By Andrew Ganz
Wednesday, Apr 20th, 2011 @ 9:30 am

Excitement, thy name is not Honda Civic. But Honda, to its credit, realizes this, having gone so far as to capitalize on the model’s plain Jane name by aiming its redesigned two and four-door compact cars at “Civic-Minded” individuals, of which there are, apparently, quite a few.

A perennial top ten sales lister, the Civic warms its way into Americans’ hearts year after year, finding home in more driveways than any other compact (if you ignore low margin fleet sales that vault the Toyota Corolla to the top of charts). Honda doesn’t specifically market to rental or corporate fleets, so most Civic-minded consumers are true Civic fans.

Frankly, excitement has rarely been a part of the Civic’s lineage, unless you’re still stuck in the Freakin’ Fast, Flippin’ Furious era. Sure, the Civic Si has offered some high-rpm jollies, while the mid-’90s jellybeans were modestly more entertaining than most rivals, but that might mainly be a virtue of their vastly superior refinement rather than an inherent spunkiness.

So it was with this rather jilted attitude that we set off to sample the 2012 Civic lineup. They might not get our hearts racing, but Civics are hugely popular for plenty of other reasons.

A Civic for every civilian
For one, the Civic’s incredibly broad lineup helps explain much of its success. Buyers on a budget can drop around $16,500 on a 2012 Civic DX coupe or sedan if they’re not interested in a radio or air conditioning. From there, the lineup moves up to the volume-leader Civic LX, which adds tunes and cooled air, plus steering wheel audio controls, power mirrors and a few other do-dads. Buyers who want more can find the Civic EX with a moonroof and optional leather and navigation.

Most rivals stop there, but Honda goes several steps further. A 44-mpg Civic Hybrid mates gasoline and electric motors to a CVT, but buyers who want near hybrid fuel savings at a lower price can opt for the new Civic HF, which adds some aerodynamic aids to bump highway economy to 41 mpg.

At the opposite end, the Civic Si returns in both coupe and sedan models with a version of the Acura TSX’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder mated exclusively to a six-speed stick. Tuned for more low-end torque, the Si is designed to be both more useful and, you guessed it, more fuel efficient (31 mpg versus last year’s 29 mpg).

Later in the year, Honda will let buyers across the country opt for the Civic Natural Gas, which runs on hopes, dreams and methane.

Charting the changes
Although it might look rather like last year’s model, the Civic is actually considered an all-new offering in Honda’s lineup. Its proportions outside are identical, although it has received a light nip and tuck at every corner. Sedans get a revised side profile that is less cab-forward-looking than before with new Honda Insight-gleaned details, while coupes channel their inner Accord Coupe for a more shapely style. Meanwhile, Si models gain the requisite spoilers and body kits one might expect.

Nothing about the Civic’s look is offensive, but little is especially compelling either. Various paint shades of beige and gray are still available, although at least the blue and red schemes have been reworked for the new model year.

Inside, the look isn’t quite as derivative. Toned down a bit from the outgoing model, the dashboard nonetheless revists a wonky central-mounted tachometer and a high-mounted digital speedometer. The audio system is lightly canted toward the driver, which makes the available navigation screen virtually impossible for passengers to read in bright sunlight. New seats are more supportive than before, while Honda says that some repackaging has ever so slightly increased shoulder room. Regardless, the Civic is plenty roomy inside by compact sedan standards, especially in the wide rear seat with its flat floorboards.

A three-spoke steering wheel features intuitive controls, although the leather wrapping on range-topping models is from carefully bred Bolivian Rubber Cows. So to the optional leather seats. At least the standard cloth feels durable and looks sufficiently spiffy in a stereotypically Japanese car striped and stylized sort of way.

Assembly felt top notch on our early production testers, although nary a soft touch plastic is in sight. Perhaps most egregious is the felt-like headliner, a far cry from the woven units found on nearly every rival.

Less-than-fully equipped models don’t get a trunk lid liner, but otherwise we saw little reason to complain about the spacious rear cargo area.

