An all new Honda Civic debuted last year and it was severely criticized by most experts in the field for being a mediocre effort. The biggest criticisms came from ConsumerReports – a watchdog for consumers in the US who said that the new Civic was less agile, very loud with poor interiors and a choppy ride.
ConsumerReports even denied it a ‘recommended’ rating and dropped it to the bottom of its list. Honda immediately took it back to the drawing board and brought out the 2013 Honda Civic at the recently held at Los Angeles Auto Show. So what has changed?
Exteriors
The facelifted Honda Civic features a black honeycomb mesh grille, new headlamps, clear-lens corner lights, a sculpted hood up front.
At the rear, it features a new trunk lid, new taillights and a restyled bumper.
Interiors
Although the overall layout of the dashboard has not changed, the interior features new soft-touch materials, a new headliner and black carpeting.
The GPS navigation system now has voice recognition and a multi-view reverse camera. It offers connectivity via Bluetooth, Pandora and USB/iPod.
Mechanics
The facelifted Honda Civic features a stiffened chassis with recalibrated steering set-up, stiffer wheels, stiffer front spring rates and thicker front and rear anti-roll bars for sportier handling.
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To address the NVH issue, Honda has provided a thicker windshield and a thicker front-door glass with additional insulation materials in key areas.
Safety
On the safety front, Honda has re-engineered the body to disperse energy in case of frontal collisions. It also features ABS, VSC with traction control, a tire pressure monitoring system, forward collision warning system and a lane departure warning system.
Honda India made its intention very clear that the 2012 Honda Civic has no future in India. The Japanese car maker is right now concentrating on the B Segment in India with the upcoming Honda Brio Amaze and hence the new Civic may not arrive in India anytime soon.
[Source: Carscoop.blogspot.com]
