By Dave Abrahams
Detroit, Michigan - When Honda says the 10th generation Civic, unveiled on Wednesday in America's automotive heartland, is all new, it ain't kidding.
The dramatic styling, highlighted by a longer, more sculptured bonnet and fashionable fastback-style tail, emphasises that the 2016 Civic is built on a completely new platform nearly 50mm wider, with a 30mm longer wheelbase and compact, shorter front overhang.
Thanks to lower engine positioning and a lower floor pan - made possible by all-new suspension - the front-seat hip point is 25mm lower than on the previous model, giving the car a more sporty driving position and dropping roof height by the same amount.
The new Civic also hits the ground running with two new engines - a two-litre, twin-cam, iV-Tec 16-valve petrol four rated at 118kW, mated to either a six-speed manual or a continuously variable belt-drive transmission, and a 129kW, 1.5-litre, direct-injection turbopetrol four with its own, special CVT transmission.
Without giving details, Honda claims that each of the three drivetrain variants will return fuel-consumption figures of less than six litres per 100km on the EPA test cycle.
BIGGER BUT NOT HEAVIER
The increased wheelbase translates into 50mm more rear legroom, and the lower, wider platform into 73 litres more boot volume - but Honda says the shell is actually 30kg lighter than that of the previous Civic, thanks to the use of a lot more ultra-high strength steel - 12 percent, compared to just one percent before.
Honda is also trying to move the Civic upmarket - after disparaging comments about low-rent interiors on the previous two iterations - with a one-piece, soft-touch instrument panel that has decorative stitching moulded-in, more luxurious upholstery fabrics, a centre console finished in piano black with a silver bezel and a 7.2-litre storage compartment, and door inserts with real live stitching (Honda's words, not ours!).
Auto aircon is standard across the range, as are power windows, an electronic parking brake with hill hold, and LED indicators and tail-lights; LED headlights are an option. More expensive variants get a new full-colour centre-stack display, dual-zone climate control, eight-way power-adjustable driver's and four-way adjustable front passenger seat, heated front and rear seats, and a leather shift boot.
DRIVER AIDS
The new Civic's 'nanny suite' of driver aids includes ABS-driven torque vectoring, as well as collision mitigating braking, road departure mitigation and, in a first for Honda, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow to take you safely home through the afternoon grid-lock.
The seven inch infotainment touchscreen is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Honda says it will take anything you can do on an iPhone and put it on the car's display; you can get directions, make calls, send and receive messages, and listen to music, navigating from the touchscreen or by voice via Siri.
Android Auto features Google Maps, Google Now, messaging, music and a host of popular apps.
The 2016 Civic will reach showrooms in the United States late in the third quarter of this year; South African release is planned for the third quarter of 2016.