Honda Civic 2019 News

Honda's lofty goal of bringing electrification to the masses seem to be at odds with the brand's local division, which currently only offers one electrified vehicle in its line-up - the prohibitively expensive $420,000 before on-road costs NSX flagship.Wh

Honda has confirmed its new-generation Jazz light hatchback, expected to be revealed at next month's Tokyo motor show, will launch next year and feature at least one hybrid engine that will be the sole powertrain for the European market.However, Honda Aus

Honda Australia has released the limited edition Civic +Luxe 2019, which is packed with extra standard equipment on top of the Civic VTi-S.Previously available as a sedan and priced from $29,990 drive-away ($2152 more than the VTi-S on which it's based), the Civic +Luxe includes leather upholstery, heated front seats, an eight-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, metallic paint and +Luxe badging as standard equipment. This is on top of the Civic VTi-S’ regular equipment list, which includes 16-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, keyless entry and push-button start, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, front fog lights, climate control and Honda’s ‘LaneWatch’ left-hand lane change camera system.Being based on the VTi-S, features such as forward collision warning, auto emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control are unavailable on the +Luxe - buyers must spend a further $7246 to get to the top-spec VTi-LX to earn those features. The Civic +Luxe is powered by the same 1.8-litre petrol engine as the VTi-S, which produces 104kW of power and 174Nm of torque. The solely available transmission is a CVT auto, and Honda claims the Civic +Luxe uses 6.4L/100km on the combined cycle. Available colours are ‘Platinum White’, ‘Lunar Silver’, ‘Modern Steel’ and ‘Brilliant Sporty Blue’. 

Formula One world champion Jenson Button has returned to Bathurst’s Mount Panorama circuit to set what Honda Australia is claiming as a “benchmark” lap time for a road-going front-wheel drive production car.

The Honda Civic hatchback will be facelifted later this year, arriving about nine months after the updated Civic sedan was launched with important safety equipment additions.The Civic sedan mid-life facelift has just launched in Australia, and the hatchback version is awaiting its own refresh thanks to that body-style's lifecycle lagging the sedan by about a year when it launched. Honda Australia director Stephen Collins confirmed to local media at an event in Sydney this week that the Civic hatchback update will be launched later in the year.“The Civic hatch is 9-12 months behind the sedan in updates and will be updated this year,” he said.“The full model change will be a few years away.”The Civic hatchback is aimed primarily at Europe, and was launched after the Civic sedan was already on sale in Australia, Asia and North America. Not many European markets receive the Civic sedan thanks to the popularity of hatchbacks.The delay to the Civic hatch line-up means that still only two models are equipped with Honda Sensing: the $33,590 VTi-LX and $50,990 Type R hot-hatch. The Civic sedan’s recent mid-life upgrade introduced Honda Sensing to cheaper RS and VTi-L models (in addition to the VTi-LX, which already had it). The VTi and VTi-S models in both hatch and sedan bodystyles are set to remain unavailable with Honda Sensing due to a lack of compatibility with the lower-output 1.8-litre petrol engine.If the Civic sedan is a guide to go off, other updates to the Civic hatchback will include a light styling refresh, new interior trim options, new multimedia and climate control buttons and a new range of wheels, including new 18-inch hoops on the Civic RS. Local pricing and specifications will be announced before the updated Civic hatchback’s release later in 2019.

The next generation Honda Civic Type R will be made in Japan after confirmation the brand's British production plant in Swindon will be closing in 2022. That's around the time the next-generation Civic will be launched, and with the British plant shutting down, production of European and North American-market Civic hatches - as well as all Type R hatches - will likely relocate to Japan. Despite a move in production source, Honda Australia will be completely unaffected by the switch thanks to sourcing the majority of its cars - Jazz, City, HR-V, CR-V and Accord - from Thailand, while the NSX is made in North America and the Odyssey comes from Japan. “The Civic’s full model change a is still few years away, and the Civic Type R will be re-sourced, possibly from Japan” said Honda Australia director, Stephen Collins. “Otherwise it has no effect on Australia.”Asked if the Civic Type R could potentially become cheaper because of its move to Japan and the free-trade agreement that exists between that country and Australia, Mr Collins suggested Honda Australia was happy with the Type R’s positioning.“We’re really happy with Type R in Australia. We’re happy with its price, we’re happy with how well it sells, and we just love the car in general, so making it cheaper isn’t on our radar.”The Type R brand is due to stay specific to the Civic model line for now, with no plans to introduce cars such as a Jazz Type R or an Accord Type R.“The Type R brand has spent a lot of time turning Civics into genuine sports cars, and for the foreseeable future will not move beyond the Civic,” said Mr Collins. 

NSW Police has debuted a new member; a fully liveried Honda Civic Type R that will join the fleet for the next 12 months.

The updated Honda Civic 2019 sedan range sees mildly revised styling, added equipment and a broader spread of the brand’s active safety suite, known as Honda Sensing.Priced from $22,390 (+$200), the updated Civic range is only available in sedan form currently - the hatchback still continues alongside the sedan, but is yet to be updated. The 2019 Civic sedan is still available in five models with two engines and a standard CVT automatic transmission.Revised styling includes a reshaped front facia with a black chrome grille and fog lamp surrounds, as well as subtly revised front and rear spoilers. The range features updated wheel designs, with the RS receiving new 18-inch alloy wheels (previously 17-inches) with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.The interior has also received an update, with different trims and new media system buttons - previously the central screen was a touch-only affair, including the volume control. New buttons feature on the side of the media screen, including a volume knob, phone button and a home button as well. According to Honda, the new buttons will help user-friendliness inside the Civic’s cabin. However, the most important news for the updated Civic sedan range is the increase in standard fitment of the brand’s Honda Sensing active safety suite. Previously limited to just the top spec VTi-LX, the VTi-L and RS now also feature Honda Sensing as standard. Safety features such as automatic emergency braking with forward collision warning and pedestrian detection, lane departure warning with lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality are now standard on the $27,990 VTi-L and up. The VTi and VTi-S are still unavailable with the potentially life-saving technology, which is disappointing considering the entire Mazda Australia passenger range is equipped with AEB as standard. Other small equipment updates include automatic high beam for Honda Sensing-equipped cars, auto-folding mirrors on the VTi-L and up, rear privacy glass for the VTi-S, a new Platinum White pearlescent paint option for the range, an RS-exclusive Phoenix Orange colour, as well as red seat stitching for the RS.There have been no mechanical changes for the Civic sedan lineup, with VTi and VTi-S models continuing to use a 104kW/174Nm 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, and VTi-L, RS and VTi-LX a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with 127kW/220Nm .All models use a CVT automatic transmission and claimed combined fuel consumption ranges from 6.0L/100km (VTi-L and VTi-LX), where the turbo engine in the RS uses 6.3L/100km thanks to its larger wheels. The VTi and VTi-S models with the 1.8L engine use a claimed 6.4L/100km.