On the go
We sampled every model on offer on a variety of roads surrounding Washington, D.C., an area that has rarely been notable for its especially civic-minded elected population.

All standard Civics (DX, LX, EX) come with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder with Honda’s much-ballyhooed VTEC valve control system. Rated at 140 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 128 lb-ft. of torque at 4,300 rpm, the Civic nets 39 mpg on the highway with the five-speed automatic transmission. A five-speed stick is also available, although it, like tike the automatic, is down a gear compared to most new rivals.

Performance is adequate but refined, with the Civic hardly struggling to keep up with traffic but never emerging as a leader. An Eco button comes from Honda’s hybrids. It dulls throttle response to prevent drivers from sucking down too much dino juice. We pushed it to see if it worked and then turned Eco mode off a block later when we realized how slowly it made us drive.

Retuned electric power steering offers greater feedback than before, although we still found it to be distinctly lacking in feel on center and a little unpredictable when put through its paces. Tire choice is no doubt at least partially to blame, since Civics ride on soft tires that are generally smaller than rivals. Steel-wheeled DX and LX models feature 15-inch diameter tires, while EXs get the “big upgrade” to 16s. Only the Si gains 17-inchers. At least those little tires with reasonably large sidewalls improved ride quality, helping the Civic take every bump in stride. For the record, Civics feature a MacPherson strut front setup and a multi-link unit in the rear. Over the worst pavement the District could throw at our Civic EX sedan tester, we noticed no body quivers and little of the wallowing so often found in compact sedans.

On the highway, the Civic tracked smoothly and confidently, albeit not nearly as quietly as some rivals. Road and wind roar was ever present.

The sporting choice
Aimed at enthusiasts, the Civic Si has been more thoroughly rethought for 2012 than its pleibian brethren. Not only does it get more power (201 ponies) than the outgoing 2.0-liter, it gains vast gobs of more usable torque than the previous Si’s laughable 139 lb-ft. The new 2.4 nets 179 lb-ft., which peaks at 4,400 rpm compared to the outgoing car’s 6,100 rpm.

As a result, the Si is hardly the high-rpm wildcat it was before, but we’ll take the trade-off. Far more drivable, the new Si feels sufficiently fleet-footed to fit its sporty billing.

Honda also retuned its suspension and steering for more control and a firmer ride with less lean in corners. Although not quite as balanced as the Mazda3, the Civic Si really came into its own on curvy roads.

Inside, the Si gets its own sports seats, a silly power meter and an even sillier VTEC gauge with gimmicky LED lamps. Ok, fine, we loved the VTEC gauge – just don’t tell anyone about it kicking in, yo.

The eco choice
If high fuel prices make your blood boil, Honda has your new car: The Civic Hybrid. A 1.5-liter four-cylinder mates to a 23-horsepower brushless electric motor to deliver 110 horsepower and 127 lb-ft. of torque. That doesn’t sound like much, but a smooth CVT makes the most of the available grunt to offer performance just slightly behind non-hybrid models.

The big news is the Civic Hybrid’s 44/44 mpg rating, which means that, no matter where you drive it, Honda and the EPA think you should average 44 miles per every gallon of regular unleaded used. It won’t top a Prius, but among sedan-based hybrids, the Civic is at the top of its game.

For those even more intent on using less refined gasoline and more natural gas, the Civic Natural Gas will be on offer soon. We’ll do our best to sample one as soon as they are available.

Leftlane’s bottom line
With its 2012 lineup, Honda has carefully and conservatively reinvented its Civic offerings. Certainly class competitive, each model offers enough compelling reasons to merit recommendation.

But class competitive won’t cut it much longer. Rivals from Ford, Chevrolet, Mazda and Hyundai offer more personality, more value, more sport and more refinement, all virtues that once set the Civic apart. We hope that Honda views the 2012 Civic as a stepping stone to something a little more different and a little more bold in the near future.

2012 Honda Civic base price range, $15,605 to $26,750.

Words and photos by Andrew Ganz

  

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