Test: Honda Civic

Driven by the dream of "driving all the elements of the earth", Soichiro Honda 1946 founded the company, whose surname is still linked to the world's largest engine manufacturer, with his former business partner and friend Takeo Fujisawa. At first it was only two-wheelers and sports cars. 1972 hit the Civic in Japan and more than 40 years later, the 10 is now leading. Generation as Europe's most important car of the Japanese manufacturer the success story continues. 2011 introduced Honda under the project name "Earth Dreams Technology" the beginning of a new engine series with turbochargers. The Japanese compact impresses with the 1.5 liter VTEC with good nominal performance, which promise the racing philosophy according to sporty and agile handling. In addition, the moderately upbeat design and the usual utility value should provide for more customers in the car dealerships. The entry is the Civic with its 1.5 liter unit at a price of 27.960 Euro.

Test report: Civic 1,5 liter VTEC Turbo "Sport Plus"

Spacelab of the road

With the introduction of the 8. Generation of the Civic 2006 outpaced Honda with its compact in a provocative manner out of the C-segment. No trace of mainstream. Change was necessary because the 7. Generation was design-technically inferior to boredom. A tick too much, many customers said and so the lines of the Civic were again moderate. The design is in the 10. Generation under control, as the Civic is now sold again worldwide. The front is dominated by two aprons swept up to the sides. Prominent, the Honda "H-Mark" edged by the extremely aggressive grille, the lateral curves of the headlights continued in a straight bead along the entire length of the vehicle, before it drops arcuately at the tail lights again. At the rear, in addition to the headlights and the small rear spoiler for a muscular appearance. Further details such as the diffuser on the rear apron or large air intakes on the front aprons show us the credentials of racing. The optimized wind-slipperiness lets the Japanese lead our imagined best-list of C-segment vehicles in terms of fuel consumption (5,8 liters in the combined standard test) and exhaust emissions (133 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer).

Take a seat in the cockpit of the spaceship

The driver and passenger doors can be opened wide and present us with the black Alcantara seats of the Type Sport Plus. From the first seat test, the cockpit gives the driver the feeling that it is turning to himself in an explanatory manner. All the instruments that affect the vehicle, as well as the Honda CONNECT navigation system integrated in the middle of the dashboard, offer not too much, but also not too little information. The display not only serves as a simple work surface for the navigation system, but combines several functions in the seven-inch screen, which seems a little too small to us. The device supplied by Garmin provides a digital radio, a Bluetooth® hands-free system, internet access via smartphone, WLAN tethering or a mobile WLAN router based on Android 4.0.4, which can be controlled via the "aha" application. Music, the latest news, podcasts, audio books and social media newsfeeds can then be accessed here. The instrument panels are distributed over three levels. As an eye-catcher and control center, the front of the Civic is very generous and conveys a corresponding sense of space. Its ergonomically styled, sporty front seats give us a good hold, especially when driving quickly with a few quick load changes. Unfortunately, the Japanese loses flexibility due to the "Magic Seats" that are no longer installed. As a result of a customer survey, the tank under the front seats disappeared again under the trunk. Driver and front passenger no longer sit too high from the start. The load volume shrinks to 420 liters with full seating. The folded back seats then only make 1.187 liters free up to the edge of the roof.

Civic with racing feeling

The Civic Sport Plus awakens a certain racing feeling for the driver and co-driver again and again, and makes us smile on every test drive. Not only does it provide a good portion of driving fun, the compact model also challenges us once or twice. Driving the Civic is therefore not a sure-fire success. The turbo-charged unit provides 134 kW (182 hp) from a 1.5 liter displacement. With a narrow maximum torque of 240 Newton meters at 1.900 - 5.000 revolutions, it pushes its concentrated power onto the road via the front wheels. Nevertheless, the Japanese can noticeably add more at any time and in any situation or is always the first vehicle to sprint at the traffic lights. In combination with the briefly graduated six-speed manual transmission, the Civic can be steered efficiently through city and urban traffic. During the test kilometers on the Autobahn, we were always in the left lane as hunters. Its sporty steering offers us pure relaxation when driving and parking in the city in connection with its turning circle. The reversing camera also provides good support.

Driver assistance systems in the C-segment

The 1.5 liter unit is unfortunately only available in three different versions from the "Sport" version with an entry price of 27.960 euros. "Sport", "Sport Plus" and "Prestige" each offer a combination with a six-speed manual transmission and the continuously variable CVT automatic transmission. Buyers order an Auto Stop function (can be deactivated) and an adaptive damper system as standard. Further features are the adaptive electric power steering (MA-EPS) with variable ratio, a hill start aid, a cruise control system with speed limiter, a multifunction steering wheel, a reversing camera, the collision warning system with active brake intervention and pedestrian detection CMBS (Collision Mitigation Brake System), an active lane departure warning system LKAS ( Lane Keep Assist System), the traffic sign recognition system TSR (Traffic Sign Recognition), a light sensor (automatic driving light switching) and a rain sensor.

And finally ... The Civic Sport Plus with its new 1.5 liter VTEC engine combines driving pleasure with racing driver feeling and an optimal utility value for the family. Unfortunately, the revving engine is only starting from an entry beyond the 27.000 Euro mark to have.

engine and gears

Dimensions and performance

Consumption in the test

Text: Stefan Beckmann, Image: Manufacturer (Honda Motor Europe LTD.) - Photo: Manufacturer (Honda Motor Europe LTD.)