this year. However, the car's popularity overseas has pushed out its local launch to the second half of 2010.In Japan, the i-MIEV will initially be sold to fleets with private sales starting later this year. Apart from Australia, it will be sold in Europe and North America.Mitsubishi, along with Nissan Australia, wants more government incentives to get people into electric cars.

The cost of ownership of new-generation alternative fuel cars has also been highlighted at a high-level meeting last week between 10 carmakers and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.The FCAI wants to fast-track a united front by the industry as it prepares car buyers for the rapid growth of green cars. The chamber's chief executive, Andrew McKellar, says there is an urgent need for infrastructure to be in place for electric cars, new-generation plug-in hybrids, ethanol and alternative fuels."There is a sense of urgency in the industry as we have a number of brands preparing to bring in cars with new fuel technologies," he says. "There is a roll for co-ordination across the industry to ensure that we're pursuing a more pro-active strategy to work with all stakeholders."The approach with electric vehicles needs to be seen as one element of a higher strategy that also relates to environmental and green vehicles."These technologies present an enormous global challenge, he says. "Around the world the challenge of achieving enhanced environmental performance is one of the most pressing priorities the car industry has," McKellar says. "In the case of electric vehicles we have one very practical example of an emerging technology that has accelerated in the past few years."Apart from infrastructure needs, the FCAI's electric vehicle working group will identify the types of vehicles expected to be launched as well as technical and registration requirements of new-generation hybrids and plug-in electric cars.Mitsubishi Australia, which hopes to have its i-MIEV electric car on sale soon, was one of the participants at the FCAI meeting. Spokesperson Lenore Fletcher says it is pleasing to see all parties ‘start to find our voice in terms of acceptance’. "We are coming to grips with the requirements of the new technology," she says.Apart from Mitsubishi, Toyota and Honda will soon introduce new hybrids. In addition to the new Prius, Toyota will introducing the hybrid Camry early next year. And GM-Holden is aiming to have its Volt ‘range-extender’ hybrid on sale here by 2012.Despite their emerging popularity, hybrids are still a small part of the overall car scene. Last year about 5200 hybrid passenger vehicles were sold in a market of more than 1 million.Subaru too has tested the electric current by showing of its plug-in Stella, while Mercedes-Benz hopes to have an electric version of its Smart on sale soon, which will be followed by battery-powered A-Class and B-Class hatches."We must ensure that Australia is ready for this technology," McKellar says.

In a time of seismic change in the car industry, Honda has decided its refreshed Civic will soldier on with a light makeover. But Honda Australia is keen to push the refreshed Civic's hybrid credentials, spokesman Mark Higgins saying the current Civic hybrid has turned into the quiet achiever, with sales up 20 per cent this year. It has sold 603 so far this year, up from 501 last year and interest has increased in direct correlation to the rise in fuel prices. “In June we actually outsold the Toyota Prius in the private sector for the first time,” he says. “Toyota has done a great job of promoting hybrids, like we have, but most of their sales are to fleets rather than private buyers. “Our sales are mostly to private buyers.” Higgins says a positive in the Civic hybrid's favour was that it looked like the normal petrol sedan. “The critical thing is that our car looks like a normal Civic and drives like the normal sedan.” He says local dealers have been constrained by a lack of hybrid supply, he says. “The bottom line is that if we could get more we could sell more,” he says. “But in the past six to nine months there has been a huge demand for that car in America and they're taking most of the production now.” The upgraded Civic sedan will arrive in local showrooms early next year, sporting mild visual changes and the same 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engines as well as the 1.3-litre hybrid four-cylinder available now. The biggest improvement is expected to be the fitting of electronic stability control — Honda calls it vehicle stability assist — as standard. However, Higgins says final specifications are yet to be determined. “VSA is already standard on the Civic Sport,” he says. “We're hoping to introduce it across the range, but that is yet to be confirmed.” The Civic is a key car in Honda Australia's line-up and has benefited from a swing to smaller economical four-cylinder cars. Demand this year is up 15 per cent and the range is responsible for a third of total Honda sales. Honda's other ace up its sleeve is the natural gas Civic, which is selling in record numbers in the US but is unlikely for Australia. “It drives and rides just like a normal Civic,” Higgins says. “And it's the cleanest internal combustion engine in the world.”  

