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Time for some civic duty

The Honda Civic is the most eagerly awaited car on Indian roads.DEBABRATA SARKAR checks out why

ASIAN SPECIAL The for-India Civic features extroverted styling, different from the American model

The Civic has been a long awaited addition to the Indian market. Honda had planned to follow up the Accord's entry with the then present Civic. But things don't always work out as planned ... do they? The maturing and now demanding Indian consumer trashed the older generation Accord putting Honda on the back foot and forcing them to rethink their strategy. This early blow to Honda's expectations saw them rallying from the backbench to the segment leaders and more importantly giving the Indian customer what they deserve. In stepped the new City, the new Accord and then the CR-V.

The Civic you see in the pictures are the Thailand spec version launched barely a month back. But, there is no need to sweat out your brow, the same car with minor modifications will be making its way to Indian showrooms shortly.

External affairs

The new Civic carries on Honda's modern design theme forward - `monoform' in Honda terminology. You learn to appreciate the striking aerodynamic design when you run a caressing hand along the car's profile. An impressive drag co-efficient accompanies to help the Civic cut through the air with a great deal of ease. The southeast Asian design comes with larger headlamps as opposed to the American one which comes with straight and flat ones. A little kink in the middle make these headlamp cluster look very appealing. The tail-lamp cluster also houses two circular elements carrying on the theme from the headlamps.

The highlight of the Civic however, is the ultra-modern cockpit like split-instrument panel. The `heads up display' or HUD is placed directly in your line of sight when looking onto the road. It functions in tandem with the instrument cluster and displays essential information like speed. Including the tachometer in the HUD would have been highly appreciated too. A blue glow in the instrument cluster accompanies a turn of the stalk to get the parking lights on. The traditionally placed tacho is eye-catching too. And the CD-player's display and the aircon control have luminescence. The three-spoked steering wheel, which adjusts for height and reach, looks sporty with a large boss and hollow brushed-aluminium-finish-like spokes.

Internal affairs

The two-tone dash and aircon vents are similar to those of the Accord and the supportive and well-bolstered seats with see-through headrests make for great and very comfortable interiors. There are plenty of storage areas in the centre console along with the regular glove-box. The seating position is however, on the lower side, the low-roof being the suspect for that, but under-thigh support is decent and the backrest at the rear is appropriately angled.

The steering on the Civic is ages ahead of the overtly light one in the City, making for great manoeuvrability in the city. It is well-weighted and direct though the quick ratio takes a bit of getting used to. The stiff chassis and the independent double wishbone suspension in the rear makes the car a good handler, maintaining stability even when cornered hard. Body control is also impressive when the car is driven with enthusiasm.

Defence ministry

Added features like ABS and electronic stability program, present on some variants however, might not make it to Indian shores. The ride is one of the few areas where the Civic fails to flatter. The wider 205 and lower 55 16 inchers may be blamed partly but the 195/ 65 R15s will not change things dramatically.

The new 1.8-litre motor dishing out all of 140bhp (in the Thai-spec car) is an absolute delight, but in Honda's quest for efficiency, the variable valve timing and lift mechanism makes it feels a bit subdued - lacking real bite at urban speeds. The VTEC motor, which keeps one intake valve open at cruising speeds to reduce pressure and energy losses, has affected driveability but the other side of the coin means improved, 1.6-litre engine-like efficiency - an overriding factor in the 50-rupees-a-litre day. The five-speed auto box is not the most responsive, the lack of real lugging power between 2000 and 3500 rpm making it apparent. This is especially disappointing as this range in the powerband is the most used for overtaking in urban conditions.

Although the Civic lacks in a few areas compared to its rivals, a competitive sticker and the Honda badge will give the Corollas and the Octavias a run for their money as it offers something over its competition - the sleek modern look and of course the revolutionary heads up display, which will surely be a hit with many. Add to this its capable performance and the usual Japanese manufacturers' efficiency and reliability and the Civic looks like yet another class leader from Honda.

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