Being top of the class is just as important for carmakers as it is for school students.Which is why the failure of the Honda Civic hybrid and Skoda Fabia to score the maximum five-star rating in the latest European New Car Assessment Program results may not please their parents.Both small cars achieved a four-star rating out of a possible five, which is above average but not excellent.By comparison, there are plenty of other five-star small cars available, including the latest Peugeot 207, Toyota Corolla, Holden Astra, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Citroen C4 and Fiat Punto.For the Civic and Fabia, the devil is in the detail.The Fabia lost a point for containing dangerous structures in the dashboard, which presented an injury risk to adult occupants.It also lost two points for child protection and scored two stars in the ever under-performing pedestrian protection category.The Civic hybrid lost a point for adult protection because the driver's airbag did not prevent the dummy's head from connecting with the steering wheel.However, it performed far better for child protection and pedestrian protection.The Civic hybrid is the second environmentally concerned car tested by Euro NCAP.The first was the Toyota Prius in 2004, which managed a five-star score for adult occupant protection. The latest results have been eagerly anticipated because European fleet buyers and consumers are increasingly seeking vehicles with lower CO2 emissions and higher safety scores, to benefit from the growing use of tax incentives.Euro NCAP's secretary-general, Adrian Hobbs, says consumers may ask themselves whether high safety scores and a hybrid powertrain can go hand in hand.“Honda and Toyota have shown they are rising to the challenge in their efforts to meet concerns about safety and global warming,” he says. “It is now up to other manufacturers to follow in their footsteps.”The front-impact test is conducted at 64km/h into an offset deformable barrier, the side-impact test at 50km/h, the pole test 29km/h and the pedestrian tests 40km/h.

The explosive Civic Type R, which is a hit in Europe and has a completely different look to the familiar Civic sedan, will land here in about June. But that does not mean the rest of the Civic hatch range will come here, according to Honda spokesman Mark Higgins. “We have to have a business case for bringing the (standard) hatch here,” Higgins says. “It’s made in Britain which makes it a different proposition price-wise from the sedan, which comes from Thailand. It would have to be more expensive (than the sedan) and we have to be mindful of it being competitive in the segment. “But the Type R is something a bit different. It’s a high performance model that sells at a premium so it makes a different case. All its competitors are special cars and many come from Europe. But we still intend to bring it here at a very competitive price.” The three-door Type R hatchback is powered by a 2.0-litre with 148kW at 7800 revs paired with a six-speed manual transmission. Pricing won’t be announced until mid-year.

"Of course we would love to be able to get it, but it is early days," says Honda Australia spokesman Gareth Rees. "We have to make a business case for the car and that will most likely happen over the next six months or so. "One of the unknowns is how much the car will cost. It will be the first Type R car to be built in Europe rather than Japan and that could make it simply too expensive." Based on the Civic Type R concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March and confirmed for production just last week, the three-door Type R will be built alongside the five-door hatch at Honda's Swindon plant. It will be displayed for the first time at next week's Paris Motor Show. The Type R will be powered by a free-spinning i-VTEC DOHC 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder putting out 150kW of power. Honda claims the new Type R will put the sprint to 100km/h behind in 6.6 seconds and on to a top speed of about 235km/h. The car is also claimed to be more refined and flexible and offers a stiffer chassis than the outgoing Type R. It will have a suspension package and steering system unique in the Civic range. The Type R will feature many of the bodykit features from the original concept car with a deep front spoiler, larger air intake, triangular fog-lights and a black honeycomb mesh grille.